The Indians of the Indus Valley civilization developed a sophisticated writing system to facilitate communication, record keeping, and management of commercial exchanges within their complex society.
The civilization of the Indus Valley included large, highly organized cities, such as Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro; managing all of this clearly required a serious sense of organization. Thousands of individuals to feed, frequent exchanges between the countryside and the city: they needed to keep accurate records. They maintained accounts using a sophisticated writing system that allowed them to clearly note stocks, taxes collected, and trade exchanges. This precise management prevented chaos in these ultra-developed cities — it was a bit like their ancient version of Excel!
The civilization of the Indus Valley engaged in active trade with other regions, notably Mesopotamia, which was located thousands of kilometers away. These regular exchanges required a reliable means to record goods, quantities, and agreements made, prompting the creation of a sophisticated writing system. The inhabitants primarily exchanged products such as precious stones, rare metals, and even textiles. Contact with distant civilizations also brought a wealth of cultural influences, providing new ideas that enriched their writing system. These commercial interactions brought people closer together, encouraged the exchange of ideas, and naturally pushed society to communicate in a clear and structured manner.
The populations of the Indus Valley often used their writing for religious rituals and to represent strong symbolic values. Many of these symbols can be found on engraved seals, likely related to both religious beliefs and issues of identity or social belonging. It was a way to communicate with the gods, but also to clearly express abstract ideas such as power, authority, or divine protection. Certain symbols frequently recur, such as mythical animals or stylized human figures that might represent deities or important figures. The use of a sophisticated system of signs and symbols likely helped to structure collective beliefs and reinforce the sense of belonging to the same community.
The Indus civilization covered a vast territory with several well-structured large cities such as Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. Managing all of this required an efficient and fairly centralized political organization. To coordinate daily life, commercial exchanges, and the execution of major projects such as irrigation systems, a strong authority and clear territorial organization were necessary. It is precisely because they were so well organized that these Indians needed a sophisticated writing system: to clearly convey orders, maintain accurate administrative records, and manage resources spread over a large area.
Urban populations in the Indus Valley achieved a particularly abstract way of thinking thanks to their lifestyle. With highly developed and organized cities like Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, individuals lived close to one another, fostering reflection, the exchange of ideas, and intellectual creativity. They developed sophisticated systems to plan and manage urban space, such as sewer networks, precisely structured grid streets, and imposing buildings. To conceive all this, a true capacity for mental projection, an overall vision, and advanced conceptual thinking were required. Their analytical mindset and keen sense of order are reflected in their writing, which showcases this intellectual sophistication through abstract and stylized signs, the complexity of which attests to their capacity for abstraction.
The main cities of the Indus Valley, such as Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, were built according to a meticulous urban plan and even included an elaborate drainage system — a degree of urban sophistication rarely seen elsewhere during this historical period.
Some clay seals found in the Indus Valley feature detailed representations of animals. Historians believe they may have been used to identify merchants or to track goods exported to other regions.
The trade developed by the civilization of the Indus Valley was so advanced that they maintained active trade relations with Mesopotamia, over a distance of several thousand kilometers.
Despite the obvious cultural and material wealth, no direct evidence of monumental structures dedicated to religious worship, similar to imposing temples, has been found at the sites of the Indus civilization. Archaeologists believe that religious practices likely took place in a more domestic or communal setting rather than in monumental ones.
Yes, we find signs of this script on a large number of artifacts, primarily stone seals, indicating that it was used on a large scale in various administrative, commercial, and potentially religious contexts of the Indus Valley civilization.
No. Despite numerous attempts by researchers from around the world, the writing of the Indus Valley civilization remains largely undeciphered to this day, largely due to the lack of sufficiently long texts to enable a complete and reliable translation.
The primary function appears to have been administrative and economic. Writing was used to record commercial transactions, manage the exchange of goods, and maintain control over resources in a complex and urbanized society.
Researchers are still debating this topic. Although trade relations or exchanges are documented between the Indus and Mesopotamia, no conclusive evidence has established a clear link between Indus writing and contemporary scripts such as cuneiform or hieroglyphics.
The writing system of the Indus Valley civilization was complex because it included several hundred symbols, likely allowing for the representation of abstract concepts, economic elements, and administrative information. This sophistication reflects the advanced needs for management and communication in the urban societies of the time.
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