Surface Evidence of Craft Activity at Chanhu-daro
The results of a three-day visit to the site in March 1984 by two experienced Indus archaeologists, the first such visit since Chanhu-daro was excavated in the 1930s by E.H. Mackay.
Ancient Indus civilization articles which can be downloaded and read as PDF files from this site.
Lime Kilns Ethnobotany Lower Sindh
During the 2010 Italian Archaeological Mission to the area, an evaluation of plants and man in past and present times by looking at the wood fueling of kilns.
Cracking the Indus Script
In this concise article in the journal Nature from October 2015, Andrew Robinson reflects on the history of attempts to decipher the Harappan script. More than 500 distinct Indus symbols have so far been identified, and it is now generally believed that the script was read from right to left.
Chert Mines and Chert Miners. The Material Culture and Social Organization of the Indus Chipped Stone Workers, Artisans and Traders in the Indus Valley (Sindh, Pakistan)
A very important recent exposition of one of the most important underlying elements – used to make fire, crucial items like weights and much else – of ancient Indus civilization and its connection to, in particular the Rohri Hills.
The Prehistory of Sindh and Las Bela (Balochistan): Thirty years of surveys and excavations (1985-2014)
It has really only been since the 1980s that a more comprehensive picture of the wide and deep roots of Indus civilization in the larger Sindh and Balochistan region have become apparent. Mehrgarh did not spring out of nowhere but was embedded in a region where fishing, shell collecting, flint mining and other crafts were present and flourishing at different times.
Indus Mortuary Behavior: Between Action and Symbolic Meaning
"This chapter [in the forthcoming book Pratnamani: Felicitation Volume for Professor Vasant Shinde, 2020] explores previously reported variation in the mortuary practices of two Indus cities—Rakhigarhi and Harappa—to describe the typical range of variation for Indus cemeteries."
The Important Stone and Metal Resources of Gujarat during the Harappan Period
"In the year 2000," writes the author, "I initiated a large‐scale effort to identify the geologic sources from which peoples of the Indus Civilization (ca. 2600 to 1900 BC) acquired rock and mineral resources."
Craniofacial reconstruction of the Indus valley civilization individuals found at 4500-year-old Rakhigarhi cemetery
The first cranio-facial reconstructions of two bodies found in an Indus-era cemetery in Rakigarhi were published not too long ago; both subjects, known as 7.2 A1 BR02 and 7.2 A2 BR36 are shown above.
Inscribed Unicorn Seals from Bagasra, Gujarat: A Comparative Analysis of Morphology, Carving Styles, and Distribution Patterns
The substantial article examines seven inscribed unicorn steatite seals from the Indus site of Bagasra (Gola Dhoro), in Gujarat. These seals are important for understanding the craft industry of the Indus Civilization.
New Radiocarbon Dates for the Prehistory of the Arabian Sea Coasts of Lower Sindh and Las Bela in Balochistan (Pakistan)
New radiocarbon dates from coastal sites in Lower Sindh and the adjoining Las Bela area in Balochistan from marine and mangrove shells and shell-middens at 11 sites.