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Ancient Indus questions answered by Massimo Vidale, Professor of Archaeology at the University of Padua, Italy and eminent Italian scholar in the field of archaeology. He has numerous articles on this website.

90. Have recent excavations provided more clues to the so called "Granaries"? What was their purpose?

Massimo Vidale
Randall Law
Rita P. Wright

Massimo Vidale
Prof. J. M. Kenoyer, who has recently investigated the Granary at Harappa, is the best person to answer these questions. My impression is that the evidence for the "Granaries" identification is quite flimsy; the type of dig made in the past, simply, was not accurate enough for such an identification, and the various theories so far proposed are pure conjectures. One of these is that the large compartmented building of Harappa was a weaving plant; I like the idea, but at present it is just another guess.

62. How old is the oldest ancient Indus writing?

Asko Parpola
Jonathan Mark Kenoyer
Massimo Vidale
Mayank Vahia
Nisha Yadav

Another question answered by expert ancient Indus scholars.

91. How can we justify stating that the citadel area was exclusively for a higher class or category of people?

Jonathan Mark Kenoyer
Massimo Vidale

Massimo Vidale and Mark Kenoyer respond.

63. Is there any evidence of trade with Egypt and Minoan Crete?

Dennys Frenez
Massimo Vidale
Mayank Vahia
Randall Law

Another question from site visitors answered by a panel of ancient Indus experts.

92. What do we know of Ancient Indus government?

Gwen Robbins Schug
Massimo Vidale

Surely for a civilization to be so strong, it would need some sort of system of government. Yet I have heard very little evidence of a ruling party or even so much as a hierarchy or caste system within the civilization?

65. Why have Western and Indian experts studied the Harappan civilisation?

Asko Parpola
Massimo Vidale
Shereen Ratnagar

Among the more intriguing questions from site visitors, answered by three Indus archaeologists, from India, Italy and Finland.

93. Why do some people call Harappan civilization the "steatite civilization"?

Dennys Frenez
Jonathan Mark Kenoyer
Massimo Vidale
Nisha Yadav

And what exactly is steatite?

Dennys Frenez, Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, Nisha Yadav and Massimo Vidale respond.

67. Is flint knapping around the Indus period similar or different to flint knapping in other Bronze age societies?

Massimo Vidale
Paolo Biagi

Another question from our site visitors answered by Indus scholars.

69. Are there connections between the Ramayana epic and the Indus Valley Civilization?

Massimo Vidale
Mayank Vahia
Shereen Ratnagar

Three experts respond to a question from one of our users.

71. Is there any reason to believe now that there might be a connection between the IVC script and the Easter Island Rongorongo?

Asko Parpola
Massimo Vidale
Mayank Vahia
Nisha Yadav

Some similarities have been found in the glyphs between Rongorongo and Indus writing. As well, the direction of writing (boustrophedon) might be the same/similar to Indus. What do scholars say?

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Answers by Author (6)
  • Asko Parpola
  • Iravatham Mahadevan
  • Jane McIntosh
  • Richard H. Meadow
  • Rita P. Wright
  • Shereen Ratnagar
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