Articles on the evolution, growth and decline of urbanity and fluctuations or changes in over time within the ancient Harappan or Indus Valley Civilization and its antecedents.
This is an extremely important paper, just published in Nature. It completely scrambles timelines around South Asia and the development of agriculture in the region. >
In addition to the overall objective of obtaining new information on the cultural and structural development of Harappa, other specific questions investigated include the development of civic organization and control, occupational specialization, and social stratification. >
A paper examining and interpreting climate models and the history of water supply as it pertains to the Indus Valley civilization (including dramatic changes in precipitation and shifts in the Ravi River among the rerouting of other streams and tributaries). >
"Correlating ancient textual sources with iconography and archaeological evidence in general is notoriously a controversial exercise, constantly carried out on endemically slippery grounds," writes the author at the very start. Then he launches into a formidable analysis that teases out a wide var… >
The study from Frontiers in Medicine, March 2025 presents the first paleopathological evidence for lepromatous leprosy in Bronze Age Oman (2500–2000 BCE), specifically at the site of Dahwa. >
The author focuses primarily on economic interaction networks and specialised crafts to show how they can provide a window on the other changes that may have been occurring. >
An incisive look at the debate around this issue by one of India's foremost archaeological thinkers. Ratnagar looks at the issue in light of Indian Independence and the various political issues and currents that affect archaeological discourse and interpretations. She explains what the word "Aryan"… >
"A small showcase of the Zahedan Museum keeps, among other finds, the fragmentary headless torso of a small statuette in a buff-grey limestone, with a strongly weathered surface. Without opening the showcase, I was allowed to take several pictures of the fragment, from various angles," writes the author. >
This article, which has received widespread press coverage, provides a detailed climate and hydrological reconstruction of the Indus (Harappan) civilization, focusing on how cycles of river drought and fluctuating monsoon rainfall influenced its trajectory. >
Recently, a program of systematic surface surveys and small-scale excavations has been implemented at sites in the hinterland around Harappa. Initial results of these complementary research strategies are changing our understanding of the nature of Indus urbanism in the Punjab and have implications for the overall structure of the Indus Civilization. >
