Can AI finally crack the 4,000-year-old Indus script?

Can AI crack a 4,00-year-old code? For over a century, the ancient script of the Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), known as the Indus script, has remained one of the most significant puzzles in archaeology.

Despite decades of countless attempts by scholars, no one has been able to crack its meaning. But now, artificial intelligence is offering a new hope for deciphering this ancient writing system. So, let's find out if we are finally close to unlocking the secrets of this long-lost culture.

Decoding the Indus script: A $1 million prize

The secrets of a lost civilisation are within reach—for a million dollars. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has announced a $1 million prize for the first person to solve the Indus script, the undeciphered writing system of the Indus Valley Civilisation.

This substantial reward underscores the script's crucial role in understanding ancient Indian culture and its potential links to Dravidian languages, promising to fuel a new era of discovery.

The key challenges of deciphering the Indus Script

Even with the power of AI, deciphering the Indus script remains a tough challenge. Imagine trying to solve a puzzle with only a handful of pieces, most of them broken and incomplete. That's the reality facing researchers.

The script exists on just around 4,000 inscriptions, mostly tiny seals, and the inscriptions themselves are frustratingly short. Unlike the Rosetta Stone, which unlocked the secrets of Egyptian hieroglyphs, there are no bilingual texts to provide crucial clues.

These obstacles—a limited and fragmented corpus, the absence of multilingual inscriptions, and the brevity of the texts—make the Indus script one of the world's most enduring linguistic mysteries.

The role of AI in decoding the Indus Script

Coming back to the question: Can AI crack the code of a 4,00-year-old civilisation? Indeed AI-driven research generates excitement among scholars who believe new methodologies might finally offer a way to understand the Indus script.

Rajesh PN Rao, a computer scientist, and Nisha Yadav, a researcher at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, shared that recent machine-learning models have helped identify recurring patterns among the symbols, according to the BBC.

But there's a catch. The true test lies in deciphering the meaning behind these patterns. Do these symbols represent complete words or just fragments of sentences? While caution is warranted, AI's potential to unlock the Indus script's deeper meaning is undeniable.

By combining AI with traditional archaeological methods, researchers can explore new avenues and test theories in ways previously unimaginable.

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The takeaway

The Indus script has remained one of the greatest unsolved puzzles of ancient history for over 4,000 years. Thanks to AI, today the possibility of deciphering this mystery is closer than ever before. While significant challenges remain, the integration of AI in deciphering this ancient writing system represents an exciting step forward in unravelling the secrets of the Indus Valley Civilisation and its rich cultural heritage. With the power of AI, we may be on the verge of a groundbreaking discovery that will reshape our understanding of ancient Indian history.