An open computational framework for testing and comparing Indus-Harappan script decipherment hypotheses.
Live platform: https://premkumar2306.github.io/open-indus-lab/ · Paper (final draft, PDF): download · Citable dataset: v1.0.0 release
Note from the author (Ponmuthu Shanmugham): "I haven't completed the English translations as I didn't need them for the research, but they will help non-Tamil speakers. It needs two levels — phoneme (sounds) and morphemes (meaning). It needs to be done, but I haven't."
| Layer | What | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Layer 1 — Phoneme | Tamil script + Roman transliteration (the sounds) | ✅ Complete for all 204 readings shown |
| Layer 2 — Morpheme | English meaning (the translation) | 🔲 40 complete (sourced from the final paper, Table 2), 164 pending |
Tamil-speaking researchers can evaluate all 204 readings now via Layer 1. Non-Tamil researchers can evaluate the 40 complete readings and the full methodology. See docs/READING_LAYERS.md for full explanation.
⚠️ This platform does not claim to have decoded the Indus script. It provides reproducible, open tools for evaluating competing hypotheses using corpus data, rule engines, statistics, and peer review workflows.
Every seal reading and sign mapping is sourced directly from the author's documents
(INDUS_SEALS_READ_in_book_5, Indus_Signs_Reading, and the draft article). The
canonical tables are data/seed/seals_master.csv
(194 seal readings) and data/seed/signs_master.csv
(264 sign→phoneme mappings). The external Parpola/CISI corpus and the guessed
Parpola→Mahadevan sign bridge have been removed — see
docs/VALIDATION_REBUILD_REPORT.md.
Shanmugham, P. (2026). Open Indus Lab: Indus-Harappan Seal Readings and Sign-Phoneme Mappings (Ancient Tamil Hypothesis), v1.0.0. https://github.com/premkumar2306/open-indus-lab
Stable dataset snapshots are published as GitHub Releases; cite the release version you used. Machine-readable metadata: CITATION.cff.
| Stage | Name | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | Data model & seed schema | ✅ Complete |
| Stage 2 | Author-direct seed data (external corpus removed) | ✅ Complete |
| Stage 3 | Research dashboard (React, live on GitHub Pages) | ✅ Complete |
| Stage 4 | Citable dataset release (v1.0.0, CITATION.cff) | ✅ Complete |
| Stage 5 | Final paper ingestion (VER_4 Table 2 → Layer 2) | ✅ Complete |
| Stage 6 | Preprint + journal submission (OSF / HSSC / harappa.com) | 🔶 In progress |
| Stage 7 | Sign numbering resolved: book numbering (342=aa) is canonical; paper Table 1 to be corrected by author | ✅ Complete |
| Stage 8 | Statistical validation & rule engine | 🔲 Planned |
See FULL_PLAN.md for complete roadmap.
The Indus-Harappan script (~3300–1300 BCE) remains undeciphered after over 100 years of scholarship. More than 4,000 inscribed objects have been found across a 1.3 million sq km civilisation.
This platform provides a neutral computational layer for researchers to:
- Load and explore the open seal corpus
- Register named, versioned decipherment hypotheses
- Apply deterministic rule engines to produce candidate readings
- Compare hypotheses statistically against null baselines
- Invite peer reviewers and track objections systematically
Author: Ponmuthu Shanmugham (Member of Technical Staff, Retd., Lucent Technologies – Bell Laboratories) Contact: ponmuthushanmugham@gmail.com
| Title | ISBN |
|---|---|
| Ancient Harappans Speak! After 5000 years | 979-8-9949362-3-5 (pb) / 979-8-9940362-4-2 (eBook) |
| Indus Script is a Language — A living language of 80 million (Bilingual) | 979-8-9940362-6-6 (Kavin Publishers, 2026) |
| Reading Indus-Harappan Script: Research Keys (99 pages) | 979-8-9940362-9-7 (2026) |
Indus-Harappan Script: A Multi-Disciplinary Analysis of Linguistic Continuity and Urban Topology (final draft, 2026) — PDF on the platform. Submission targets: Humanities and Social Sciences Communications; harappa.com; Academia.edu.
| File | Rows | Description |
|---|---|---|
seals_master.csv |
194 | Seal readings transcribed verbatim from INDUS_SEALS_READ_in_book_5 |
signs_master.csv |
264 | Sign→Tamil phoneme mappings from Indus_Signs_Reading (all corruption fixes documented in-row) |
readings_paper_VER4.csv |
40 | Romanized readings + English meanings from the final paper (Table 2 & figures) |
phoneme_mappings_author_full.csv |
264 | Working phoneme table (superseded by signs_master.csv) |
readings_author_full.csv |
206 | Working readings table (superseded by seals_master.csv) |
| File | Rows | Description |
|---|---|---|
hypotheses.csv |
6 | Competing hypotheses incl. null (FSW2004) |
sites.csv |
8 | Major excavation sites with GPS |
motifs.csv |
8 | Seal motif catalogue |
decoding_rules_VPS2024.csv |
11 | Deterministic rule engine rules |
tally_mark_rules.csv |
11 | Tally 1–12 Tamil phoneme rules |
evidence_links.csv |
9 | Academic citations (paper endnotes) |
readings_VPS2024.csv / readings_enriched_VPS2024.csv / readings_body_english.csv |
24 / 206 / 15 | Article-derived reading detail |
phoneme_mappings_appendixA_full.csv / readings_appendixB_tamil.csv |
241 / 116 | Research Keys appendices |
Removed (2026-07): the external Parpola/CISI corpus (
seals.csv,signs.csv,sign_sequences.csv) and the guessed Parpola→Mahadevan bridge. Its numbering had zero verified correspondence to the author's data. Seedocs/VALIDATION_REBUILD_REPORT.md.
Each listed seal may represent a group of similar seals (1, 5, 20, 40, 60, 130, up to 400). Seals shown read in the paper: 200+, extrapolating to 700+ including represented groups. Sample counts from the paper: cow 300, milk 44, ghee 24, ordinances 128, children's food 160, manure 60.
- Phonetics: 10 vowels + 18 consonants mapped to Tamil. Most frequent sign = cow face = phoneme aa (ஆ)
- Tally marks: Phonetic placeholders using Tamil numeral names (tally-4 = nanku → na → enables ney = ghee)
- Motifs as street signs: Unicorn = Market Common; Elephant = Elephant Street; No motif = city-wide ordinance
- Modifiers: Have form but no independent sound; alter adjacent sign phoneme
- Compound integration: Signs 10+12 → sign 15 (aakaavva = cow carer), documented in seal 3246
| Seal | Motif | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3023, 2358 | Unicorn | didiir aa | Just expressed fresh milk |
| 1076 | Unicorn | thava thava ney | Very good ghee |
| 2082 | Unicorn | Isa muu aagaavva | Cow carer of 3 cows of Isa |
| 2127 | Elephant | eNNey | Sesame oil |
| 2234 | Unicorn+Bull | vayya yiir illam | The world is a Big Home |
| 4718 | None | ay ya ay o vyamun; ammu | Panic milk for children (ordinance) |
| 1425 | None | illam vaya muu thani | Homes for the aged and alone |
| 2444 | Unicorn | aNNal kai aaNai | Order of the Leader |
| Dholavira | None | — | Residence of king's advisors + grain store |
| Code | Researcher | Claim | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| VPS2024 | Ponmuthu Shanmugham | Ancient Tamil, syllabic | Primary input |
| JEEVA2020 | Purnachandra Jeeva | Ancient Tamil (prior work) | Extended by VPS2024 |
| PARPOLA | Asko Parpola | Proto-Dravidian, logo-syllabic | Comparison |
| MAHADEVAN | Iravatham Mahadevan | Dravidian concordance | Comparison |
| FSW2004 | Farmer, Sproat, Witzel | Non-linguistic emblems | Null hypothesis |
| RAO2009 | Rajesh Rao et al. | Language-like entropy | Statistical baseline |
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Frontend | React 18 + Vite, deployed to GitHub Pages (legacy mode, served from main:/docs) |
| Data | Versioned CSVs in data/seed/ (canonical), validated every 4 hours by GitHub Actions |
| Backend (scaffold) | Python rule engine + PostgreSQL schema for the planned statistical stage |
| Validation | scripts/validate.py → docs/VALIDATION_REPORT.md (currently 16 pass / 0 fail) |
| Source | Content | License |
|---|---|---|
| mayig/indus-valley-script-corpus | Removed 2026-07 — incompatible numbering; see SOURCES.md | MIT |
| RMRL Chennai — indusscript.in | Seal images, Mahadevan concordance | Research use |
| CISI Vol.1 — Joshi & Parpola, Helsinki 1987 | Collections in India | Reference |
| CISI Vol.2 — Shah & Parpola, Helsinki 1991 | Collections in Pakistan | Reference |
| Dr. N. Yadav et al. — Harappa.com | Sign frequency data | Reference |
| Rajan & Sivamantham, Govt of Tamil Nadu (2025) | Graffiti mark morphology | Reference |
MIT. Corpus data credit to respective sources above.
Research content © Ponmuthu Shanmugham 2026. Used with permission for open research and peer review.