Why This Ancient Civilization Vanished

The ancient Indus River Valley civilization had gridded streets, multistory homes, flush toilets, and bustling shops. It traded gold, precious stones, and bronze carts with other areas along the region’s waterways. Some people carved human figurines and others made toys of clay. Crops included wheat, barley, and cotton. Tools were made to bring water from nearby rivers for crops.

The valley is largely located in Pakistan and northwest India. It hosted one of the most advanced societies at the time, rivaling Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. And then it disappeared.

Scientists have been looking at the environmental conditions in an attempt to explain the downfall of Harappa, one of the valley’s largest cities. Using paleoclimate data and computer models, they re-created the climate during the civilization’s existence, which was between 3000 and 1000 BC. During that time, four intense droughts dried up waterways and soils. This probably caused the Harappan residents to relocate frequently.

Harappa’s decline was partially caused by repeated, long, and intensifying rivers droughts that lasted centuries. It is thought that if there is less food and a weak government, such droughts can push a civilization over the brink. Despite the persistent droughts, this civilization lasted a long time.

Over 2,000 years, Harappan settlements became more concentrated closer to water.

Scientists determined that vigorous monsoons across the region created much wetter conditions than today. That was between 3000 and 2475 BC. But then drier conditions and increased temperatures came in. And droughts.

There were four droughts—each lasting more than 85 years—between 2425 and 1400 BC. The third drought was the worst and it peaked around 1733 BC. It lasted for 164 years and affected most of the region.

The rainfall changes meant lakes and shallow waterbodies shrank, river flow decreased, and the soil dried up. Lower rivers meant that trade boats and barges could only move at certain times. Agriculture also became tougher in areas away from waterways.

This pushed people to move, which may have contributed to the society’s decline.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/scientists-may-have-solved-why-this-ancient-advanced-civilization-vanished/ar-AA1RhqRG?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=6928fae6b3a04bd585a20b944d8846b3&ei=14

Unknown Letters

Archaeologists have found an ancient tablet. That happens frequently, but this tablet is different. It contains 39 letters and they don’t belong to any known language. So they can’t read it to find out what it says.

The tablet is made of basalt and is about the same size as a piece of paper. The unknown script characters have been expertly etched onto its surface. It was discovered in the Bashplemi Lake region of George. This is the same site where a 1.8-million-year-old hominin was discovered.

Their study revealed the tablet measured 9.4 inches by 7.9 inches and was made from local basalt. It contained 7 rows of writing for a total of 60 characters, 39 of them different.

The initial comparison to over 20 languages revealed that the characters have some similarities with Semitic, Brahmani, and North Iberian languages. Most of the symbols resemble ones found in the Middle East, as well as from geographically remote areas such as India, Egypt, and West Iberia.

It is believed that some of the characters are numbers and punctuation marks, so the tablet may contain an alphabet.

The tablet was found in an archaeologically rich location. Adding an unknown language only enhances the intrigue of Bashplemi Lake. The characters showed intensely skilled craftsmanship, and were made with advanced tools for the time.

Speculation on what it says is all there is to go on for now.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/archaeologists-found-an-ancient-tablet-with-39-letters-that-don-t-belong-to-any-known-language/ar-AA1QX5mP?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=69221bfae7f04677b263e2f08d519fc2&ei=85