The Indus script decipherment controversy

Record summary

The undeciphered Indus script remained a major research problem during 1947–1969, when proposals by scholars including G. R. Hunter, Father Henry Heras and later investigators attempted to identify its language, sign values or structural principles. The corpus consists mainly of short inscriptions on seals, tablets, pottery and other objects, making statistical and linguistic testing difficult. The lead matters for comparison because it exposes the limits of inference from repeated signs and iconography. No proposal from this period achieved scholarly consensus, and many claimed readings depend on selective sign segmentation or unverified language assumptions.