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| Tablet H-773A with inscription: POTTED ONE / CRAB / TRI-FORK / BI-QUOTES // COIL / CRAB // POT (poorly rendered so that the POT and POTTED ONE have switched places). |
Over 250 Indus inscriptions appear to include two units of
information. On a large number of
tablets, for example, inscriptions appear on both sides, typically a relatively
long one on side A and a brief one on side B made up of CUP plus an apparent
numeral between “one” and “four.” For
example, H-773 bears PMT on side A (POTTED ONE / CRAB / TRI-FORK / BI-QUOTES //
COIL / CRAB // POT), plus an unusual M on side B (SHISH KEBAB / BATTERY / VEST
/ CUP / 4 POSTS). In the previous post,
I analyzed this type as PMT.M (the period marking the boundary between the two
sides). In such cases, it is evident
that the information on side A differs from that on side B; thus, the inscribed
object bears more than one unit of information.
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| Seal M-326B (shown reversed as an impression would appear). The final sign (bottom left), heavily abraded, may be 5 POSTS. |
On a few objects, inscriptions appear on more than two
sides. For example, seal M-326 shows PMT
on side A (BOAT / PINCH // POTTED ONE / FISH UNDER CHEVRON / DOUBLE CEES //
POT), two lines of medial content on side B (STRIPED BISECTED TOP / EX / 3
QUOTES / CARTWHEEL // [over] BARBELL ON POST / POSTS & SLASH / BARBELL ON
POST / 5 [?] POSTS). In addition, three
of the four edges are inscribed: side C (CIRCLE [?] / MAN HOLDING CUP /
TRI-FORK); side D (BARBELL); and side E (TEETH / OVERLAPPING CIRCLES). We may characterize the whole set as PMT.M-M.M.
M.M (the segments separated by periods could also be sequenced differently,
some before the PMT here shown as initial).
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| Seal M-326, edges D (top) and E (bottom), with inscriptions: BARBELL // TEETH / OVERLAPPING CIRCLES. |
Such inscriptions, appearing on multiple sides of an object
are interesting, as they pose the questions of whether all the symbols pertain
to one topic (i.e., do the inscriptions go together in some sense, even though
they are physically separated), and what sequence they take (if any). But even more interesting are the instances
where an inscription on a single side
of an object appears to contain more than one unit of information. Here, the information units most likely do
converge on a single topic, while the sequence is usually clear (tablets and
other objects mostly being “read” from right to left and top to bottom, as are
the impressions of seals). For the most
part, the second unit of information in these cases is not a combination of CUP
and an apparent numeral, either.
Some of the longer inscriptions contain a complete sequence
of prefix, medial section, and terminal (or PMT) following by an additional
sequence of elements. A few examples
follow, with each informational unit underlined to highlight its unity:
H-386 PMT-MT: FIGURE
8 WITH ATTACHED LADDER / PINCH // CRAB / RAKE / FISH / STACKED 12 // POT //
FOOTED STOOL WITH TICK // PINWHEEL.
Other inscriptions with the same analysis (PMT-MT) include H-46, H-122,
M-644 (9 signs), M-833 (6 signs), L-46 (8 signs), L-122 (6 signs)
M-682 PMT-PMT: FAT
EX / PINCH // PRAWN / ZEE / CROSSROADS EX // POT /// FAT EX / PINCH //
CIRCLED FORK // POT.
M-234 PMT-PMT-M: BOAT
/ PINCH // FISH UNDER CHEVRON / FISH // SPEAR /// FAT EX / PINCH // FAT
LAMBDA // POT /// (over) 4 QUOTES / MAN WITH TAIL / FAT STOOL / CAGED
OVERLAPPING CIRCLES (the 4 QUOTES + MAN WITH TAIL are grouped together in
KP as MAN HOLDING 4 QUOTES). The same
analysis applies to M-626 (13 signs).
M-23 PMT-PMT-M: BOAT
/ PINCH // FISH UNDER CHEVRON / FISH // SPEAR /// FAT EX / PINCH // FAT
CHEVRON // POT /// (over) STRIPED FAT LEG LAMBDA / DOTTED FEATHERED BIRD
HEAD / DOUBLE VEES IN DIAMOND / CAGED OVERLAPPING CIRCLES (closely
resembling M-234).
M-314 PMT-MT-M: CARTWHEEL
/ BI-QUOTES // FISH UNDER CHEVRON / WHISKERED FISH / DOT IN FISH // SPEAR
/// (over) DOUBLY CAGED AY / CUPPED SPOON // TRI-FORK TOPPED POT / POT
/// (over) 2 POSTS / CIRCLED RECTANGLE (?) / PANTS / MAN HOLDING DEE-SLASH /
TRI-FORK / CIRCLED VEE / QUADRUPED (with 17 signs, this is the longest
inscription on a single side of any object thus far discovered). Seal M-665 bears an inscription with the same
analysis (10 signs).
M-165 PT-MT-M: 2
POSTS / TRI-FORK / POTTED ONE // BI-FORK TOPPED POT / POT /// (over) DOTTED
DUCK HEAD // POT // CIRCLED VEE (occasionally an inscription is best
read boustrophedon, so the signs in the second row here might also be
transcribed CIRCLED VEE // POT // DUCK HEAD). Another inscription with this analysis is
H-217
M-326 PMT-M.M.M:
(side A) BOAT / PINCH // POTTED ONE / FISH UNDER CHEVRON / DOUBLE CEES //
POT /// (side B) STRIPED BISECTED TOP // (after space) EX / 3
QUOTES / CARTWHEEL // (2nd row) BARBELL ON POST / POSTS &
SLASH / BARBELL ON POST / 5 POSTS (?) /// (side C) COIL (?) / MAN
HOLDING CUP / TRI-FORK /// (side D) BARBELL /// (side E) TEETH /
OVERLAPPING CIRCLES.
H-350 MT.M.M:
(side A, right to left) WHISKERED FISH / BLANKET WITH TICKS & DASHES /
CROSSROADS EX // POT /// (side B) 4 POSTS / CUP /// (side C) FISH
(the final sign is oriented horizontally, unlike the vertical “fish” on side A;
thus, the “fish” on side C may be decorative rather than a sign).
H-245 MT-MT.M:
(side A, right to left) WHISKERED (?) FISH / FISH // POT /// CAGED
CIRCLED FORK // COMB /// (side B) 3 POSTS / CUP.
H-103 MT-MT-MT:
(horizontal top row) CIRCLED FORK / RAKE / FISH / FOOT // POT ///
(vertical side row) CUP / 3 POSTS // SPEAR /// (horizontal inverted
bottom row) MAN BETWEEN POSTS // CHEVRON HATTED BEARER (no other seal is
inscribed in this peculiar fashion, “read” in three different directions).
M-495 MT-M.MT.MT-M:
([side A] CIRCLED FORK / CRAB / HAIRY HUNCHBACK // POT / BEARER /// 3
CUPS / TRI-FORK /// [side B] POTTED ONE / DOUBLE CEES / CUP / CARTWHEEL
/ 2 POSTS / PRICKLY CORN HOLDER / DOUBLE CEES / RAKE / WINGED MAN // POT
/// [sides G-B] SNOWFLAKE / ANKH / POTTED ONE // BEARER WITH SHOULDER YOKE ///
BIRD BETWEEN PARENS / OVERLAPPING CIRCLES / 2 POSTS (with 24 signs
covering three sides of a prism-shaped tablet, this inscription – or these
inscriptions – form the longest Indus “text”).
Thus far, most inscriptions that go beyond PMT contain one
or more elements of a second (P)M(T) or occasionally more. Assuming that each (P)M(T) segment contains
one unit of information, the inscriptions cited in this post contain 2 (H-386,
M682), 3 (H-103, H-245, H-350, M-23, M-165, M-234, M-314), 4 (M-326), or 5
(M-495) such units. The inscription
M-165 is somewhat peculiar in that the first unit is PT and thus lacks M, but
the following two units are not problematic and do contain this element (MT and
M). If these were the only lengthy
inscriptions, we might conclude that Indus inscriptions could be compound
(formed simply by concatenating two or more (P)M(T) segments) but not complex.
There are, however, a small number of inscriptions that
appear to be slightly more complex. In
these, an initial PMT is followed by a prefix constant without an apparent
variable, after which there is another M.
Placing a prefix constant immediately after a terminal may serve to make
the whole initial PMT into the variable of a long prefix with internal
subdivisions. I propose to write the
analysis of this type as (P1MT)P2M, the parentheses
indicating the elements inside the P2. Note that in all the examples I have found,
SINGLE QUOTE is the prefix constant appearing after the terminal, although
either BI-QUOTES or PINCH may occur in the initial (embedded) prefix. It is interesting that a similar recursive
feature does not appear possible with the terminal (because it may contain only
one sign). Examples follow, with the
unusual prefix underlined:
H-8: BOAT / CROSSROADS EX / BI-QUOTES // CUPPED SPOON / 3
POSTS / MALLET / QUAD-FORK //
POT // SINGLE QUOTE // PRICKLY
CORN HOLDER.
L-2: MAN HOLDING QUOTE (?) / TRI-FORK / PINCH // BELTED
FISH / FOOTED STOOL // PINWHEEL //
SINGLE
QUOTE // CORN HOLDER.
M-21: VEE IN DIAMOND / BI-QUOTES // 2 POSTS / FAT EX /
RECTANGLE IN RECTANGLE // POT //
SINGLE QUOTE // CORN HOLDER.
M-358: SINGLE POST / STRIPED BISECTED TRIANGLE /
BI-QUOTES // CIRCLED FORK / WHISKERED
FISH // SPEAR // SINGLE QUOTE // 3
QUOTES.
M-1267: VEE IN DIAMOND / BI-QUOTES // HUNCHBACK // FLANGE
TOPPED POT / POT // SINGLE
QUOTE // BI-RAKE.
I will include tree diagrams of some of the compound and
complex forms described above in another post.
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