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Indus Script Entropy Analysis

The document analyzes the Indus Valley Script using an information-theoretic approach to classify its structural characteristics. By calculating conditional entropy of sign pairs, it reveals that the script exhibits properties similar to natural linguistic systems, particularly logosyllabic frameworks. The findings suggest the presence of strict syntactic rules within the Harappan inscriptions, supporting a linguistic hypothesis.

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4 views1 page

Indus Script Entropy Analysis

The document analyzes the Indus Valley Script using an information-theoretic approach to classify its structural characteristics. By calculating conditional entropy of sign pairs, it reveals that the script exhibits properties similar to natural linguistic systems, particularly logosyllabic frameworks. The findings suggest the presence of strict syntactic rules within the Harappan inscriptions, supporting a linguistic hypothesis.

Uploaded by

vehifov965
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© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Statistical Regularities in the Indus Script

AN INFORMATION-THEORETIC APPROACH TO SCRIPT CLASSIFICATION

The undeciphered corpus of the Indus Valley Script presents a unique linguistic puzzle. By analyzing the positional
distribution and sequential order of graphemes, computational archaeology can determine whether the underlying
script possesses structural characteristics similar to phonetic, logosyllabic, or non-linguistic systems.

1. SHANNON ENTROPY AND CONDITIONAL ORDERING


To quantify the degree of structural order within the inscribed sequences, we calculate the conditional entropy of
sign pairs. This approach measures the remaining uncertainty regarding the occurrence of a specific sign given its
immediate precursor.

H(Y|X) = − ∑x ∈ X, y ∈ Y p(x, y) log2 p(y|x)

Where p(x, y) represents the joint probability of two signs appearing consecutively, and p(y|x) is the conditional
probability of sign y appearing immediately following sign x. A completely random string generates maximal
entropy, whereas rigid, repetitive cryptographic ciphers drop to absolute zero.

2. LINGUISTIC BASELINE COMPARISONS


When evaluated across large-scale corpuses, the conditional entropy profile of the Indus inscriptions maps
consistently into the intermediate domain occupied by natural linguistic systems—specifically logosyllabic
frameworks like Old Sumerian cuneiform and classical Maya glyphs.

Key Metric Summary: The systematic drop from unigram entropy to bigram conditional entropy confirms the
presence of strict underlying syntactic rules and structural syntax within the Harappan inscriptions, strongly
favoring a true linguistic hypothesis.

Computational Archaeology Ref: IND-2026-X Section I: Epigraphy & Entropy

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