Researchers have used this kind of guesswork to show that some of these seals might actually be names. Rajesh: This is kind of a roundabout way to decipher things like this. And it's far from certain, but if this seal and others like it really are names, it could be huge. Once you know a name, you can look for it in other texts, just like researchers did with the Rosetta Stone.
The Indus Valley civilization was one of the largest, most advanced civilizations in the ancient world. But we barely know anything about them, in large part because we haven’t been able to decipher the cryptic symbols they left behind.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices