Understanding Early Writing Codes
By: Arvind Bhagwath
The earliest writing systems evolved independently and at roughly the same time of Indus Valley, Egypt and Mesopotamia, but current scholarship suggests that Mesopotamia’s writing appeared first. During the period 8,000–7,500 BCE, the Sumerian agriculturalists needed a way to keep records of their animals and goods. Small clay tokens were formed and shaped by the palms to represent certain animals and goods. As the clay tokens became difficult to store and handle, impressing the tokens on clay tablets became increasingly popular. Clay tablets were easier to store, neater to write on, and less likely to be lost. Impressing the tokens on clay tablets was more efficient but using a stylus to inscribe the impression on the clay tablet was shown to be even more efficient and much faster for the scribes. Writing system from Sumerians emerged in Mesopotamia around 3500 BCE.
The name “Kushim” is recorded on the Kushim Tablet shown above is an ancient (c. 3400–3000 BC) -Sumerian clay tablet recording some agricultural transactions.
northeast Afghanistan till northwest India (Punjab Region including Gujarat) and this ancient civilization contributed several important innovations such as new techniques in metallurgy, standardized weights, measures, and several others. This civilization hosted one of largest ancient city and one of the world’s earliest major urban centers and finally ended due to climate change and people migration around 1800 BCE. In current world, very little is understood about the Indus script, Indus valley religion and its cultural past. Several scholars are struggling hard to understand this mysterious civilization by understanding Indus script with collection of written texts on clay and stone tablets unearthed at Harappa which have been carbon dated 3300–3200 BC. As of today, the Indus script remains indecipherable with several researchers are using technological advances in computer science to attempt to decipher it. Here in this research paper, I am trying to decipher few of these undeciphered ancient scripts using ancient Star Mythology and will try to establish its relationship with scripts like Brahmi Script, Linear B, Kharosthi Script etc.
To start with Indus Script, if you note below, Indus valley civilization have very close resemblance to Proto-Elamite writing of Mesopotamians.
Proto-Dravidian may have been spoken in the Indus civilization and several geneticists have noted a strong correlation between Dravidian and the Ancestral South Indian (ASI) component of South Asian genetic makeup. Narasimhan et al. (2018) argue that the ASI component itself resulted from a mixture of Iranian-related agriculturalists, moving southeast after the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization (early 2nd millennium BCE), and hunter-gatherers native to southern India.
In similar way, as speakers of Proto-Indo-European became isolated from each other through the Indo-European migrations, the regional dialects of Proto-Indo-European spoken by the various groups diverged, as each dialect underwent shifts in pronunciation (the Indo-European sound laws), morphology, and vocabulary. Over many centuries, these dialects transformed into the known ancient Indo-European languages. From there, further linguistic divergence led to the evolution of their current descendants, the modern Indo-European languages. Today, the descendant languages of PIE with the most native speakers are Spanish, English, Portuguese, Hindustani (Hindi and Urdu), Bengali, Russian, Punjabi, German, Persian, French, Marathi, Italian, and Gujarati.
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is hypothesized to have been spoken as a single language from 4500 BC to 2500 BC during the Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age, though estimates vary by more than a thousand years. According to the prevailing Kurgan hypothesis, the original homeland of the Proto-Indo-Europeans may have been in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Europe. The linguistic reconstruction of PIE has provided insight into the pastoral culture and patriarchal religion of its speakers. Proto-Indo-European mythology is the body of myths and deities associated with the Proto-Indo-Europeans, the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language.
It is further observed that even the sounds of ancient Sumerian and Indus valley town mentioned by Mesopotamians is like any Dravidian language (Kannada or Tamil)
A genetic analysis of the ancient DNA of Mesopotamian skeletons was made on the excavated remains of four individuals from ancient tombs in Tell Ashara (ancient Terqa) and Tell Masaikh (near Terqa, also known as ancient Kar-Assurnasirpal), both in the middle Euphrates valley in the east of modern Syria. The two oldest skeletons were dated to 2,650–2,450 BCE and 2,200–1,900 BCE respectively, while the two younger skeletons were dated to circa 500 AD.All the studied individuals carried mtDNA haplotypes corresponding to the M4b1, M49 and/or M61 haplogroups, which are believed to have arisen in the area of the Indian subcontinent during the Upper Paleolithic, and are absent in people living today in Syria.These haplogroups are still present in people inhabiting today’s Tibet, Himalayas (Ladakh), India and Pakistan, and are restricted today to the South, East and Southeast Asia regions.
Reference : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus%E2%80%93Mesopotamia_relation
Proto-Elamite scripts are close to Indus valley writing. Indus Valley writings might have gradually replaced by early Brahmi Script from which almost all South Asian scripts are evolved and below are few reverse engineering techniques used to decipher both Indus valley writing and Linear Elamite scripts using Brahmi.
The original Sumerian script was adapted for the writing of the Semitic Akkadian (Assyrian/Babylonian), Eblaite and Amorite languages, the language isolates Elamite, Hattic, Hurrian and Urartian, as well as Indo-European languages Hittite and Luwian later. Cuneiform writing was gradually replaced by the Phoenician alphabet during the Neo-Assyrian Empire
In similar way, Indus Valley writings might have gradually replaced by early Brahmi Script from which almost all South Asian scripts are evolved. Below are few reverse engineering techniques used to decipher both Indus valley writing and Linear Elamite scripts using Brahmi and Kharosthi Script.
I believe Proto-Kharosthi script of Kandahar/Gandhara region was evolved from earlier Linear Elamite script. For the fact, the Helmand culture of western Afghanistan was a Bronze Age culture of the 3rd millennium BCE. Scholars link it with the Shahr-i Sokhta, Mundigak, and Bampur sites.
Helmand civilization flourished between 3200 and 2350 BCE and may have coincided with first phase of the great flourishing Indus Valley Civilization. The Jiroft culture flourished in the eastern Iran, and the Helmand culture in western Afghanistan at the same time. In fact, they may represent the same cultural area and hence the Jiroft and Helmand cultures are closely related and single culture. The Mehrgarh culture, on the other hand, flourished far earlier.
Ram Shahristan was the ancient capital of Sistan (Sakastan) in Helmand region.
In Ancient Greece, there is a goddess named Manasa found in the records of Mycenae, written as ma-na-sa in Linear B and we have similar Goddess Manasa in Hindu mythology from epics like Mahabharata. It clearly appears that PIE mythology was similar across all Indo-European civilizations the way DI-WO and DI-WI are used like DEVA or DEVI currently used in Hindu religion for referring God and Goddess.
Linear A was the primary script used in palace and religious writings of the Minoan civilization. It was succeeded by Linear B, which was used by the Mycenaeans to write an early form of Greek. However, in the absence of readable texts from most of the period, modern scholars have reconstructed it almost totally based on archaeological evidence of such as Minoan paintings, statuettes, vessels for rituals and seals and rings. Below is one such closest similarities between MANASA (Hindu Goddess of Snake) with that of Snake Goddess figurines from Minoan civilization.
It is generally agreed that the dominant figure in Minoan religion was a goddess like early Hindu Religion from Indus Valley Civilization. After the Mycenaean invasion in ancient Greece, inscriptions in Linear B give the names of some deities, also found from mainland Mycenean Greece. However common to every ancient religion appears to be Circumpolar Star Mythology.
Circumpolar constellations never seem to set, and they simply rotate around the pole star that basically supported concept of Heaven/God for people of ancient civilizations. It appeared for them as these circumpolar constellations was controlling the movement of all stars and planets around it. In Hindu mythology, these circumpolar constellations are referred as Shisumara planetary system (Location of Lord) and technically known as the Kuṇḍalini-cakra. In Egyptian ideology and early Indus Valley and Sumerian civilization, they were referred as “Indestructible”,” Afterlife”, a perfect destination for the soul of the dead king”. This cosmology helped them to identify yearly flooding of the Nile coordinated with the summer solstice, carry out religious rituals associated with respective Gods (Constellations) and further supported them as crucial event for growing crops.
Many ancient religions are based on an astrological allegory, that is, allegories of the movement of the Sun and the Moon as seen from the Earth. Examples include the cult of Horus/Isis of Egyptians.
Epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata of Hindu Mythology is like epics of Iliad and Odysseus of Greek Mythology. For example, in Ramayana, Ravana abducts Sita who was wife of Lord Ram. Lord Ram accompanied with Laxman along with Hanuman attacks Lanka and the city of Lanka gets burned. In Iliad, it is Paris who abducts Helen who was wife of a king. Achilles is accompanied by Patrcoculus, and Troy (City) is attacked and burnt. In both cases, the war ended by overthrowing bad king (Paris or Ravana) with Sita or Helen returning home. If you note, both wars are fought on seashore. In Ramayana, Lakshmana is injured badly and almost dies till rescued by Hanuman and same goes with Iliad in which Patrcoculus is injured badly to death.
Twelve Labours of Heracles which are a series of episodes concerning a penance carried out by Heracles, the greatest of the Greek heroes is one such astrological allegory. The episodes were later connected by a continuous narrative. We have almost similar parallels in Mahabharata episode/narrative with reference to Lord Hari-Krishna.
SUN GOD worship prevailed in ancient Europe. Mithraism of Romans was practiced before Christianity. Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-seeing Protector of Truth referred by ancient Persians.
In similar lines, Lyman E Stowe (Book: 1907) explains the story of Jesus as an astrological allegory for the sun passing through the zodiac each year. In Geo-centric model with Heaven near North star as referred by almost every ancient civilization, astrology counts 1 divine day as 1 human year. During winter solstice, the sun rises to its lowest point in the norther hemisphere sky and stands still for three days which symbolizes death and then after midwinter, the sun is reborn from the darkness, symbolizing rebirth, and the renewal of life.
Below is comparison provided by Stowe with reference to the Bible:
• Considering energy of Sun as Jesus, Sun God is re-born every year during Winter Solstice in the stable between the constellations of the horse and goat (Sagittarius and Capricornus)
• Thirty years after Jesus Christ birth, he was baptized. If you note the below star map, thirty days after the Sun is born, he enters the Zodiac sign Aquarius, the water bearer which shows the symbol of Baptism.
NOTE: In astrology with geo-centric model, 1 divine day is 1 Human year.
• After Baptism, he took his disciples from fishermen. Check the star map and you find that it is during this time, Sun enters the sign Pisces and story goes on as it transits remaining constellations/Zodiac.
• Christ later is referred as Good shepherd and star map here points Sun in Aries during this time.
• Next cycle in star map is time of Vernal Equinox and time of salvation, we can find Christ went out to the salvation of men.
• Next cycle is of Taurus (bull) refers time of vegetation and then Sun God moves to Gemini (Twins). When Sun enters the sign of Cancer, we see it is symbolized as crab and when Sun enters Leo, Christ here became the lion of the twelve tribes of Judah. Next ritual would be sup to the vestal virgin and this is when we have Sun in Zodiac sign Virgo.
• Judgement day as referred in Bible happens when Sun is in Libra Zodiac which is basically symbolized by the balance in almost every ancient civilization.
• Finally, Sun God is crucified between the two heavenly thieves which are Scorpio and Sagittarius. It is time of winter solstice, the sun rises to its lowest point in the norther hemisphere sky and stands still for three days which symbolizes death and then after midwinter, the sun is reborn from the darkness, symbolizing rebirth and the renewal of life.
Circumambulation is part of every human religion. It is also present in other religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Origin of worship around Peepal tree can be traced in Indus Valley and in Hinduism, Women circumambulate the Peepal tree to be blessed with children or any desired wishes. The Skanda Purana also considers the Peepal a symbol of Vishnu who is believed to have been born under this tree. Some believe that the tree houses the Trimurti, the roots being Brahma, the trunk Vishnu, and the leaves Shiva. In Buddhism, it is represented as Bodhi tree.
In almost every ancient civilization, the Solstice axis, or visible Milky Way (cosmic river) was identified as the Path of Souls that acted as cosmic river that flows all the way to Heaven near Circumpolar or afterlife location. Hence deities formed by Orion constellation was only God powerful enough to remove Taurus, the bull, from the path of soul reaching heaven during winter solstice. In India, bull fighting ritual or sport happens during Makara Sankranthi and this kind of ritual or sport is found in almost every culture of world with similar mythological stories available from Epic of Gilgamesh, mythological stories of ancient Sun God Mithra. Due to this cosmology of visualizing Milky Way as Cosmic River, any river that is north flowing or changes the direction towards north or north-easterly direction becomes sacred or auspicious. It normally becomes a holy site and people make offerings for the souls of their ancestors. According to Hindu belief, the soul wanders after death until pindadan. Pindadan is traditionally offered on the banks of holy river that is North Flowing. It is mandatory for Hindu devotees offering pindadan to shave their heads and take a holy dip.
Milky Way (Solstice Axis) of the sky is the heavenly Soma as per Vedic views. It is also the nectar of immortality and the drink of the Gods or Yajna. I believe people of Indus valley civilization too were masters of astronomy based on location cities which hosted this grand civilization. In several Indus valley seals, we can find these references of star mythology and offering to Gods referring the same solstice axis (Milky Way) that directs towards seat of God. As shown below, in front of the unicorn is a ritual offering stand.
The practice of animal sacrifice or offerings to God is present in almost every major human religion and in Hinduism, it is mostly associated with Vedic Śrauta rituals, Shaktism, and in currents of folk Hinduism strongly rooted in local popular or tribal traditions.
Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_sacrifice_in_Hinduism
Considering earlier Geo-centric visualization, most of ancient scriptures describe Mount Meru/Lingam as the Central Pivot of the Universe and the entire cosmos revolves around it. 7 Sages (Big Dipper), Draco, the Sun, Moon and Stars paying obeisance while circumambulating the Holy Mountain Meru or around Shishumara Planetary system.
In Hindu mythology, these circumpolar constellations are referred as Shisumara planetary system and other stars are also fixed on different sides of the Śhiśumāra planetary system according to the calculations of ancient Vedic astronomers. Even in current world and to concentrate their minds, Vedic sages worship the Śhiśumāra planetary system, which is technically known as the Kuṇḍalini-cakra.
Ancient Vishnu Sahasranamam and commentary from Adi Shankara is very interesting which refers Dhruva (Pole star) at Shishumara’s tail end. This was possible only when Pole star was Thuban (2800–2400 BCE). Below is night sky of 2800 BCE visualized using Stellarium. Stellarium is a planetarium software that shows exactly what you see when you look up at the stars.
Reference link for SB 5.23.3: purport: https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/5/23/3/
Distinctive pattern of constellations along zodiac path doing circumpolar movements around pole star have supported in development of mythological stories as per astrological ages and you can find several such similar examples in Greek and Roman mythologies. I have covered them in detail in my personal blog: https://ancientstarmyths.blogspot.com/
The Phaistos Disk is a disk of fired clay from the Minoan palace of Phaistos on the island of Crete, possibly dating to the middle or late Minoan Bronze Age (second millennium BC) and they clearly show ancient RigVedic astrological star allegories that belonged to PIE mythology.
Many attempts have been made to decipher Phaistos Disk code behind the disc’s signs and below is my attempt to decipher this using ancient Star mythology.
On several Minoan tablets, we find Po-ti-ni-ja (Potnia, “lady” or “mistress”). Inscriptions in Linear B found at Pylos, mention the goddesses Pe-re-swa, who may be related with Persephone, and Si-to po-ti-ni-ja who is an agricultural goddess. A cult title of Demeter is “Sito” (σίτος: Grain). Sita occurs as an agricultural Goddess in Rigveda IV. 57.6–7. She is a fertility deity and is worshipped in the Rig Veda. Rig Veda hymn 4.57.6 mentions her — She is the furrow. She is prayed for bountiful crops. Her blessings are taken for good crops.
As mentioned above, we find similar reference of SITO (Si-Ta-Ya) in Helmand civilization flourished between 3200 and 2350 BCE and some scholars identify RigVedic Sarasvati with the Helmand or Haraxvati river since Sanskrit S changes to H in Avestan language. Sarasvatī may be a cognate of Avestan Haraxvatī, perhaps referring to Arədvī Sūrā Anāhitā, the Zoroastrian mythological world river, which would point to a common Indo-Iranian myth of a cosmic or mystical Sarasvati. In the younger Avesta, Haraxvatī is Arachosia, a region described to be rich in rivers, and its Old Persian cognate Harauvati, which gave its name to the present-day Hārūt River in Afghanistan, may have referred to the entire Helmand drainage basin (the center of Arachosia).
Reference : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arghandab_River
According to H. Lommel(German Indologist and Iranologist), the original name of the divinity in Indo-Iranian times was Sarasvatī, which also means “she who possesses waters”.In Sanskrit, the name आर्द्रावी शूरा अनाहिता means “of the waters, mighty, and immaculate”. Similar to Hindu mythology Sarasvatī, Anāhitā of Avestan myths mentions this river that nurtures crops and herds; and she is hailed both as a divinity and as the mythical river which she personifies, “as great in bigness as all these waters which flow forth upon the earth” (Yasht 5.3).As per (Yasht 10.88) ….Harā is tall and luminous. The sacred plant haoma(Soma in Vedic) grows on Harā. It is also the home of the yazata Mithra. It is the site in legend of sacrifices (yasnas) to the yazatas Mithra, Sraoša, Arədvī Sūrā Anāhitā, Vayu, and Druvāspa, by sacrificers such as the divine priest Haoma (epitome of the sacred plant) and kings like Haošyaŋha and Yima.
The oldest recorded name Harvat was found in the Mittani documents spoken by King Tushratta some 3500 years ago. In the documents he refers to his Kingdom as Huravat Ehillaku and we can find examples of RigVedic gods (Mitra, Varuna, Indra, Nasatya) being mentioned in the Mitanni texts, alongside the indigenous gods.
Croatian people call themselves Hrvati when it comes to defining their origins and tracing their ancient roots they turn towards the land of Iran and Persia from Harahvaiti/Sarasvati river belt.
Reference: https://croativ.net/sokantno-otkrice-crni-ahat-hrvati-bastinici-civilizacije-saraswati-4517/
The river was known to the ancient Iranians as Haraxvaiti in Avestan and Harahuvati in Old Persian, which are cognate with Rigvedic Sarasvati (as described in its “family books”). Greek Arachosia is believed to be a hellenisation of the name, meaning the land of Haraxvaiti. Rigveda’s hymn VI.61.2 describes it with the words:
By means of her gushing and powerful waves, this (Sarasvatī) has crushed the ridge of the mountains, (breaking river banks) like a man who digs for lotus roots; with praises and prayers, we solicit Sarasvatī for her help, (Sarasvatī) who slays the foreigners.
Historian Asko Parpola states: “Arghandab […] descends from a height of nearly four kilometers down to about 700 meters, when it joins the Helmand River, which eventually forms shallow lakes.” Sarasvatī- is interpreted to mean “full of lakes”.
Several Indian historians, however, state that the Avestan Haraxvaiti as well as the Rigvedic Sarasvati refer to the Helmand River. The Rigvedic name of Arghandab is then believed to be Drishadvati
Reference : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arghandab_River
It appears that early RigVedic tribes have settled close by the river Helmand that is the central part of western and eastern rivers frequently mentioned in the Rig Veda as below:
- Sarayu river is mentioned in RigVeda(RV X.64.9, IV.30.18.,V.53.9) and this river is identified with Avestan Harayu or Hari-rud of Afghanistan
- Kubha river mentioned in RigVeda(RV V.53.9, X.75.6.) is identified with the Kabul river of Afghanistan.
- Krumu river mentioned in RigVeda(RV V.53.9, X.75.6) is identified with the Kurram river of Afghanistan.
- Many scholars mention that Rigvedic description(Rigveda (RV 6.61.8) of Saraswati and Avestan description of Harahvaiti in Helmand is almost same.
The settlement near Helmand basin appeared around 3200 BCE in and around location of Ram Shahristan (or Abrashariyar) which also was the ancient capital of Sistan (Sakastan), in what is now southwestern Afghanistan and southeastern Iran.
The city had four stages of civilization and was burnt down three times before being abandoned. Shahr-i Sokhta shows signs of advanced civilization between the ages of 2900 and 1900 BC.
Shahr-e Sukhteh bears exceptional testimony to a peculiar civilization and cultural tradition that entertained trade and cultural relations with ancient sites and cultures on the Indus Plain, southern shores of the Persian Gulf, the Oman Sea and Southwest Iran, and Central Asia.
The Burnt City was one of rare ancient settlements, in which women were in charge of the financial affairs of their families.
· The oldest known backgammon, dice, and caraway seeds, together with numerous metallurgical finds (e.g., slag and crucible pieces), an artificial eyeball with a thin layer of gold have been found. These excavations are among the wonders of this city.
· Other objects found at the site include a human skull which indicates the practice of brain surgery and an earthen goblet depicting what archaeologists consider to be the first animation.
Using reverse engineering techniques, we can easily decipher Linear Elamite scripts using Kharosthi Script as shown below:
“SITHAYA” — Jiroft Linear Elamite appears Proto-Kharoshthi Script
Below is one more example of decipherment of Linear Elamite using Kharoshthi and Aramaic alphabet.
Using similar reverse engineering techniques, we can easily decipher Indus Valley script using Brahmi Script.
Graffiti marks resembling Brahmi letters have been found among the Neolithic rock engravings on a rock on the Thovari hills near Ambalavayal in Wayanad district(Kerala, India). We can also see a graffiti sign almost like Indus valley signs used in Tissamaharama inscription №53(black and red ware Pottery) of Sri Lanka and the language here used appears to be Indo-Aryan.
Puthrada Ekadashi Ritual — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pausha_Putrada_Ekadashi
Tried to decipher few more Tamizh/Brahmi script dating to 500 BCE found at Porunthal site located 12 km South West of Palani, Tamil Nadu.
A Tamil-Brahmi script on a pot rim, reading “a ma na shasana”, meaning a Jaina, has been found at Pattanam in Ernakulam district, Kerala, establishing that Jainism was prevalent on the west coast at least from second century CE (Common Era).
Dravidian and Indo-Aryan languages co-existed and below is one such example based on coins circulated from Indian empires as early as 100 BCE — 200 AD.
Did Indian Brahmi come from Indus script?
Brahmi script appears to have come from Indus valley script. Most scholars believe that Brahmi was likely derived from or influenced from Sinaitic and Indus valley scripts, however some scholars in India reject the idea of foreign influence. Below is Transformation of Indus sign ‘ma’ to ‘ma’ in Tamil Brahmi.
Brahmi is an abugida which uses a system of diacritical marks to associate vowels with consonant symbols like Indus Valley script. However, the mainstream view is that Brahmi has an origin in Semitic scripts (usually Aramaic). Most scholars believe that Brahmi was likely derived from or influenced by a Semitic script model, with Aramaic being a leading candidate. According to the Semitic hypothesis as laid out by Bühler in 1898, the oldest Brahmi inscriptions were derived from a Phoenician prototype as shown below:
During 3rd century BCE of Emperor Ashoka’s regime, most of his inscriptions in rock pillars were Brahmi script which is one of the most important writing systems in the world those days and further some of the earliest historical inscriptions found in India. Most importantly, it is the ancestor to hundreds of scripts found in South, Southeast, and East Asia. Below is Brahmi rock inscriptions of Ashoka around 3rd Century BCE (300–200 BCE). If we closely observe ancient scripts, we can find clear relation on how they have arrived based on different mediums used while writing on Clay tablets, Stone and Palm-leaf manuscripts later. Phoenician alphabet was easier to write in Stone and later scripts found place in Palm leaf to be easier.
Look at image below on evolution of Tamil scripts from ancient Brahmi to current form.
Below is method that I adapted to decipher Indus Script using Brahmi and we can easily arrive at Dravidian language like Kannada or Tamil spoken by Indus Valley Civilization.
Just like ancient Sumerians, even Indus valley seals clearly show that this civilization had knowledge of star astronomy and deities were associated based on constellations formed in night sky. You can refer more details under Myths related to Solstices and Constellations in my blog: https://ancientstarmyths.blogspot.com/
Just take Alphaphet A as example — you can clearly find relation with representation of Taurus Head (Sacred Bull) in Indus Valley symbols too which have supported in origin of Brahmi scripts later.
Most of Indus scripts have symbols of current Hindu astrology that were associated with rituals.
Brahmi scripts is also very close to Oracle Bone Scripts from which Chineese alphabets have taken birth.
The Vinča symbols, sometimes known as the Danube script, Vinča signs, Vinča script, Vinča–Turdaș script, Old European script, etc., are a set of symbols found upon Neolithic era (6th to 5th millennia BC) artifacts from the Vinča culture of Central Europe and Southeastern Europe. Vast majority of historians agree that those symbols are not a writing system, but private symbols or ornaments of some kind associated with Proto-Indo European Deities (Pre-Vedic culture of Proto-Indo-Europeans). However, these symbols could be possibly the oldest form of writing system invented by Indo-Europeans.
Egyptian hieroglyphs were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt. Egyptian hieroglyphs developed into a mature writing system used for monumental inscription like Brahmi scripts.
If you look at evolution of alphabets from Egyptian hieroglyphs, you can get a very clear understanding on how modern scripts arrived.
Coming back to Cuneiform scripts, Kings of the Mitanni state were of Indo-Aryan origin and a number of Indo-Aryan RigVedic gods (Mitra, Varuna, Indra, Nasatya) are mentioned in the Mitanni texts, alongside the indigenous gods
Reference: Tushratta — Wikipedia
Tushratta (Sanskrit Tveṣa-ratha, “his chariot charges”) was a king of Mitanni at the end of the reign of Amenhotep III and throughout the reign of Akhenaten — approximately the late 14th century BC.
Amarna letter EA 26 — Wikipedia
Amarna letter EA 19 — Wikipedia
The Hittite archives of Àattušašhave revealed the oldest known horse-training manual. Several Indo-Aryantechnical terms for horse training are mentioned in this manual: aikawartanna ‘one turn (of the course)’ (Sanskrit eka-vartana-), terawartanna ‘three turns’, panzawartanna ‘five turns’ (Sanskrit pañca-), sattawartanna ‘seven turns’ (Sanskrit sapta-), and nawartanna (for nawa-wartanna) ‘nine turns’ (Sanskrit nava). The first time historically the word Ratha is used as chariot is around 1650BCE with the Hurrians of the Middle East.
Deities of Kassite Dynasty near Mittani have striking similarities of Vedic Gods.
Reference : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kassite_deities
Ancient Persians adapted Cuneiform writing. Indo Iranian (Indo-Aryan) and Sanskrit spoken languages appears very similar and below is pronunciation of Behistun inscriptions from cuneiform (one of oldest forms of human writing system)
Avestan geography is the compilation of the geographical references in the Avesta (the primary collection of Zoroastrian religious texts) which are limited to the regions on the eastern Iranian Plateau up to Indo-Iranian border. It was common among the Indo-Iranians to identify concepts or features of traditional cosmography — mountains, lakes, rivers, etc. — with their concrete historical and geographical situation as they migrated and settled in various places. Below is reference to Avestan Geography:
Avestan Geography is similar to RigVedic geography. Probably people of this Indo-Aryan civilization shared same history as we see in our later composed epics based on these striking similarities:
- Vedic Mitra and Avestan Mithra (Roman-Graeco Mithras)
- Vedic Aryaman and Avestan Airyaman
- Vedic Varuna and Avestan Ahuramazda
- Vedic Indra and Avestan Verethra
- Vedic Surya and Avestan Hvarxsaeta
- Vedic Agni and Avestan Atar (Roman-Graceo culture — Ignis)
- Vedic Hiranya and Avestan Zaranya (Gold)
- Vedic Seyna and Avestan Hayna (Army)
- Vedic Rsti and Avestan Arsti (Spear)
- Vedic Ksatra and Avestan Xsatra (Sovereignty)
- Vedic Asura and Avestan Ahura (Lord)
- Vedic Yajna and Avestan Yasna (Sacrifice)
- Vedic Hotar and Avestan Zaotar (Sacrificing Priest)
- Vedic Soma and Avestan Haoma (Sacrificing Drink)
- Vedic Turvasas and Avestan Tuiryas (Turan tribes near Marakanda)
- Vedic Purus and Avestan Pouru (Pouru tribes)
- Vedic Dasyu and Avestan Dahai ( Dahan Scythians)
- Vedic Parsu and Avestan Parsa
- Vedic Saraswati and Avestan Haraxvaiti (Arachosia)
- Vedic Sapta Sindhu and Avestan Hapta Həndu ( Indus River)
- Vedic Sarayu and Avestan Harayu( Hari River — Afghanistan)
- Vedic Panis and Avestan Parthians(Scythian tribe)
- Vedic Yavanas and Avestan Yauna tribe( Ionians — Greeks)
- Vedic Bhalanas to Bhalanas tribes lived in East Kabulistan(Bolan Pass)
- Vedic Vaikarṇa (Vaikarna) (Udichya Āryāvarta — Northern Āryāvarta)tribes to Avestan Varkana Tribes — Varkana (thought to mean land of the wolves) — Hyrcania, Old Persian Varkana, (“Wolf’s Land”), ancient region located southeast of the Caspian Sea.
Aryā daiŋ́hāvā “the Aryan lands” — The Achaemenid Empire, or Achaemenid Persian Empire, (550–330 BC) was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of Greater Persia (or Iran). It followed the Median Empire as the second great empire of the Iranian peoples.
References:
Understanding Brahmi and all other ancient scripts: htttp://www.ancientscripts.com/brahmi.html
History of Writing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_writing
Understanding Zoroastrianism and Aryan Homelands: http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/index.htm
History of ancient Indo-Aryan society from research book of Dr. B R Ambedkar (Chief architect of the Constitution of India) — Who Were the Shudras? — Wikipedia : https://www.mea.gov.in/Images/attach/amb/Volume_07.pdf
