This seems to be a non-controversial statement; you are correct. For those
readers who want to contribute to the deciphering of the Indus Script, a
good place to start is Gregory L. Possehl, _The Indus Age_, University of
Pennsylvania Press, who gives a historiographical account of the dozen or
so latest attempts to decipher the script (approximately 100 different
attempts have been made to date, all of which claim to have decipthered
it).
On Tue, 27 Apr 1999, James A Landau wrote:
>
> > ----------------------Messaggio originale------------------------
>
> > Da: Elena Marchisotto <vcmth01c@csun.edu>
> > A: historia-matematica@chasque.apc.org
> > Data: sabato 24 aprile 1999 1.30
> > Oggetto: [HM] The Zero Story: a question
> >
> > Hello Everyone,
> >
> > A colleague has asked me about the accuracy of what follows.
> > Appreciate your help.
> >
> > Elena
> >
> >
> > THE ZERO STORY:
> > -----------------------------
> > Source: Unknown, from the Siemens Network Magazine.
> >
> > [irrelevant text deleted]
> >
> > Indians became adept mathematicians around 3000BC, when
> > the Mohenjadaro and Harappa civilizations flourished.
> >
> > [irrelevant text deleted]
>
> As of 1998 the writing system of the Indus valley civilization had not been
> decyphered. Like the Etruscan writings, the surviving Indus valley writings
> are mostly short, stylized texts and may not offer enough material for a
> decypherment.
>
> If the writing has not been decyphered, on what evidence is the claim made
> that the people in the Indus valley "became adept mathematicians around
> 3000BC"?
>
> If evidence can be found about mathematics in the Indus valley civilization,
> it would have considerable impact on the study of early mathematics, since
> 3000 BC is comtemporaneous with the early Egyptian and Mesopotamian and
> Chinese civilizations. It might even prove or disprove the van der Waerden
> hypothesis about Indo-Europeans spreading mathematics.
>
> a quibble: Harappa and Mohenjo-daro are part of the same civilization, not
> separate civilizations.
>
> James A Landau
>