Indus Age: The Writing System by Gregory L.

Possehl
Review by: J. Mark Kenoyer
The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 56, No. 4 (Nov., 1997), pp. 1139-1140
Published by: Association for Asian Studies
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2658357 .
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 IndusAge: The WritingSystem.
By GREGORY L. POSSEHL. Philadelphia:
University Press,1996. xvi, 244 pp. $45.00 (cloth).
of Pennsylvania

This book providesa historicalperspectiveon the studyof the Indus writing

systemcarriedout by scholarsfromaroundtheworld.Althoughtheauthordoes not
presentanynew data on the script,he does give his own opinionsabout some of the
attemptsat decipherment and makessuggestionson futuredirections.His remarkable
bibliographyof nearlyone thousandentriescoverseverymajorworkwrittenabout
the Indus scriptbefore1994. I stronglyrecommendthisbook foranyoneinterested
in the Indus Civilizationand its writing.
Chapter1 introducesthe readerto the Indus civilizationusinga terminology of
Stagesand Phasesthatis takenfroma not yetpublishedvolumeby thesameauthor.
Because thisinterpretive framework is not elaboratedin thepresentwork,it maybe
confusing,particularlyto the nonspecialistreader. For the same reason, some
interpretationsreachedby Possehl remainlargelyunsupportedin the presentwork.
Forexample,he concludesthatthepoliticalorganizationoftheInduscivilizationwas
not thatof a statelevel society,but he does not discussworksby numerousauthors
who arguethe oppositeview.
Chapter2 comprisesan overviewofthe historyofdiscoveryoftheIndus writing
systemand its main features.Althoughmost of the discussionis straightforward,
Possehl uses some terminologyfor inscribedobjects that is different fromthat
common in the literature.For example, he distinguishesbetween "sealings and
moldings"and "miniatureinscriptions" whichobjectstogetherhavebeen termedby
earlierresearchers as "tinyseals" or "tokens"or, morerecently,as "tablets."Other
pointsthata readermighttake issue withincludehis discussionof thepropertiesof
firedsteatiteand the identification of the so-called"unicorn."Freshlyfiredsteatite
has a hardnessof six on theMoh's scale and not two or threeas statedby Possehl(p.
26). The identification of "unicorn"motifson the seals as being a double-horned
unhumpedbull seen in profilecannot be said to be "generallyassumed" (p. 27).
Indeed,the factthatterracotta figurineswith a singlecentralhornhave been found
at Chanhu-daro(illustratedby Possehl as plate 4), as well as at Mohenjo-daroand
Harappa (recentdiscoveries)lead to the conclusionthatthe Indus people believedin
a (mythological?) animalwithone horn.
Chapter3 is a summaryofthemajorcontributions byotherscholarson theorigins
and characterofIndus writing.Many earlierconclusions,such as a lack ofchangein
the writingsystemovertime,will requiresignificant modifications
based on recent
discoveriesat Harappa and Rehman-dheri. Possehl'sdiscussionabout thedirectionof
the writing and the possible family to which the language belonged are
uncontroversial (at least to Westernscholars)and are not likelyto changeuntil the
scriptis actuallydeciphered.
In Chapter4, Possehlpresentsa concisesummary ofthearguments forthesurvival
of the Indus scriptin later culturesof South Asia. He also discussesproblemsin
definingitsrelationto thelaterBrahmiscriptand to symbolson punch-marked coins,
and he talksabout continuitiesin thesystemofweightsbetweentheIndus and Early
Historicperiods.How thislast relatesto the script,however,is not made clear.
Chapter5 is the mostimportantof the book becauseit abstractsthecontentsof
manyobscurepublicationsabouttheIndus script.In it, Possehlprovidesan historical
overviewofattemptsto decipherthescriptalong withcritiquesoftheseattemptsby
otherscholars.Althoughhe does providesomeofhis own opinionsregardingspecific

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1140 THE JOURNAL OF ASIAN STUDIES

interpretations, generallyreadersare left to evaluate the differentargumentsfor

themselves. Unfortunatelythemanuscript appearsto havebeencompletedbeforeAsko
Parpola'smajorwork,Deciphering theIndusScript(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversity
Press, 1994), was published.Thus thereis no discussionof this importantvolume
compiledby one of the world'sleadingscholarsof the subject.
Chapter6 concludesthe book with a summaryof what we do not know about
the Indus writingsystem,wherethereis commonground,and what is needed to
move ahead. Here Possehl makes a plea forthe studyof the writingsystemin its
variouscontextsand calls formoremethodologicalrigorand collaborationbetween
scholarsworkingon the script.
The volume is illustratedby 16 photographicplates and 76 line drawings.
Unfortunately the captionson thesedo not make it clear what view the readeris
seeing-a view oftheobjectitselfor ofan impressionoftheobject.Forexample,the
jacket of the book displaysa photographof a famousseal fromMohenjo-daroas it
would be seen in an exhibitcase. In plate 5, however,a photographof this seal is
printedas it would be seen in impression,and in figure13 a drawingof this same
seal is presentedin thesameviewas thaton thebook jacket,althoughlackingdetails
ofthegenitalia.Figure14, just below,is a drawingoftheimpressionofanotherseal,
whichis the same view as thatgivenin plate 6. Most unfortunate is the drawingof
the famous"priest-king"in figure3, whichis publishedbackwards.Thus whilethe
depictionsincludedin thisvolumeare usefulforillustratingthe text,the researcher
is advisedto referforaccuratephotographicreproductions to theCorpusofIndusSeals
(Vol. 1 byJ. P. Joshiand A. Parpola, 1987; Volume 2 by S. G. M.
and Inscriptions
Shah and A. Parpola, 1991; Volume 3, forthcoming)published in Helsinki
(SuomalainenTiedeakatemia).
J. MARK KENOYER
University Madison
ofWisconsin,

The WhiteBuddhist:The Asian Odyssey

of HenrySteelOlcott.By STEPHEN
PROTHERO. Bloomington:Indiana UniversityPress, 1996. xiv, 242 pp.
$35.00 (cloth).

How is it thata man who was involvedin bringingto justicePresidentAbraham

Lincoln's assassincould have been instrumentalalso in fuelingthe Buddhist and
Hindu revivalsof late nineteenth-century South Asia? This is one of the many
intriguingquestionsthat StevenProtheroanswersin his well-researched and well-
writtenstudyof the Civil War's Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, who cofoundedthe
TheosophicalSocietyin the 1880s. Relyingheavilyon GananathObeyesekere's view
ofOlcott as a "ProtestantBuddhist"(thoughProtheromentionsObeyesekereonlyin
footnotesand only thrice),ProtheronuancesProtestantBuddhismby exploringits
rootsin Americanreligioushistory.
Scholarshave exploredwith great precisionthe developmentand impact of
ProtestantBuddhism in Asia. Yet, not until Prothero'swork on Olcott have the
Americanrootsof ProtestantBuddhismbeen exploredthoroughly. Moreover,in the
courseof his biographyofOlcott,Protheroexaminesalso theimpactthatBuddhism
had on Americanreligiousthoughtin the late nineteenthcentury.Thus, Prothero's
studyof Olcott fillsa gap in BuddhistStudiesby offeringa detailedaccountof the

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