Indus civilization Mikhail Andreev, who used “linguistic paleontology” based on studies of F de Saussure, proposed a similar version of Indo-European language development In his version three global stages of Indo-European language formation are distinguished: boreal, in the Late Paleolithic; early Indo-European, in the Mesolithic; and late Indo-European He traces the primary homeland of Indo-Europeans to the vast spaces of Eurasia along the 50th parallel from the Rein River on the west to Altay on the east Other trends in the conceptualization of the IndoEuropeans’ homeland are connected with further development of needs to abandon the search for a narrow and strictly outlined territory where the earliest displays of Indo-European language and culture could be traced Many linguists (Oleg Trubachev, Lev Gindin) as well as many archaeologists (Nikolay Merpert, Evgeniy Chernykh) believe in the possibility of the divergent and convergent development of languages, which does not necessarily imply the existence of any Indo-European prelanguage Following the ideas of Nikolay Trubetskoy, Pizani, and others, the roots of contemporary Indo-European languages should be found in the environment of deeply interconnected dialects of the Neolithic—the Bronze Age, which gave birth to the primary Indo-European languages such as Greek, Sanskrit, Latin, and Celtic In this sense all attempts to identify first Indo-Europeans with any archaeological data are regarded as useless and contradicting with the basic principles of historical reconstruction Contemporary studies in the field of Indo-Europeans’ homeland are concerned mainly with the Neolithic population of the European steppe region and imply that the homogeneity of the early pre-Indo-European family of languages was destroyed during the fourth millennium b.c.e See also Andes: Neolithic; Neolithic age Further reading: Childe, V G The Prehistory of the European Society London: Penguin Books, 1950; Krantz, G Geographical Development of European Languages New York: P Lang, 1988; Mallory, J P In Search of the IndoEuropeans: Language, Archaeology and Myth London: Thames and Hudson, 1989; Renfrew, Colin Archaeology and Language: Puzzle of the Indo-European Origins Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987; ——— “They Ride Horses, Don’t They? Mallory on the Indo-Europeans.” Antiquity (1989) Olena V Smyntyna 213 Indus civilization The Indus civilization is also called the Indus empire or Harappan civilization; the last name derives from Harappa, the first site of this civilization excavated by modern archaeologists Many similarities and striking homogeneity through the region warrant classifying the entire culture under one name Its dates are approximately 2500–1500 b.c.e The discovery and scientific excavation of Indus sites backdated the beginning of the Indian civilization by at least 1,000 years Neolithic people began to build communities along the Indus Valley in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent around 5,000 years ago Archaeological excavations began in 1921 under the direction of Sir John Marshall on the bank of the Ravi River (a tributary of the Indus) in Sind Province, where railway builders had discovered huge quantities of old fired bricks They led to the discovery of an ancient city called Harappa that gave its name to the entire civilization In 1923 another expedition began to excavate a site called Mohenjo-Daro (meaning “mound of the dead”) on the banks of the Indus 400 miles from Harappa, uncovering another major find Since that time more than 1,000 sites covering approximately 300,000 sq miles have been investigated They include not only the area around the Indus and its tributaries but also northwestern India to Kashmir, the entire Arabian Sea shore including a large seaport called Lothal (which also means “mound of the dead” in the modern language of the region), and as far as Delhi to the east Despite advanced agriculture and the use of draft animals to plow the land, the Indus was an urban and commercial culture It is estimated that 35,000 people lived in Harappa The towns had many characteristics in common: a central citadel on a mound surrounded by a brick wall, with a planned city located below, whose streets were laid out in a grid pattern oriented to the points of the compass The cities were further divided into areas for stores, workshops, and residences Working-class dwellings were two-roomed, whereas affluent houses were two-storied centered around a courtyard, with flush toilets and individual wells The streets had covered sewers, sentry boxes, and public wells on street corners Lothal was excavated in 1954 Its specialty was bead manufacturing; a large factory measuring 5,380 sq feet has been found that used locally produced and imported raw materials to make many sizes of beads for jewelry The modern town near Lothal is still famous for producing beads for jewelry It was also a