Archaeo-astronomical study to connect Harappan to Vedic civilization.

 

The following is a good attempt that is sure to bring out the glory of the past of Aryavartha.

 

But this study on the basis of astronomy must also be supported by a study on the basis of principles of Vaastu as found in undated texts such as  Mayamata and Vishwakarma prakashika.

 

 

In my opinion the number of conches discovered in the sites and the lay-out pattern of the cities and houses conform to Vaastu principles. If checked and confirmed, that would be a sound proof of Harappan civilization as a continuity of Vedic civilization that has had no beginnings but has been reviving itself cyclically every 28,800 years of a round of precession of the sun around the zodiac.

 

-jayasree.

 

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http://www.indianexpress.com/news/TIFR-team-studying-if-Indus-Valley-civilisation-understood-the-stars/374043

 

 

 

Mumbai, October 15 Archaeo-astronomical research project also seeks to fill gaps between Vedic period and Harappa civilisation

In a first, a team of four from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) has undertaken an archaeo-astronomical project that will study India's ancient Indus Valley Civilisation sites from a purely astronomical perspective.

Having just visited Dholavira in Kutch, Gujarat, to see if there were any indications of the use of astronomy by earlier civilizations, the team will also try to fill in the gaps between the Vedic period and the Harappan civilization.

Dholavira is the third largest archaeological site in India, and the fifth largest in the subcontinent.

"We are exploring possible astronomical roots in these areas. For example, astronomy would be required in order to calculate the farming and cultivation routines, and this would require detailed and continuous observations," says professor Mayank Vahia, who is a professor in the department of astronomy and astrophysics at TIFR.

The research project is funded by the Tata Trust and the Centre for Basic Sciences (CBS). Having been launched in January 2006, the project is a collaborative effort with the University of Washington, Seattle; Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai; and the Indus Research Centre in Chennai.

Vahia says that most people are not aware of the subtleties of the astronomical system, and, if tapped into, it can open a completely new window to the prehistoric world, tracing ancestors by using astronomy as a window. "Some of the streets have been aligned in certain ways so as to suggest that some astronomical calculations may have been used for the geographical layout," says Vahia, also pointing out that the Harappan culture was one of the most advanced at the time.

The team also plans to do a cultural simulation to see how the mentalities of the civilisation evolved, research that will also help fill in the gaps in the archaeological data. "They must have used some amount of astronomy when it came to seasons and crops. The simulations will help us see how astronomy grew and evolved along with the civilization," says Kavita Gangal, a project assistant with the team.

Another area of research the team is venturing into is to decipher scripts found at the Dholavira site, comparing them with other sites of the Indus Valley Civilization. "The texts are very brief, and we have not found any large passages, which makes it more challenging to decipher these scripts," says research scholar and team-member...

The team is also hoping to find astronomical references in Vedic literature using the Sanskrit language. "Most of the Sanskrit literature has myths about cosmic bodies and studying these in the Puranas and the Vedas can help us come up with facts for the archaeo-astronomy project," said Bhagyashree Tarde, project assistant and the Sanskrit expert on the team....