International Conference on
The Sindhu-Sarasvati Valley Civilizations – A Reappraisal
Feb 21 - 22, 2009
100 Hilton, Loyola Marymount University, Ca, U.S.A
Nalini Rao
An international conference on the The Sindhu- Sarasvati Valley Civilizations will be
held in Los Angeles, at Loyola Marymount University, Feb. 21 and 22, 2009 where major
scholars in the field will present their findings regarding the people and culture of the
ancient civilization(s) of India. The aim of the conference is to bring together
archaeologists, linguists, anthropologists, historians, religious specialists and geneticists
to help understand the nature of the interrelation between the Indus or Sindhu Civilization
and the Sarasvati or Vedic Civilization from about 3000 B.C to 1000 B.C.
Although the material culture of the Indus civilization has been well documented, and
the cultural and scientific concepts during the Vedic period analyzed, published and made
available to the public, the interrelation between the two cultures is still ambiguous and
hotly debated. It is suffused with intriguing and contradictory interpretations relating to
the people of the civilization/s and particularly, race, language, homeland and chronology.
The conference aims to provide a substantial understanding about the nature of
interrelation between the Sindhu and Sarasvati cultures in terms of exchanges of
humanistic ideas, scientific concepts, language and their geographical area with the help
of historical, literary, and genetic evidences.
During the past decade, scholars have tried to bridge the chronological, linguistic
and racial gap between the two civilizations with the Indus having the Vedic/Aryan
content in terms of composition and culture. However, some fundamental questions still
remain to be answered from a multidisciplinary perspective. Who were the people of the
two civilizations ? Were they the Vedic Aryans or Indo- Aryan, Indo- Iranian, IndoEuropeans? Has archaeological evidence confirmed the existence of common features of
the civilizations? What are the current major theories about the origin of the civilization
– indigenous continuity or from outside India (Southern Russia, Afghanistan, or Iran)?
Was this one civilization from Iran, Afghanistan to India? Are linguistic rules more rigid
than archaeological influences? How does the scientific evidence of the drying of the
river Sarasvati play a role in the interpretation of the history and chronology of the
civilization. Furthermore, how does the genetic evidence be corroborated with
archaeological evidences especially regarding the antiquity of the Indian gene. The
interpretations will be rooted in scholarship but presented with clarity and brevity for the
sake of the educated public. The scholars will touch upon areas of consensus and
contentions with a temporarily conclusive interdisciplinary understanding upon the
following topics:
 Indus and Sarasvati: ecology and culture
 Indus and Aryan: Race and Language
 The Indus Script/Language
 Indus Language and Vedic Sanskrit
 Population: Migration and Settlement
 Sociopolitical Organizations
 DNA and Astronomical evidences
 Chronology: Pre and Post Civilization.
 Cultural Continuities in South Asia
The list of participants include Jonathan Mark Kenoyer (University of Wisconsin), Dr.
B.B. Lal (Former DG, Archaeological Survey of India), Hans Henrich Hock
(?)(University of Illinois, Carl C. Lamberg-Karlovsky, Shiva Bajpai (CSUN), Edwin
Bryant (Rutgers University)(?), Vijendra Kumar Kashyap, Subhash Kak (Oklahama State
University), Ashok Aklujkar (University of British Columbia) , Jim G. Shaffer (Case
Western Reserve University), R.S. Bisht (DG, ASI), Louis Flam(City University of NY),
S.R.Rao (ASI,Emeritus Scientist, NIO), Dennis Frenez (?), Martin Fosse (?), Richard
Myers (Stanford)(?).
The papers presented at the conference will be made available to the people at the
venue and later published as a volume to provide a conclusive understanding about the
origins, people and culture of the Sindhu-Sarasvati Valley civilizations. A conference
that highlights the achievements of the rich, varied and ancient culture has been a
desideratum. The critical issue of the various aspects of the overlapping of the “Indus
Civilization” and “the Vedic Culture” has not been dealt with. It is high time that we
confront the issue, prominent scholars examine their inter-relationships, and arrive at a
consensus. It will be of significant intellectual and educational interest to all students and
scholars of science, humanities and social sciences, and more importantly, the educated
public.
For additional information, please visit Website:
Contact information: Dr. Nalini Rao. Email: nrao@soka.edu
Dr. Chistopher Chapple : cchapple@lmu.edu