# The signs are proto-writing, a system that records names, titles and commodities by logograms without full…

> Still possible: The signs are proto-writing, a system that records names, titles and commodities by logograms without full phonetic encoding of speech.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/indus-script/answers/ANS0CWY3J002H5Q/the-signs-are-proto-writing-a-system-that-records-names  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Questions](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions)[Indus script](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/indus-script)[Are the Indus signs a writing system for a spoken language?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/indus-script/questions/QST0CWY3ETE3XCV/are-the-indus-signs-a-writing-system-for-a-spoken-language)Answer

Answer · Indus script

# The signs are proto-writing, a system that records names, titles and commodities by logograms without full…

The signs are proto-writing, a system that records names, titles and commodities by logograms without full phonetic encoding of speech.

**Still possible** Answers **1** questionPublished0

## Where it stands

**Still possible** Its tests haven't settled it: one piece of evidence for, none against. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

## What it predicts

- Texts consist mainly of names, titles and numerals; no connected syntax appears even in longer texts.
- Some signs can be read as logograms without the language being identifiable.

## What would rule it out

- Texts are shown to encode grammatical morphology beyond what name-and-title records need.

## Evidence 1 for · none against

[The brevity and the seal context are consistent with records of names, titles and ownership.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/indus-script/evidence/EVD0CWY3J7T7T3P/the-brevity-and-the-seal-context-are-consistent-with-records)

Suggestive

FOR

## The questions it answers

[Are the Indus signs a writing system for a spoken language?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/indus-script/questions/QST0CWY3ETE3XCV/are-the-indus-signs-a-writing-system-for-a-spoken-language)

Most likelyThe signs are a logo-syllabic writing system that encodes a spoken language

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). The signs are proto-writing, a system that records names, titles and commodities by logograms without full… [Answer ANS0CWY3J002H5Q]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ANS0CWY3J002H5Q
```

Key

**ANS** 0CWY3J002H5Q

Kind

Answer · hypothesis

Origin

Published

Version

1

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[apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)

The record

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[JSON](https://mysteriesdept.com/api/v1/records/ANS0CWY3J002H5Q)
