Cracking The Indus Script: Andrew Robinson Reflects On The Most Tantalizing of All
Cracking The Indus Script: Andrew Robinson Reflects On The Most Tantalizing of All
Cracking The Indus Script: Andrew Robinson Reflects On The Most Tantalizing of All
COMMENT
from atmospheric chemists from around
the world.
First, establish and fund a network of
flagship stations9 to monitor: concentrations, fluxes, interactions and feedbacks
as well as more general air quality and
meteorology data. Around 58such
stations (costing between US$7million
and $11million each) would suffice
for a major city. These should be complemented by mobile measurement
platforms on cars and aeroplanes, remote
sensing of air columns from the ground,
satellite observations and smog chambers. Major sources of pollutants can be
identified using historic data.
Second, indoor air-quality measurements and monitoring must be
conducted concurrently in a representative selection of residential and office
buildings.
Third, atmospheric chemists must
model secondary-pollutant production
pathways and feedback mechanisms
under high concentrations of various
pollutants. These models must then be
compared with observations.
Fourth, the links between air pollutants
and mortality and other health effects
need to be established. That way the
most health-relevant pollutants and their
sources can be identified and mitigated
first. A database should be developed to
track health impacts.
Fifth, long-term sustainable engineering solutions such as improving processes
and material flows in industry must be
implemented to maintain low levels of
air pollution. This will require capacity
building across the Chinese authorities and institutes on using air-quality
assessment data in decision-making, in
developing legislative tools and in cleanair action plans.
Only by understanding atmospheric
chemistry will China clean its air.
Markku Kulmala is professor of aerosol
physics at the University of Helsinki,
Finland.
e-mail: markku.kulmala@helsinki.fi
1. Lelieveld, J., Evans, J. S., Fnais, M.,
Giannadaki, D. & Pozzer, A. Nature 525,
367371 (2015).
2. Lim, S. S. et al. Lancet 380, 22242260
(2012).
3. Zhang, J. et al. Lancet 375, 11101019
(2010).
4. Guo, S. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 111,
1737317378 (2014).
5. Ding, A. J. et al. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 13,
58135830 (2013).
6. Ding, A. J. et al. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 13,
1054510554 (2013).
7. Xiao, S. et al. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 15,
17691781 (2015).
8. Kulmala, M. et al. Annu. Rev. Phys. Chem. 65,
2137 (2014).
9. Hari, P. et al. Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss. 15,
2106321093 (2015).
The mysterious Indus unicorn on a roughly 4,000-year-old sealstone, found at the Mohenjo-daro site.
Cracking the
Indus script
2 2 O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 | VO L 5 2 6 | NAT U R E | 4 9 9
COMMENT
complex stone weights, elaborately drilled
gemstone necklaces and exquisitely carved
seal stones featuring one of the worlds
stubbornly undeciphered scripts.
Mohenjo-daro existed at the same time as the civilizations of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and Crete.
THREE PROBLEMS
5 0 0 | NAT U R E | VO L 5 2 6 | 2 2 O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5
WHAT WE KNOW
COMMENT
WHERE UNICORNS ROAMED
Between about 2600 BC and 1900 BC, more than a thousand settlements of the Indus civilization, including
at least five cities, covered at least 800,000 square kilometres. Only 10% of sites have been excavated,
partly because many lie near the tense border between Pakistan and India.
AFGHANISTAN
Ind
us
Riv
er
CHINA
Harappa
PAKISTAN
Rakhigarhi
Ganweriwala was
discovered in the 1970s,
but remains unexcavated.
Dholavira
INDIA
City
Archaeological site
Extent of Indus valley region
Disputed territory
DIGITAL APPROACH
CORRECTION
In the Comment Cracking the Indus
script (A. Robinson Nature 526, 499
501; 2015), the sentence about Bryan
Wellss estimate of the number of Indus
script signs has been revised to more
accurately reflect Wellss contributions.
He estimated the number of signs at 676,
not 958.