Archive
2026
- IVC: Monthly Report October 2026
Monthly research report on new excavations in Mohenjo-Daro (Kot Diji city wall), aDNA pipelines from Rakhigarhi, computational decipherment of the Indus script, and paleoclimate megadroughts.
- Mohenjo-Daro Redating: 7-meter-thick rampart structure identified as monumental city fortification of the Kot Diji phase (ca. 3300–2600 BCE).
- Rakhigarhi Mound 7: AnSI and BSIP initiate aDNA, strontium, and oxygen isotope analyses on newly recovered skeletons.
- Paleoclimate & De-Urbanization: 113-year megadrought in the 2nd millennium BCE accelerated an orderly eastward settlement shift.
- OIT vs AMT: Monthly Report September 2026
Monthly research report on Zenodo preprints concerning Punjabi genetics, Syrian dental finds with South Asian mitogenomes, and Burzahom Neolithic.
- Zenodo preprint on Punjabi genetics: Separation of patrilineal markers (R1a) and ethno-linguistic identity.
- Indus-Mesopotamia contact: Mitochondrial haplogroups M4b1, M49, and M61 in Syrian teeth (Tell Ashara).
- Burzahom mitogenome study: Complex regional continuity in Kashmir.
- OIT vs AMT: Monthly Report August 2026
Monthly report on Ladakh genomes from Science Advances, aDNA initiatives in Tamil Nadu (Keeladi/Adichanallur), and methodological limits of population genetics in South Asia.
- Science Advances: Ten genomes from the Old Lady Spider Cave in Ladakh show a 50:50 Tibetan-North Indian admixture approximately 2,800 years ago.
- aDNA Offensive in Tamil Nadu: Around 75,000 preliminary markers from Konthagai/Keeladi, Adichanallur, and Sivagalai.
- Skeletal sampling in Rajghat (Varanasi) by BHU for radiocarbon and isotope analyses.
- OIT vs AMT: Monthly Report July 2026
Monthly report on the human genetics study of the Sindhi population, burials from Rakhigarhi Mound 7, and methodological model assumptions in qpAdm and ADMIXTURE.
- Human Genetics (2026): Population genetic study models Sindhi genealogy with ~60–66% Indus Periphery component plus Steppe and AASI components.
- Rakhigarhi Mound 7: ASI hands over burial skeletons to AnSI for multimodal aDNA and isotope analyses.
- Discussion on model assumptions: qpAdm sensitivity and sampling bias with extremely low Harappan aDNA yield.
- OIT vs AMT: Monthly Report June 2026
Monthly report on new burial finds by the ASI in Rakhigarhi (eight skeletons, grave goods), sample transfers to BSIP Lucknow, and the status of aDNA pipelines.
- ASI unearths 8 Harappan-era skeletons: New burials with extensive ceramic grave goods recovered in Rakhigarhi.
- Sample forwarding to BSIP Lucknow for DNA extraction, isotope analysis, and facial reconstruction.
- Structural reference framework: Established picture of Bronze Age steppe admixture remains scientific consensus.