Evidence before identity.
IndusValley.org is designed as a public knowledge publication connecting archaeology and ancient history with the modern economies and societies of South Asia.
Rigorous enough to cite. Clear enough to read.
We distinguish direct evidence from interpretation, represent serious scholarly disagreement, and avoid projecting modern ethnic and political identities backwards into ancient societies.
For modern economies we use primary statistical releases where possible, state revision status, compare multiple indicators and separate reported numbers from editorial interpretation.
Established — direct or convergent evidence supports the claim.
Strong — well-supported scholarly interpretation.
Probable — credible but not conclusive.
Contested — substantial scholarly disagreement.
Preliminary — new evidence requiring further verification.
No silent rewriting of the record
Substantive factual corrections will be dated and described. Major articles are intended to retain an explicit revision history as evidence changes.
Primary sources first
Excavation reports, peer-reviewed research, official statistics and original datasets take priority over secondary headlines.
Uncertainty is information
A range, contested reading or incomplete sample is reported as such instead of being compressed into false certainty.
AI is not a source
Automated tools may assist research and production, but factual claims must trace back to human-verifiable evidence.