This thesis employs a hybrid CNN-Transformer architecture, in conjunction with a detailed anthropological framework, to investigate potential historical connections between the visual morphology of the Indus Valley script and pictographic systems of the Tibetan-Yi Corridor. Through an ensemble methodology of three target scripts across 15 independently trained models, we demonstrate that Tibetan-Yi Corridor scripts exhibit approximately six-fold higher visual similarity to the Indus script (61.7%-63.5%) than to the Bronze Age Proto-Cuneiform (10.2%-10.9%) or Proto-Elamite (7.6%-8.7%) systems. Additionally and contrarily to our current understanding of the networks of the Indus Valley Civilization, the Indus script unexpectedly maps closer to Tibetan-Yi Corridor scripts, with a mean cosine similarity of 0.629, than to the aforementioned contemporaneous West Asian signaries, both of which recorded mean cosine similarities of 0.104 and 0.080 despite their close geographic proximity and evident trade relations. Across various dimensionality reduction practices and clustering methodologies, the Indus script consistently clusters closest to Tibetan-Yi Corridor scripts. Our computational results align with qualitative observations of specific pictorial parallels in numeral systems, gender markers, and key iconographic elements; this is further supported by archaeological evidence of sustained contact networks along the ancient Shu-Shendu road in tandem with the Indus Valley Civilization's decline, providing a plausible transmission pathway. While alternative explanations cannot be ruled out, the specificity and consistency of observed similarities challenge conventional narratives of isolated script development and suggest more complex ancient cultural transmission networks between South and East Asia than previously recognized.
翻译:本研究采用混合CNN-Transformer架构,结合详细的人类学分析框架,探究印度河文字与藏彝走廊象形文字系统之间潜在的历史关联。通过对三种目标文字在15个独立训练模型中的集成分析,我们发现藏彝走廊文字与印度河文字的视觉相似度(61.7%-63.5%)约为其与青铜时代原始楔形文字(10.2%-10.9%)或原始埃兰文字(7.6%-8.7%)相似度的六倍。与当前对印度河流域文明交流网络的认识相反,印度河文字与藏彝走廊文字的平均余弦相似度达0.629,显著高于其与地理邻近且存在明确贸易关系的西亚同时期文字系统(平均余弦相似度分别为0.104和0.080)。在不同降维实践与聚类方法中,印度河文字始终与藏彝走廊文字呈现最近邻聚类关系。计算分析结果与数字系统、性别标记及关键图像元素中特定图案的定性观察相吻合;这一发现进一步得到考古证据支持——在印度河流域文明衰微期,古代蜀身毒道沿线持续存在的交流网络为文字传播提供了合理路径。尽管不能排除其他解释,但所观测相似性的特异性与一致性,对文字孤立发展的传统叙事提出了挑战,暗示南亚与东亚之间存在着比既往认知更为复杂的古代文化传播网络。