This study applies the Deep Symbolic Systems Model (DSSM) to the Indus Valley Civilization (c. 7000–1900 BCE), framing civilization as the cumulative outcome of distributed symbolic stabilization rather than a direct consequence of agriculture, urbanism, or proto-writing. Symbolic cognition emerges from repeated, socially coordinated, and materially externalized practices: craft specialization, trade standardization, ritualized labor, and urban planning. Archaeological evidence—from Mehrgarh, Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Lothal, and Dholavira—is combined with compositional, genomic, and environmental studies of seals, weights, and standardized artifacts (Kenoyer, 1998, 2008; Wright, 2010; Jarrige, 2012). DSSM analysis predicts that these distributed practices produced durable cognitive infrastructure, enabling high-functioning mercantile networks without centralized bureaucracy or fully developed scripts. Comparative evaluation with Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Vinca demonstrates that practice-stabilized cognition functions across diverse ecological and demographic contexts, yielding convergent solutions to symbolic complexity, trade management, and long-distance coordination
pushpika indunil anthony hettige (Wed,) studied this question.