Ancestral Dravidian languages in Indus Civilization: ultraconserved Dravidian tooth-word reveals deep linguistic ancestry and supports genetics

Abstract Ever since the discovery of Indus valley civilization, scholars have debated linguistic identities its people. This study analyzes numerous archaeological, linguistic, archaeogenetic and historical evidences to claim that words used for elephant (like, ‘pīri’, ‘pīru’) in Bronze Age Mesopotamia, elephant-word Hurrian part an Amarna letter ca. 1400 BC, ivory-word (‘pîruš’) recorded certain sixth century BC Old Persian documents, were all originally borrowed from ‘pīlu’, a Proto-Dravidian elephant-word, which was prevalent etymologically related tooth-word ‘*pal’ alternate forms (‘*pīl’/‘*piḷ’/‘*pel’). paper argues there is sufficient morphophonemic evidence ancient Dravidian ‘*piḷ’/‘*pīl’-based root, meant ‘splitting/crushing’, semantically meanings ‘tooth/tusk’. further observes ‘pīlu’ among most common phytonyms toothbrush tree Salvadora persica , characteristic flora valley, whose roots twigs been widely as IVC regions antiquity. claims this phytonym had also originated same tooth-word, people named their trees tuskers (elephants) using these names across regions, significant population civilization must daily communication. Since ‘tooth’ belongs core non-borrowable ultraconserved vocabulary speech community, corollary spoke ancestral languages. Important insights recent studies regarding possible migration speakers South India corroborate findings paper.