Writing & Scripts

Tamil-Brahmi and early Tamil literacy

by ~6th-5th c. BCE (debated)Ancient Tamil societyCave inscriptions; Keeladi potsherdsTamil Nadu

600 BCECorrected

An early adaptation of Brahmi to write Tamil, evidencing early literacy in the south.

Dated: 600–401 BCE
As scholars put it: by ~6th-5th c. BCE (debated)
Originator: Ancient Tamil society
Source text: Cave inscriptions; Keeladi potsherds
Region: Tamil Nadu
Discipline: Writing & Scripts
Evidence: Documented
Confidence: Medium
Verification: Corrected

Meanwhile in the West

Part of the Brahmi-derived script family.

Fair to say

The earliest datings (tied to Keeladi) are the subject of ongoing dispute. Update: Tamil Nadu reports date Tamil-Brahmi sherds at Sivagalai to c. 685 BCE, with over 1,600 inscribed sherds from 42 sites; these dates remain debated.

Path to modern innovation

Evidence for one of the world's long-lived classical languages.

Transmission

Ancestral to the modern Tamil script.

References

1Mahadevan, Early Tamil Epigraphy