Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c25.s3.38

c25.s3.38

The literary evidence in Tamil with datable links to the outside world includes the presence of the Jaina and Buddhist creeds in the Tamil country, references to the Nandas and the Mauryas and graphic descriptions of the maritime trade with the *yavanas* (Romans). This evidence does not stretch beyond *ca.* 3rd century B.C. The archaeological data from pottery inscriptions in the Tamil-Brāhmī script also indicate the same date as the upper limit for writing. There is no material evidence for the existence of any indigenous or independent script for Tamil earlier to or contemporaneous with the Tamil-Brāhmī script.¹ Whatever writing has been discovered on inscribed pottery from the excavated sites in Tamil Nadu, is exclusively in the Tamil-Brāhmī script and occurs only from the megalithic and Early Historical levels dated not earlier than the end of the 3rd century B.C.²