History of Hindu Mathematics: A Source Book v1.c7.s7.18

v1.c7.s7.18

1. Cunningham² believed that writing had been known in India from the earliest known times, and that the earliest alphabet was pictographic. He suggested that the Brâhmî script was derived from the early pictographic writing. The theory is evidently capable of extension to the numerical signs. Later epigraphists, however, discarded the hypothesis as it appeared too fanciful to them. Cunningham's bold hypothesis regarding the antiquity of writing in India has been more than justified by the recent discovery of the use of a quasi-pictographic script on certain seals and in inscriptions belonging to the fourth millenium B.C. found amongst the excavations at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa. His theory has been revived by Langdon who is of opinion that the Brâhmî alphabet could be derived from the pictographs of Mohenjo-daro.¹ The theory is incomplete as the writings of Mohenjo-daro have not been completely deciphered as yet. It can be called a guess only. As regards the evolution of the Brâhmî numerals, it may be stated that it is at present extremely difficult to differentiate the numerical symbols from the Mohenjo-daro script. If the surmise that the figures, given on p. 19, are numerical symbols be correct, it will not be possible to develop a theory deriving the Brâhmî numerals from them.