Tamil-Brahmi script
Escritura tamil-brahmi
- Date
- c. 500 BCE (discutido) · confidence low
- Place
- Keezhadi, Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu, India
- Credited to
- Tamil peoples of South India
- Field
- Knowledge & symbols
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
An adaptation of Brahmi to the sounds of Tamil, found on pottery and in caves in southern India. It is the oldest evidence of writing in a Dravidian language.
Radiocarbon dates from Keezhadi suggest the 6th century BC, but the chronology is controversial; the traditional view is c. 3rd-2nd centuries BC.
What it led to
- cave and pottery inscriptions with personal names
- Tamil literature of the Sangam period
- evolution into Vatteluttu and modern Tamil