Task 1.1 - Brahmi Scripts (5/16)

Ancient Scripts: Brahmi Scripts

The Brahmi script is one of the earliest historical inscriptions in India which is also the ancestor to other scripts found in East Asia. It is an elegant Indian script of the fifth century BC but “early texts suggest that its origin lies further back in time.” (Lawrence, 1996-2012).

This is a simplified version of the Brahmi Script.

Various inscriptions of the Brahmi script can be found north-central India, 

which are the edicts of Ashoka.

Various modern scripts have descended from Brahmi and were used across South Asia. The Gupta script also forms part of the Brahmic family of scripts and it was sometimes called ‘Late Brahmi’.

It originated from the Aramaic script but the Brahmi is less straightforward. “Thus the Brahmi script was the Indian equivalent of the Greek script that gave arise to a host of different systems”. (Lawrence, 1996-2012)

Ancient Scripts, 2014 Brahmi. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ancientscripts.com/brahmi.html. [Accessed 18 April 2014].