Re: Brahmi script

Robin Coningham, Nick Lewer,
The Vijayan colonization and the archaeology of
identity in Sri Lanka
Antiquity, 09/01/2000; Vol. 74, No. 285 p. 707

[BEGIN QUOTE]
The Mahavamsa
The Mahavamsa chronicles the island's past from its
colonization by prince Vijaya in the 4th or
5th century BC to the reign of Mahasena (r. 274-301 AD).
Composed by bhikkhus or Buddhist monks in the
4th-5th century AD, it was probably compiled
from earlier sources (Bechert 1978: 3)
[END QUOTE]

It's interesting that Vijaya colonization
is inferred from myths narrated in Mahavamsa
of 4-5th centuries AD about a 4th or 5th century BC
Vijaya colonization. Earlier, R. Coningham
thought this colonization tookplace in 6th century BCE.
Now he's updated it to 4-5th century BCE.

There is a 800-1000 year gap between Mahavamsa chronicle
and the Vijaya colonization of Ceylon! In such a situation
we normally expect problems in dates when we try to extract
dates from 4-5th century AD Mahavamsa. And this 6th or 4-5th
century dates for Vijaya colonization (Coningham's guesses
based on 4-5th century AD text Mahavamsa) will predate the
invention of Brahmi.

In any case, the occurence of Brahmi by archaeology
from Anuradhapura has evidence only from 4th century BCE.

--- In cybalist@..., "Vishal Agarwal" <vishalagarwal@...> wrote:
>I refer to the following note from the reference =
>Coningham, Robin. 1999. Anuradhapura: The British-Sri Lankan
>Excavations at Anuradhapura Salgaha Watta 2, Volume I (The Site).
>BAR International Series 824, Society for South Asian Studies
>Monograph No. 3:Oxford

>p. 2 A further, connected aspect is the evidence at Anuradhapura
>for the development of writing systems within South Asia. The
>earlier prophetic work of Deraniyagala at Anuradhapura suggested
>for the first time that Brahmi, the ancestor of many of South
>Asia's vernacular scripts, occurred a number of centuries earlier
>than had previously been thought (Deraniyagala 1990a).
>It has been generally accepted that the script derived from a
>Semitic script developed in northern India under the Buddhist
>emperor, Asoka, in the third century BC and had spread southwards
>through the peninsula until it reached Sri Lanka....Our own work
>now supports Deraniyagala's earlier hypothesis, and evidence of
>Brahmi script dating to the beginning of the fourth century
>BC is presented in Volume II.

Regards,
N. Ganesan