Daily Almanac for
Dec 8, 2009
Search White Pages
Search: Infoplease Info search tips
Search: Biographies Bio search tips
Encyclopediainscription

Non-Western Epigraphy

Outside Western history, epigraphy was of importance in two independent civilizations—in the remarkable art of the Maya, Toltec, and Aztec cultures (see pre-Columbian art and architecture), and in China. Also notable is the exotic mid-Pacific epigraphy of Easter Island. The earliest Chinese inscriptions are on pottery (c.2500 B.C.) and bronze (c.1500 B.C.), and there are later writings on bone and tortoise shells. Dating from the classical period, before 200 B.C., are odes on great stone drums found in Shaanxi. The invention of paper (c.A.D. 100) ended the role of epigraphy in China. The bilingual inscriptions near Orkhon contain minor Chinese texts as well as the oldest known Turkic material.

The Hindus used palm leaves for writing early in their history, and their inscriptions do not record the older forms of their language. The most important are Prakrit inscriptions of Asoka (3d cent. B.C.). The first Sanskrit inscriptions date from some centuries later.

Sections in this article:

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

    • Cite
    • Print
    • Bookmark

Premium Partner Content
HighBeam Research

Related content from HighBeam Research on: inscription: Non-Western Epigraphy

Studies in Early Jewish Epigraphy. (The Journal of the American Oriental Society)

Philippi, Band 2 / Katalog der Inschriften von Philippi (The Catholic Biblical Quarterly)

Beyond the River: New Perspectives on Transeuphratene (Journal of Biblical Literature)

Channabasappa Soodayya Patil 1951-2001.(Obituary) (Asian Perspectives: the Journal of Archaeology for Asia and the Pacific)

MICHAEL HAMILTON JAMESON (Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society)

Phoenician-Punic grammar and lexicography in the new millennium. (The Journal of the American Oriental Society)

Additional search results provided by HighBeam Research, LLC. © Copyright 2005. All rights reserved.