Question

Very short answer type question. What are inscriptions?

Answer 1

Hint:
Inscriptions are writings inscribed or engraved on monuments.
The study of inscriptions is called Epigraphy.
The earliest inscriptions that have been found in India and have also been deciphered are the edicts of King Ashoka.


Complete answer:
Inscriptions are writings inscribed or engraved on monuments, tablets or any durable material. The study of inscriptions is called Epigraphy. The person who uses methods of epigraphy is called an epigraphist of an epigrapher. The most prominent inscriptions are the monumental inscriptions. These are presently seen on tombstones, cenotaphs or other memorials.
Ancient inscriptions are important sources of our chronology. The excavated monuments can be chronologically arranged on our human timeline with the help of the inscriptions along with radio-dating etc. Dating of an artifact by analyzing the inscriptions is called paleographic dating.
The earliest inscriptions that have been found in India and have also been deciphered are the edicts of King Ashoka. These edicts were in the form of rocks and pillars. They were written in the 3rd Century BC in Ashokan Prakrit and Greek languages. These inscriptions were the first tangible evidence of Buddhism. They were scattered all over present day India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal.
The edicts contained the Dharma that Ashoka preached. They tell us about the moral precepts which were based on good deeds, respecting others, purity and generosity. They also contained the first evidence of Hindu-Arabic number system. The number system lacked zero as it was not yet invented and various other symbols were used to determine the units, tens, dozens and the hundreds.


Note:
The Indian Archaeological Survey has found more than 100,000 inscriptions. 60,000 inscriptions were found in Tamil Nadu alone and 25,000 we found in Karnataka. The remaining inscriptions were scattered all over India.
The earliest inscriptions ever found in India were those of the Indus valley civilization. Since, these inscriptions are still not deciphered, it is also assumed that they might or might not be actual scripts at all.