Scratch (Graffiti) Symbols on Objects

SCRATCH (GRAFFITI) SYMBOLS ON OBJECTS

Ancient Tamils used stone tools for hunting. Then, they started living in groups. Later, they began to cultivate crops. The Sangam people made clay pots for storing water and for cooking purposes. After the civilization developed, they made black coloured pots, red pots, black red pots. The pots made by them were elegant and beautiful.

The symbols used by the people to communicate were inscribed on the pots. They inscribed their names on the pots to recognize that it belonged to the respective person.

Between the end of the Indus Valley Culture and the appearance of the 'Tamizhi' letters, there was a written form. They were called symbols and incisors by the researchers.

1. Types of Scratch (Graffiti) Symbols

An examination of the scratches present on the broken parts of the pottery reveals that these scratches can be of two types.

1. One is the markings that were put before burning the pottery.

2. Another is the markings put on the pottery after they were burnt. Generally, the marks were made using hard substances like stone, iron, ivory, etc.,

The symbols put after burning the pots are the most common in Tamilnadu.

2. Indus Scripts and Tamil Brahmi Scripts bot

Excavations at Adichanallur, Kodumanal and Kizhadi in Tamilnadu pottery inscribed with 'Tamil Brahmi' letters were found in the first clay layers. And later in the deeper layers, pot pieces with 'codes' were found. These symbols resemble the Indus scripts.

As the inscriptions (codes) on the pots resemble the Indus script, it is certain that the symbols here are the indus scripts. In the archaeological research "Tamizhi' letters were found in the first layer and scratch symbols were found in the next layers. It is clear that the scratch symbols are considered to predate the Tamizhi script. The fact that the Indus alphabet is written from the right to the left was discovered only from the scratch writing on the pot shell.

Table 1.1 Comparison of Pottery Scratch (Graffiti) Notation with the Indus Letters

3. Patterns of Scratch (Graffiti) Marks

75% of the codes found in South India are mostly found in Tamilnadu. Scratches on pottery found in the excavations look like letters and paintings. Paintings are often seen as images such as trees, animals, the sun, etc.,

Ladder, star, trishul symbols are found on the pot pieces. More than 15 such symbols have been identified.

Tiles inscribed with the 'Swasthik' symbol used as an emblem by, the people of Indus Valley have been found in Vandalur. Red coated pot pieces with 'Swasthik' symbols were found in Bhuvanagiri. The emblems used by the people of Indus Valley civilization had 'Swasthik' symbols. There is also a ‘trishul-like' symbol on the black red pots.

Evidences

1. Excavations carried out at Adichanallur, Korkai and Mangulam in Tamil Nadu have given pot shells with symbols.

2. In Sri Lanka, objects with similar indentations were also found in places like Kantharodai, Manthai, Rithiyagama.

3. A metal stamp was found at Vattukkottai in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. It is the pattern that the potter inscribes on the vessel. It contained both the Indus script and the Tamil script. The Tamil section is marked as Goventh. The first two forms are Vastu Azidentical in the Indus script. The analyst reads it as Cocon. 'Co' means potter, royal potter.

4. In Jaffna, Sri Lanka many pot shells have been found in Vettukkadu, Paraman Kirai. It has inscriptions in Tamil (Brahmi) script dating back to the 3rd century BC. Mainly in one piece, the whole word Velaan is found. Potters are called Velalar in Sri Lanka and India. It is assumed that the person who made the pot might have carved his name on it.

4. Solar Appearance by Radiation Incision Lines

A pot unearthed in the excavation has six radiating lines inscribed with connecting lines. Each radiation line is coloured by 14 small connecting lines. This gives a clear impression of the pattern of the appearance of a sun.

5. Tamizhi (Tamil - Brahmi)

The next available notation to scratch is the Tamil Brahmi Script. They called it Tamizhi. Pot shells inscribed with Tamizhi (Tamil Bahmi) symbols have been excavated at Sangam sites.

Evidences

1. 110 cave inscriptions inscribed in Tamil Brahmi script belonging to the Sangam period have been found in more than 32 towns in Tamil Nadu. These are written by Padmasree Airavatham Mahadevan and published as a book.

2. 56 pot shells inscribed with Tamil Script at Kizhadi excavations were reported by the Department of Archaeology, Tamil Nadu.

3. Broken pot shells with some incomplete inscriptions have been found. In one of these, there are personal names like Kuviran Adha(n), Aadhan.

(i) Athan

The name 'Athan' appearing in it is mentioned as 'Athan'. K. Rajan has clarified in his book 'Early Historic Writing System' - A Journey from Graffiti to Brahmi that there was no custom of phonetic coding to distinguish the long vowels from the short vowels in Tamil in earlier times.

(ii) Kuviran

The black red pot shell has been found to have six letters of Tamil written in a single line. They are 'Kuviran Aath'. The missing letter could have been a fraction of 'n'. So, it must be the name of a man. The name of this man is 'Kuviran Aathan'.

Initially, Tamil took the form of scratch script which later changed to "Tamizhi' script and gradually evolved into written form.

6. Messages known from Scratch Codes

1. From the scratches found on the pots, it is confirmed that there were trade exchanges among the traders, professionals and travellers during the Sangam period.

2. These symbols are written in a script that reflect the thinking of the Paleolithic and Iron age people.

3. During the Sangam period, these symbols were used for communication.

4. Such studies are necessary for the Tamil to know their history.

5. Such discoveries and studies are necessary to know the trade exchanges and the economic conditions of the Tamils at that time.

6. The scratch marks of the ancient Tamils were used as a medium of communication by the Sangam people.

7. With the help of the scratch marks, we can know the ownership of the pot vessels, their period, etc.,