Examining the Usage of Stylus or Lekhan̄ı in a Historical Space: Evidence of Its Finds from the Literary and Archaeological Sources of India

Abstract

The study analyses the findings of writing instrument and its nomenclature through literary and archaeological sources. Certainly, writing instruments and materials were linked to the appearance of letters and scripts, but we should remind ourselves that the Harappan people did have their own script and left their inscriptions, which we have yet to decipher. Even prior to the Harappan civilisation we have innumerable findings, like graffiti or decorative designs on potsherds, symbols, incised potteries, multi-grooved designs on pots, stamped decorations, pictographs or art and paintings on various materials. If we consider these to be the primal form of a script or primordial form of writing, then definitely these exhibit some kind of communication. And there must have existed some kind of instrument used for the purpose of marking or incising on various materials, which were later on instrumental in the evolution of a script or writing system. This tool or device or instrument could be made of stone, bone, ivory, horn, copper or iron. Again various archaeological terms have been used for these instruments though no one is certain about the nomenclature of these instruments. Whatever the epithets or name tags used for the instruments, there is a certain kind of correlation between the findings of these tools from the various excavation sites, as evident from the many excavation reports referred to. Although these tools were used for various purposes in diverse ways, still it is not adequate reason to exclude them from the discussion of the writing instrument.