<論文>年代判定の一指標としてのカローシュティー文字の形態

Abstract

Kharoṣṭhī letters were used for almost five centuries in North-Western Indian subcontinent, from around the third century BCE until around the third century CE. Paleographical studies of Kharoṣṭhī letters have revealed gradual changes in letter forms over time. However, these letter forms have not always been used as a clue to determine dates of inscriptions, mainly because sometimes relatively old letter forms appear on newer inscriptions. As such, the study of letter forms as a potential indicator for dates has not been sufficiently used to clarify the history of the area. This paper proposes a way to deal with letter forms in order to use them as an indicator for the dates of inscriptions. While the presence or absence of each letter form has been a focus of scholars so far, this paper explores their ratio instead. There are varied forms for three Kharoṣṭhī letters : "s, ” "e, ” and "c.” By counting each form of each letter on a particular inscription, the main form of each letter used on the inscription can be determined. In order to construct the chronology of the Kharoṣṭhī letter forms, inscriptions whose dates can be known are used. By evaluating ones whose authenticity is clear, we can assert that the main forms of these three letters actually changed with time. Furthermore, by analyzing others that have been purchased in modern markets and whose authenticity is unclear, we can suggest when the main forms changed. Through these steps, we can propose a chronology of Kharoṣṭhī letter forms where an inscription is assigned to one of six phases based on the combination of the three letters' main forms. The fact that similar changes in main forms of Kharoṣṭhī letters are also detected in manuscripts can be seen as a corroboration of the above results with inscriptions. We can conclude that Kharoṣṭhī letter forms can be a good indicator for the date of inscriptions, and also possibly manuscripts.