History

Historical Writing Systems

1,718 Questions

Historical writing systems represent the early methods of human communication and record keeping. This topic covers ancient scripts like Cuneiform, Brahmi, and Egyptian hieroglyphs, along with their historical usage. Knowledge of these scripts is essential for history and art culture preparation.

Ancient Indian scriptsCuneiform writingEgyptian hieroglyphsPhoenician alphabetGupta script

Historical Writing Systems Questions

Multiple choice

The Script of Indus people is called �

  1. Devanagari

  2. Boustrophedon

  3. Greek

  4. None
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The Indus Valley script is written in a style called Boustrophedon, meaning 'as the ox turns' - alternating direction between lines. Devanagari is a later Brahmic script, and Greek is unrelated.

Multiple choice

The inscription in the state emblem is in _________ script.

  1. Urdu

  2. English

  3. Devanagari

  4. Sanskrit
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The inscription 'Satyameva Jayate' on the state emblem of India is written in Devanagari script. Devanagari is the script used for several Indian languages including Hindi, Marathi, Nepali, and Sanskrit. Urdu uses a modified Arabic script, English uses the Latin alphabet, and while the phrase is from a Sanskrit Upanishad, the writing system used is Devanagari.

Multiple choice

In ancient India the script written from right to left was

  1. Nandnagari

  2. Sharada

  3. Kharoshti

  4. Brahmi
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Kharoshti was an ancient script used in northwestern India and Pakistan, written from right to left like Arabic. Brahmi and Sharada were written left to right. Kharoshti was used for Gandhari Prakrit and is associated with the Gandhara region.

Multiple choice

Even though the edicts of Ashoka were written in various scripts, the majority of them are in

  1. Brahmi

  2. Kharoshti

  3. Aramaic

  4. Greek
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Ashoka's edicts were primarily written in Brahmi script, which was the most widely used script in ancient India during the Mauryan period. Kharoshti was used in northwest regions (modern-day Pakistan/Afghanistan). Aramaic and Greek scripts were used for edicts in Afghanistan, intended for foreign audiences, but these were fewer in number.

Multiple choice

Even though the edicts of Ashoka were written in various scripts, the majority of them are in

  1. Brahmi

  2. Kharoshti

  3. Aramaic

  4. Greek
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Ashoka's edicts were primarily written in Brahmi script, which was the most widely used script in ancient India during his reign (3rd century BCE). While some edicts used Kharoshti (mainly in the northwest), Aramaic, and Greek (in the northwest and Afghanistan), Brahmi was the dominant script used across the empire.

Multiple choice

The script of the Harappan people consisted of

  1. a family of quasi-pictographic writings

  2. a family of geometrical shapes

  3. a combination of both pictures and geometrical shapes

  4. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The undeciphered Harappan script consists of pictographic signs and symbols that represent objects or ideas. Archaeologists have found around 400-500 distinct signs, mostly depicting plants, animals, geometric patterns, and human forms, which qualifies as a family of quasi-pictographic writings rather than pure geometric shapes or abstract symbols.

Multiple choice

The term Thesaurus is derived from

  1. Latin

  2. Greek

  3. Roman

  4. Sanskrit
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The word thesaurus comes from Greek, meaning treasure or storehouse. It was used to describe a collection of words arranged by meaning. Latin and Sanskrit have different roots.

Multiple choice

In which language did emperor Ashoka inscribe his message on the stone pillar?

  1. Hindi

  2. Prakrit

  3. Pali

  4. Sanskrit

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Emperor Ashoka inscribed his edicts on stone pillars and rock surfaces in Prakrit, not Sanskrit. Prakrit was the common language of the masses during the Mauryan period, making the inscriptions accessible to ordinary people. Brahmi script was typically used for these inscriptions.

Multiple choice

The Koran is written in

  1. Arabic

  2. Persian

  3. Pali

  4. Urdu
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Quran (Koran) is written in Arabic, as revealed to Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century CE. Arabic is the liturgical language of Islam. Persian and Urdu developed later, and Pali is associated with Buddhist texts. The original Quran has always been preserved in classical Arabic.

Multiple choice

Directions: Three words in bold letters are given in each question, which have something in common among themselves. Out of the four given alternatives, choose the most appropriate description about these three words

Prakrit : Pali : Sanskrit

  1. They are classical languages of Asia and Europe

  2. The Vedas are written in these languages

  3. They are old languages of India

  4. They are dead languages

  5. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Prakrit, Pali, and Sanskrit are all ancient languages that have played a significant role in the history and literature of India.

Multiple choice

Most of the edicts of Asoka are written in which script?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the given question.

Asoka's edicts are to be found scattered in more than 30 places throughout India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Most of them are written in Brahmi script from which all Indian scripts and many of those used in Southeast Asia later developed. The language used in the edicts found in the eastern part of the sub-continent is a type of Magadhi, probably the official language of Asoka's court. The language used in the edicts found in the western part of India is closer to Sanskrit although one bilingual edict in Afghanistan is written in Aramaic and Greek. Asoka's edicts, which comprise the earliest decipherable corpus of written documents from India, have survived throughout the centuries because they are written on rocks and stone pillars. These pillars in particular are testimony to the technological and artistic genius of ancient Indian civilisation. Originally, there must have been many of them, although only 10 with inscriptions still survive. Averaging between  40 and 50 feet in height, and weighing up to 50 tonnes each, all the pillars were quarried at Chunar, just south of Varanasi and dragged, sometimes hundreds of miles, to where they were erected. Each pillar was originally capped by a capital, sometimes a roaring lion, a noble bull or a spirited horse, and the few capitals that survive are widely recognised as masterpieces of Indian art. Both the pillars and the capitals exhibit a remarkable mirror-like polish that has survived despite centuries of exposure to the elements.

  1. Magadhi

  2. Sanskrit

  3. Brahmi

  4. Aramaic and Greek
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The second sentence of the passage answers this, ‘Most of them are written in Brahmi script from which all Indian scripts and many of those used in Southeast Asia later developed.’