Limitations of Inscriptional Evidence
Limitations of inscriptional evidence include:
Technical Limitations: Sometimes, letters are faintly engraved, making it hard to read the inscriptions clearly.
Damaged or Missing Letters: Important letters can be damaged or missing in inscriptions, complicating the work for epigraphists.
Lack of Clarity: It is not always easy to understand the exact meaning of words in inscriptions, especially if they’re specific to a certain place or time. This leads to ongoing debates among scholars about how to interpret them.
Undeciphered Inscriptions: While thousands of inscriptions have been found, not all of them have been deciphered, published, or translated. Many inscriptions have been lost over time, so what we have now is only a small part of what once existed.
Non-relevance of Inscriptions: Inscriptions focus on praising kings and patrons, leaving out everyday life details like agricultural practices or common people’s experiences. This makes it challenging for epigraphists to provide a complete picture of society based solely on inscriptions.
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Limitations of Inscriptional Evidence| Class 12 History Notes
Class 12 History Notes Chapter 2: CBSE Class 12 History Notes are important for students studying Social Science, as History is a crucial sub-subject that requires properly written answers. Scoring well in History is just as important as other subjects.
Class 12 History Notes Chapter 2 discusses the limitations of inscriptional evidence in easy-to-understand language. These notes are created by subject experts to help students understand the challenges historians face when studying ancient inscriptions. They explain things like technical difficulties, damaged or missing letters, unclear meanings of words, and inscriptions that haven’t been deciphered yet. By using simple explanations, students can learn about the obstacles historians encounter when trying to understand the past through inscriptions.