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| altname = {{lang|ta|தமிழ்}}
| type = [[Abugida]]
| time = c. 580400 BCECE – present<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rajan |first=K. |title=Territorial Division as Gleaned from Memorial Stones |jstor=29757518 |journal=East and West |publisher=Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente (IsIAO) |date=December 2001 |volume=51 |issue=3/4 |page=363 }} (table showing Tamil in row for the 601–800 period)</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Diringer |first1=David |title=Alphabet a key to the history of mankind |date=1948 |page=385}}</ref>
| languages = [[Tamil language|Tamil]]<br/>[[Kanikkaran language|Kanikkaran]]<br/>[[Badaga language|Badaga]]<br/>[[Irula language|Irula]]<br/>[[Paniya language|Paniya]]<br/>[[Saurashtra language|Saurashtra]]
| fam1 = [[Egyptian hieroglyphs|Egyptian]]
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The '''Tamil script''' (<big>{{lang|ta|தமிழ் அரிச்சுவடி}}</big> {{transliteration|ta|ISO|Tamiḻ ariccuvaṭi}} {{IPA-ta|tamiɻ ˈaɾitːɕuʋaɽi|}}) is an [[abugida]] script that is used by [[Tamils]] and [[Tamil language|Tamil]] speakers in [[India]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Malaysia]], [[Singapore]], [[Indonesia]] and elsewhere to write the [[Tamil language]].<ref>{{Citation | title=The Unicode 5.0 Standard | edition=5 | publisher=Addison-Wesley | place=Upper Saddle River, NJ | year=2006 | isbn=0-321-48091-0 | last=Allen | first=Julie }} at p. 324</ref> It is one of the [[official scripts of the Indian Republic]]. Certain minority languages such as [[Saurashtra language|Saurashtra]], [[Badaga language|Badaga]], [[Irula language|Irula]] and [[Paniya language|Paniya]] are also written in the Tamil script.<ref>{{citation| editor-last=Lewis | editor-first=M. Paul | title=Ethnologue: Languages of the World | edition=16th| url=http://www.ethnologue.com/ | publisher=SIL International | location=Dallas, Tex. | year=2009 | access-date=28 August 2009}}</ref>
[[Keezhadi excavation site|According to the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department (TNAD), the cultural deposits found during excavations at Keeladi in Tamil Nadu's Sivaganga district date back to between the 6th century BCE and 1st century CE, or 2,600 years ago. This is about 300 years earlier than the third century BCE that was previously believed. In 2018, six carbon samples were collected from the fourth season of excavations and sent to Beta Analytic Lab in Miami, Florida for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) dating. One sample collected at a depth of 353 cm dated back to 580 BCE. The excavations at Keeladi have revealed artifacts that indicate the existence of an urban civilization in the Sangam age on the banks of the Vaigai River. The findings include evidence of weaving, dyeing, and glass bead industries, as well as gold ornaments, copper articles, and ivory combs. Other artifacts include terracotta and ivory dice, gamesmen, and evidence of hopscotch, which suggest the Keeladi people enjoyed hobbies like games. Some of the symbols found in Keeladi's pot sherds also resemble signs from the Indus Valley, which suggests the site may be part of the Vaigai Valley Civilization]][[Mangulam|.The Tamil-Brahmi script, also known as Dhamili or Tamil, is believed to be older than the Ashokan Brahmi script. The Tamil-Brahmi script is a variant of the Brahmi script that was used in southern India to write early Old Tamil inscriptions. The earliest known Brahmi inscriptions are the rock-cut edicts of Ashoka the Great, which date back to 250-232 BC. However, some say that new discoveries of Damili inscribed potsherds indicate that the script may have originated before the Ashoka era. The Tamil-Brahmi script differs from the Brahmi inscriptions found elsewhere in India in a few minor ways. For example, it adds diacritics to certain letters to represent sounds that are not found in Prakrit, such as ṉ, ṟ, ṛ, and ḷ. Kamil Zvelebil believes that the Tamil-Brahmi script was the parent script that eventually evolved into the Tamil and Vatteluttu scripts. The earliest Tamil writing has been found in potsherds and inscriptions from the 5th century BCE.]]
[[Tamil inscriptions|Noting that the oldest Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions found in Theni and Madurai districts dated back to 500 BCE, while the oldest Sanskrit inscription found in Rajasthan dated back to just 300 CE, Madurai MP and writer Su Venkatesan said the Tamil language is way older than Sanskrit.]]
[[Tamil inscriptions|The earliest Tamil writing is found in inscriptions and potsherds from the <mark>5th century BCE</mark>. Here are some of the oldest Tamil inscriptions:]]
* [[Tamil inscriptions|Mangulam cave inscriptions]]
[[Tamil inscriptions|Found in Mangulam village near Madurai, these inscriptions were deciphered in 1966 and date to the 2nd century BCE. They record the gift of a monastery by Pandyan king Nedunj Cheliyan to a Jain monk.]]
* [[Tamil inscriptions|Netunceliyan rock inscriptions]]
[[Tamil inscriptions|According to Kamil Zvelebil's 1973 chronology proposal, these inscriptions are derived from Ashokan Brahmi, which was introduced to the Tamil region around 250 BCE.]]
* [[Tamil inscriptions|Pulimankombai and Thathapatty memorial stones]]
[[Tamil inscriptions|These stones are considered to be among the oldest Tamil Brahmi inscriptions found in Tamil Nadu. In 2023, the Times of India reported that a 300 BC memorial stone with Tamil Brahmi inscriptions was found in Thathapatty, but it was covered in vegetation.]]
<ref>{{citation| editor-last=Lewis | editor-first=M. Paul | title=Ethnologue: Languages of the World | edition=16th| url=http://www.ethnologue.com/ | publisher=SIL International | location=Dallas, Tex. | year=2009 | access-date=28 August 2009}}</ref>
==Characteristics==
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