Open AccessThe Bakhshālī Manuscript: A Response to the Bodleian Library's Radiocarbon Dating
Author(s) -
Kim Plofker,
Agathe Keller,
Takao Hayashi,
Clemency Montelle,
Dominik Wujastyk
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
history of science in south asia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2369-775X
DOI - 10.18732/h2xt07
Subject(s) - folio , interpretation (philosophy) , regret , newspaper , philology , radiocarbon dating , history , classics , art , literature , archaeology , computer science , philosophy , media studies , sociology , linguistics , gender studies , machine learning , feminism
Popular attention has recently been captured by the results of the Bodleian Library's 2017 project of radiocarbon datingportions of the birch-bark fragments constituting what is known as the Bakhshālī Manuscript. In this paper, we disagree with the interpretation of the findings announced by the Bodleian team. In particular, we argue that the earliest dated folio of this manuscript is unlikely to be the date of the whole text. Rather, the latest dateable folio is logically the date of the scribal activity. This fits well with past estimates of the date of the Bakhshālī Manuscript based on historical, philological and palaeographic arguments.. And we argue that the Bakhshālī Manuscript does include written zeros that function as arithmetical operators, i.e., as numbers in their own right, and not merely as place-holders, as asserted by the Bodleian team. Finally, we express regret that the Bodleian Library chose to announce scientific results without peer-review and through a press release to newspapers and a YouTube video.