The most common writing material was the leaf of the palm, dried and cut into small strips. Lampblack was used as ink and usually applied with a reed pen. In the South, a sharp stylus was used to score the characters on the leaf and powdered charcoal was later rubbed into the depressions, making a much sharper image. Books were made by stringing strips together through one or two holes made at one end. In places where palm leaves were unavailable, birch bark, strips of cotton or silk, and bamboo replaced them. Important notices were engraved on copper plates.

The earliest civilisation of India, the Indus Valley civilisation, shows no evidence of coins being used as a means of barter. Coinage was probably introduced by Persian influence in the sixth century BCE during the Aryan domination.1 The earliest were punch-marked on silver blanks without any inscription. Copper coins were also known. The varied weights of the coins assigned them a certain value. Thus there were various denominations. However, only one type of gold coin is known to have been use in this time period.

While the Greeks brought in their own currency, little changed in the make-up and material of coins until the age of the Guptas (ca. 320-540 CE) when lead and base silver were also used to make coins in the south.

The Indian kingdoms used messengers to send word from one king to another. Pigeons were also used to transmit messages. The latter skill was borrowed from the Sumerians.

1. A. L. Basham, "The Wonder that was India", (Sidgwick and Johnson Limited, 1967), p. 504.