The oldest available inscriptions in Tulu are from the period between 14th to 15th century AD. These inscriptions are in the Tulu script and are found in areas in and around Barkur which was the capital of Tulu Nadu during the Vijayanagar period. Another group of inscriptions is found in the "Ullur" "Subrahmanya" Temple near Kundapura. Many linguists like S.U. Panniyadi and L. V. Ramaswami Iyer as well as, P.S. Subrahmanya, suggested that Tulu is among the oldest languages in the Dravidian family which branched independently from its Proto-Dravidian roots nearly 2000 years ago. This assertion is based on the fact that Tulu still preserves many aspects of the Proto-Dravidian language.