Looking for the earliest known forms of the religious TEXTS the following religion *Buddhism?

Question

Looking for the earliest known forms of the religious TEXTS the following religion/deities are based on. Need dates and places they were discovered (sourced)… Also looking for claims of validity by the religion's followers.. if available

*Buddhism

Thank you

Answer 1

the earliest known Buddhist manuscripts ever actually found, were recovered from somewhere in northwest Pakistan. These fragments, written on birch bark, are dated to the 1st century. Donated to the British Library in 1994, they are now being studied in a joint project at the University of Washington. (http://depts.washington.edu/ebmp/index.php)

Other "texts" such as the Ratnagunasamcayagatha and the Astasaharika or the Saddharma-pundarika (Lotus Sutra) were supposedly composed between 100 BCE and 100 CE. But there is little evidence and no proof. If you want moreinformation, here are a few links to try:

http://www.budsas.org/ebud/ebsut055.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfection_of_Wisdom
http://www.dharmanet.org/files.html

I hope this helps!