Prehistoric Rock Paintings

The time in the distant past before paper, written language, or books existed is known as prehistory. Understanding how people lived during these times is like solving a puzzle. Scholars piece together clues from excavations, which reveal old tools, pottery, bones, and, most importantly, drawings on cave walls. These paintings are some of the earliest art forms created by humans, used to express themselves once their basic needs for food, water, and shelter were met.

Why did they create this art?

Decoration: They may have wanted to make their homes more colorful and beautiful.
Record-Keeping: The paintings could have served as a visual diary to document their daily lives.

Note

The early period of human development, known as prehistory, is often called the Old Stone Age or the Palaeolithic Age. While we don't know if people in the Lower Palaeolithic era made art, artistic activities flourished by the Upper Palaeolithic times.

The Discovery of Rock Paintings in India

The first discovery of rock paintings in the world was actually made in India.

In 1867-68, an archaeologist named Archibold Carlleyle found the first rock paintings.
This discovery happened twelve years before the famous discovery of cave paintings at Altamira in Spain.
Early archaeologists like Cockburn, Anderson, Mitra, and Ghosh later discovered many more sites across the Indian sub-continent.

Major Prehistoric Art Sites in India

Rock paintings have been found in many states, including Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, and in the Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand.

Lakhudiyar, Uttarakhand

Located on the banks of the River Suyal, Lakhudiyar literally means "one lakh caves." The paintings here are divided into three main categories:

Man: Humans are shown in stick-like forms. A famous scene depicts hand-linked dancing figures.
Animal: The main animal figures are a long-snouted animal, a fox, and a lizard with multiple legs.
Geometric Patterns: These include wavy lines, rectangle-filled designs, and groups of dots.

The paintings at Lakhudiyar show signs of superimposition, meaning newer paintings were made on top of older ones. The oldest paintings are in black, followed by red ochre, and the most recent ones are in white.

Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh

The granite rocks in these states provided a perfect canvas for Neolithic man.

Famous Sites: Kupgallu, Piklihal, and Tekkalkota.
Types of Paintings: The art here includes paintings in white, paintings in red ochre, and paintings in red ochre over a white background.
Subjects: The paintings depict bulls, elephants, sambhars, gazelles, sheep, goats, horses, and stylized humans.

The Vindhya Ranges and Bhimbetka

The richest collections of prehistoric paintings are found in the Vindhya ranges of Madhya Pradesh and their extensions into Uttar Pradesh. This area was an ideal place for Stone Age people to live because it was full of forests, wild plants, fruits, and streams.

The largest and most spectacular of these sites is Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh.

Location: Located in the Vindhya hills, about forty-five kilometers south of Bhopal.
Scale: The site covers ten square kilometers and has about eight hundred rock shelters, with paintings found in five hundred of them.
Discovery: The caves were discovered in 1957-58 by the renowned archaeologist V.S. Wakankar.

The paintings at Bhimbetka cover a huge variety of themes, from everyday events like hunting, dancing, and honey collection to sacred and royal images like horse and elephant riders.

Art of the Upper Palaeolithic Period

The earliest paintings at Bhimbetka belong to the Upper Palaeolithic period.

Style: They are linear representations, meaning they are drawn with lines.
Subjects: The paintings feature huge animal figures like bisons, elephants, tigers, and rhinos, alongside stick-like human figures.
Colors: The main colors used were green and dark red. The green paintings typically show dancers, while the red ones depict hunters.
Technique: Most figures are filled with geometric patterns.

Art of the Mesolithic Period

The largest number of paintings at Bhimbetka belong to the Mesolithic period. This era saw a shift in style and themes.

Size: The paintings from this period are smaller in size compared to the Palaeolithic ones.
Themes: Hunting scenes are the most common theme. They show people hunting in groups with weapons like barbed spears, pointed sticks, and bows and arrows.
Depiction of Humans: While animals were painted in a naturalistic style, humans were depicted in a stylistic manner. People are shown wearing simple clothes, ornaments, and sometimes elaborate head-dresses or masks. The paintings depict men, women, and children, suggesting a sort of family life. Common scenes include community dances, gathering fruit, and preparing food.
Depiction of Animals: A wide variety of animals are shown, including elephants, bisons, tigers, deer, and even fish and squirrels. The art shows a complex relationship with animals—some paintings show fear, while others show a sense of tenderness and love.

Example

Think of these paintings as the first comic books or action movies. One scene at Bhimbetka shows a group of people hunting a bison. In the process, some injured men are shown lying on the ground. This tells a dramatic story of the struggle for survival.

Techniques of Prehistoric Painting

The artists of Bhimbetka were resourceful and skilled, using natural materials to create colors that have lasted for thousands of years.

Paints: They made paints by grinding various rocks and minerals.
- Red came from haematite (known as geru in India).
- Green came from a type of stone called chalcedony.
- White was likely made from limestone.
Process: The ground powder was mixed with water and a sticky substance like animal fat or tree gum to make it last.
Tools: Brushes were made from plant fibre.
Durability: It is believed the colors have remained intact because of a chemical reaction between the oxides in the paint and the surface of the rocks.

The Purpose and Placement of Paintings

The artists painted on the walls and ceilings of rock shelters. Some paintings are found in shelters where people lived, but others are in places that seem to have had religious importance.

Interestingly, some of the most beautiful paintings are located very high up on rock shelters, in difficult-to-reach places. This might have been done so that the paintings could be seen from a distance, perhaps as landmarks or for special ceremonies. The art often tells a story, showing the adventurous spirit of the people and the majesty of the animals they lived with. Painting scenes of hunting may have given them a sense of power and success before a real hunt.

The Phenomenon of Superimposition

At many sites, especially Bhimbetka, new paintings are often found painted on top of older ones. In some places, there are as many as twenty layers of paintings. Why did they do this? Scholars have a few theories:

The artist might not have liked their first painting and decided to paint over it.
The place or the specific rock wall may have been considered sacred or special, making it a desirable canvas.
The area may have been used by different generations of people over many years, with each new group adding its own art.