Bhimbetka paintings are seen on Bhimbetka Hill, a part of the Vindhya mountains, located at Risen, Madhya Pradesh, and is formed of sandstones. It was included in the UNESCO Heritage Site list in 2003
A.C.L Carlleyle of ASI discovered the first rock painting in India (1867-1868) at Sohagighat, Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh.
The famous archaeologist Dr V.S Wakankar discovered these great mesolithic rock sites while travelling from Bhopal to Itarsi. Bhimbetka is one of the seven hills marked by a beautiful natural environment. These sites comprise a cluster of 760 rock shelters, nearly 500 of which have engraving and paintings.
CHRONOLOGY –
Wakankar divided Indian rock painting chronology into five phases and twenty styles.
- Phase one – Mesolithic or earlier
- Phase two – Neolithic or Chalcolithic and early Iron Age.
- Phase three – Early historic period.
- Phase four – Medival period.
- Phase five – Recent period.
Mathpal divided the chronology of Bhimbetka sites into three phases with five sub-phases. The first five sub-phases are mesolithic, the sixth one is transitional, and the remaining three belong to the historical period.
COLOURS –
Sixteen colours can be seen in Bhimbetka paintings. The most used shades are light red and white. The artists created colours in these mesolithic sites from various locally available minerals. These minerals were ground into powder and mixed with water, animal fat, and egg white to create colours. The red colour was made from iron oxide. The Mesolithic artists created white and green colours from limestone and green Chalcedony.
BRUSHES –
The brushes were made from twigs, animal hair (Squirrel tail) and Semal or Silk cotton ( Bombex ceiba).
ANIMAL FIGURES OF BHIMBETKA PAINTINGS –
Chital, Leopard, Tiger, Elephant, Lion, Panther, Rhinoceros, Deer, Antelope, Squirrels, Birds, Fish, Lizards, Frogs, Crabs, Scorpions, and Centipedes are depicted in the scenes of Bhimbetka paintings. Even though most species are present in this region, Elephants, Rhinoceros, Lions, Gaur, and Blackbuck have disappeared from the Bhimbetka hills. Snakes are absent in these paintings.
STYLES –
Hunting scenes are depicted in single or in groups. Humans with headdresses made of antlers and horns can be seen in certain paintings. They used ornaments such as necklaces, bangles, kneebands, and wristbands. Dogs accompany humans in hunting.
Some figures are abstract, while others are realistic. Animals are sometimes drawn in outlines. Few paintings used X-ray style to depict the inner organs, including foetuses in the womb. Apart from hunting scenes, one can notice sympathetic scenes in the Bhimbetka paintings. The male figure looks like matchsticks, and the woman in fuller forms. Some men wore a loin cloth made of animal skin or leaves. Some paintings were decorated with geometric patterns. Paintings with ritualistic masked dancers or dancing sorcerers are also found in Bhimbetka paintings. These paintings also show a division of labour based on gender. For example, men hunt, and women prepare food. Vegetables and baskets to store vegetables are depicted in paintings, but we can’t spot pottery in these paintings( no pottery is depicted). Some scenes show rhythmic dance movements.
The most prehistoric paintings of India are drawn in well-lit cave shelters, while the European prehistoric paintings are drawn in dark caves. Two images comparable to the mother goddess are also identified in these caves. Some of the caves are still considered sacred by the local Gond community. The Bhimbetka paintings resemble the paintings in Kakadu National Park in Australia, the cave paintings in the Kalahari Desert and the Lascaux cave paintings in France.
TECHNIQUES –
There are four types of techniques employed in creating Indian prehistoric paintings.
- Wet transparent colour technique (watercolour).
- Crayon technique (dry colour ).
- Wet opaque colour technique (oil).
- Stencil technique (spray colour).
Among the four, the Wet transparent colour technique, the Crayon technique, and the Wet opaque colour technique are used to create paintings. No chiselled drawing has been found in Bhimbetka’s prehistoric paintings.
