Bhimbetka - An Archaeological Treasure Trove

Distance : 46km from Bhopal

Surrounded by the northern fringe of the Vindhya mountain range, Bhimbetka is also known as Bhima’s Lounge (Bhima was the second of the five Pandava princes in the Hindu epic Mahabharata). A pre-historic site, its giant rock formation must have provided ample shelter to the ancient tribes that dwelt here. Recently, about 760 rock shelters of the Neolithic age (circa 8,000 b.c.) were discovered here. These shelters are decorated with picture writings, depicting the life and times of pre-historic cave dwellers. Some of the drawings in white are reminiscent of the cave paintings in Pachmarhi, making the Bhimbetka group an archaeological treasure trove, an invaluable chronicle in the history of man.


¤ The Attractions of Cave Paintings

Most of the paintings here are in red and white with occasional dashes of yellow and green, with themes culled from events in everyday life, thousands of years ago. The scenes depicted are mainly of dancing, playing music, hunting, horse riding, elephant riding, decorating bodies, collecting honey. Household scenes too constitute an occasional theme. Animals such as tigers, lions, wild boar, bisons, elephants, dogs and crocodiles – species that pre-historic man must have encountered – have been also portrayed.
The walls of these shelters are also adorned with religious symbols that were popular with these pre-historic artists. The paintings are often superimposed, which reveals that the surface was used by different people at different times. Some of the work is as old as 30,000 years, while the more recent pictures can be traced back to the medieval period.

In fact, the drawings can be classified under seven different periods. They are:


¤ Period I (Upper Palaeolithic)

These are linear representations in green and red of large herds of animals that have long become extinct from these areas.
For instance, rhinos, wild buffaloes, bisons and mammoths shown in the cave paintings of Bhimbetka can be traced back to the Palaeolithic age when these creatures were extant.
Some of the paintings also depict mythical creatures and events. These specimens, some of them almost 30,000 years old, display great vitality and narrative skill. Some of the animals and rituals cannot be related to any present-day religious figure and ceremony. Furthermore, although the rock art site is located in a tribal area, the tribals refuse to accept any direct or indirect relationship with these paintings.


¤ Period II (Mesolithic)

Much smaller in size, the stylised figures in this group portray the linear decoration of the body. Along with animals, humans also make an appearance in these pictures. Scenes depicting hunters armed with spears and arrows, barbed and tipped with microliths, can be seen on the walls. Hunting scenes were a popular motif with the Mesolithic rock painters.
Also in evidence are drawings of birds, musical instruments, and of eve
Communal dances are also drawn on the walls, along with pictures of domestic bliss, like women and children performing household chores.

The paintings of the Mesolithic period have a deeper significance, and one cannot remain immune to the excitement that slowly builds up as one analyses these pictures. It is a moment in time when our ancestors were taking a leap forward from animal to human existence, groping cautiously to achieve social organisation. This was when civilisation, as we know it, first made its tentative appearance on the craggy hills of the Vindhyas.


¤ Period III (Chaleolithic)

An observation of the paintings of this period reveals a close affinity with the paintings done on Chaleolithic pottery. This is what led archaeologists to the conclusion that Chaleolithic tribes were associated with the Bhimbetka rock shelters.
The paintings reveal that during the Chaleolithic period, the cave dwellers of Bhimbetka had met the agricultural communities of the Malwa plains, and started a system of barter to meet their needs.
The cave dwellers probably exchanged Chaleolithic pottery with jungle commodities. Chaleolithic art at Bhimbetka is very similar to Chaleolithic drawings found on pottery, in Malwa. The paintings, mainly in red and white, are very similar to the ones found around the same time in Iran, Iraq, Italy and Scandinavia.

During this period, the cave dwellers were greatly influenced by pottery designs and adopted geometrical patterns to fill the cavity of body mass in the paintings drawn by them.
A few years ago, a theory did the rounds that Chaleolithic man only painted in these rock shelters but never dwelled in them. But that has been exploded by historians who discovered as many as 13 burials at Bhimbetka, and C-14 or carbon dating techniques trace the burnt bones to the Chaleolithic age.


¤ Period IV & V(Early Historic)

The geometrical patterns of the Chaleolithic age were adopted by early historical painters as well, but they introduced new symbols which are also found on early historic coins of India. Painted mainly in red, white and yellow, the figures of riders, religious symbols, tunic-like dresses and scripts of this group follow a decorative and schematic style. Religious beliefs are represented by tree gods, yakshas (tree spirits) and sky chariots.


¤ Period VI & VII (Medieval)

The paintings of this era were mostly green in colour. Occasionally, pale yellow, dark purple and shades of red were also used, and the drawings of human figures differ from those of the earlier five periods.
The paintings display a certain crudeness and degeneration in their artistic style, leading one to the conclusion that rock art at Bhimbetka was already past its zenith as we entered the medieval period. The pictures associated with the medieval period are fairly simplistic and have none of the intricate designs of the Mesolithic or Early Historical tradition.

The colours used by the cave dwellers were prepared by combining manganese, red stone and wooden coal. Occasionally, the extracts of leaves and the fat of animals were also used in the mixture. Even after so many centuries have elapsed, the colours are still discernable, thanks to the chemical reaction resulting from the oxides present on the surface of the rocks.

By studying more than 760 painted rock shelters at Bhimbetka, we can make a tentative estimate of their date. However, this piece is obviously not the last word on Bhimbetka rock art and does not purport to be so. Future discoveries using modern methodology may well force archaeologists to alter their analysis and modify the chronology of the paintings. Nevertheless, one thing is for certain – the pictures are important not just from the point of view of artistic merit; they trace the evolution of civilisation in these parts from pre-history up to the beginning of the modern era.