Bhimbetka is located in Dist.Raisen in Madhya Pradesh. Bhimbetka Rock Shelters were occupied around 300,000 years ago by the Homo erectus. In these rock shelters, some of the rock paintings of South Asian Stone Age are around 30000 years old. You can also find the earliest evidences of dance in Bhimbetka Cave. In 2003, Bhimbetka Caves were announced as UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Moving around Bhimbhetka is very well defined by extremely well placed arrows for directions to complete the circuit of all ther caves which are easily understandable. There are also display screens & motifs showcasing relevant information about the paintings. These really assist a visitor offering a fantastic understanding of the historical & archeological perquisite theses caves and paintings offer. The paintings at Bhimbhetka are amongst one of the earliest transcribed exhibition of human expressions, creativity and imagination. Worth appreciating is the fact that the paintings were specifically drawn in the crevices, walls and the sheltered hollow spaces so that they endured the test of time. This forth sightedness ensured these drawings and paintings were not exposed to the weather and the rains which would have surely damaged them by now.
The paintings have actuall been carried out primarily in red and white colours, with the periodic usage of green and yellow. The colours were infact prepared by integrating locally available manganese, redstone and even the fat of animals sometimes. Apart from human figures, animals such as bisons, tiger, wild boars, dogs, elephants and crocodiles have actually been frequently replicated. Of the primary groups of shelters, the one on Bhimbetka hill on the top is quickly assessable and even noticeable from the national highway 46 running close to it. One of the very first noticeable painting is that of a child’s handprint in red inside a cave. You might have to strain your eyes a bit up until you see it,however it will captivate you – just because, for the visitor, this is the very first evidence of human existence at the shelters. In reality, there is even a trench here in which human skeletal remains were apparently discovered.
As you venture ahead, you will see representations of numerous scenes from the lives, dreams and creativity of the cave inhabitants who painted these brilliant images. Common practices during those times, events such as community dancing, animals & human fight engagements and battles are depicted. Remarkably, there are a couple of symbols that are frequently depicted more often in the paintings. The very first of these are of human figures participating in various activities. The most fascinating specimen is a display of a painting of a celebratory scene – stick figure dancing around a main figure, who is playing a musical sort of instrument. Animal images has been frequently used in almost all the paintings. Despite the fact that a few of the paintings are a little faded, one still acknowledges the showcasing of numerous species of animals used extensively — deer, Bull, ox,tiger and elephants.
Another most prominent amongst these is a painting on a mushroom shaped rock which exhibits a figure of an animal that resembles a huge boar with a big snout, which literally appears to be a legendary animal. Just across the snout of the boar, there is a relatively tiny drawn figure of a human, probably depicting the huge size of the boar, and in front of this figure is a crab – an diverting drawing undoubtedly. Symbols of individual and community hunting as well as combat scenes are frequented enough in the drawings. A brilliant example of this is the graphic illustration of an elephant and a bull, injured by the arrow of a Hunter. These figures have actually been superimposed on an earlier drawn illustration of a horse rider coming face to face with a soldier. This can be interpreted as how the same locations were utilized by various individuals at different time zones. Paintings of royals, soldiers and horse and elephant riders are all evidences of combat scenes. Painting number 7 reveals 2 riders participating in a battle.