Widely acknowledged to be the earliest evidence of art in South Asia, the Bhimbetka cave paintings

are Prehistoric paintings found on the Bhimbetka rock shelters in the Raisen district of present-day
Madhya Pradesh. Bhimbetka comprises over 750 rock shelters, of which over a hundred have
paintings depicting animal and human figures in shades of green, red, white, brown and black. The
earliest of these illustrate scenes from the lives of hunter-gatherers of the Upper Palaeolithic and
Mesolithic periods — a time when many animals were yet to be domesticated, humans were
nomadic and collective civilisations were not yet in existence.

Evidence suggests that the most densely painted caves allowed in more sunlight and were typically
uninhabited. This also supports the widely accepted belief that these paintings were not meant to
beautify or decorate humans’ living spaces. The fact that many of these cave paintings overlap —
implying that the rocks were painted on repeatedly and across successive historical time periods —
has allowed archaeologists to assess their historicity. The Bhimbetka paintings have been classified
into nine phases under three broad cultural periods: Phases I–V in the Mesolithic period, Phase VI in
the Chalcolithic period and Phases VII–IX in the Historic period. Some scholars further suggest that
the paintings could even have originated around 40,000 BCE or earlier. Based on considerable
archaeological evidence, it is suggested that there is a clear distinction between the cave paintings
from the Mesolithic and Historic periods and those from the Upper Palaeolithic period and later
Mediaeval period, which are fewer and less significant in terms of a distinct style.

Early Bhimbetka paintings predominantly feature wild animals such as gaur, a native variety of wild
ox, deer such as the chital, monkeys, wild boars, stags and elephants as well as hunting scenes in
which humans are depicted with bows and arrows and headgear. There are also depictions of
different types of scenes, including ritual practises, women digging out rats from holes and men and
women foraging for fruits and honey. Contemporary scholars have categorised the painted animal
figures in these illustrations into natural, geometric or abstract styles based on whether they are
simple outlines, partially filled-in or silhouetted figures. For instance, several pregnant animals
painted with visible markers such as enlarged stomachs are outlined and drawn using naturalistic or
geometric styles. Sometimes, instead of being coloured, the body of an animal is filled-in with
another animal, suggesting a more conceptual style. For instance, some paintings depict an elephant
painted within the outline of a deer, which could suggest a fantastical and possibly humorous
approach to depicting subjects.

In contrast, later paintings from the Historic period onwards depict processions, scenes of warriors
with swords, shields and daggers and collective rituals. These paintings are characterised by a
marked absence of animal figures, which are disproportionately drawn whenever they do appear. It
has also been suggested that the motifs used in some of these later paintings reveal the religious
influence of Hinduism or Buddhism. In some, there are clear depictions of gods such as Ganesha and
Shiva, representations of the Mother Goddess and symbols such as the trishul and swastika.
Archaeologists have been able to differentiate these paintings from the earlier, more faded paintings
underneath through processes such as radiocarbon dating and other methods. By this time, humans
were no longer living in caves as hunter-gatherers but were in the early stages of civilisation and a
sedentary life with domesticated animals.

To produce these paintings — especially the earlier iterations — brushes were most likely made from
twigs that were chewed to soften and discard the fibres. Additionally, fingers, bird feathers and
animal hair are believed to have been used as brushes. Pigments for different colours may have been
obtained from vegetables or from surrounding sedimentary rocks. Hydrated iron oxides from rocks
were likely used to make shades of ochre and red and burnt to produce colours such as yellow, rust
orange and brown. Bird droppings or plant sap may have been used for whites. Evidence suggests
that colours were only used in the wet form — by mixing pigments with oils and water — and never
in solid or powdered form.

Scholars believe that the Bhimbetka cave paintings were quite mature and advanced for their time
and were probably not the first works of art created by human beings in the region. Although the
purposes of these paintings are unknown, they provide immense historical information about
humans, their relationship with animals and nature, the stages of Prehistoric hunter-gathering and
the eventual transition into more sedentary civilisations with domesticated animals.

The Bhimbetka rock shelters were marked as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003.