Q. Write a short notes on: “Cave Paintings of Eastern India in Ancient Period”. [69th BPSC]

Q. Write a short notes on: “Cave Paintings of Eastern India in Ancient Period”. [69th BPSC]

• Rock paintings were discovered from several parts of Bihar from which rock painting discovered in Kaimur plateau regions are the most important.
  • Many rock painting sites have been discovered in the Kaimur district from which most important are Mokwas, Patesar, and Jhapia, Badki Goriya and Dugha. Besides Kaimur plateau there are other sites of rock paintings like Nawada, Jamui and Rohtas districts in Bihar.
  • Almost all these rock paintings have been executed on the smooth surfaces of the inner walls and ceilings of the rock shelters and caves.
  • The paintings display the sun, moon, stars, animals, plants, trees, rivers and are believed to represent love towards nature.
  • The paintings also highlight daily life of the early humans in Bihar, displaying hunting, running, dancing, and walking.
  • In many examples it is noticed that the paintings of the earlier period are superimposed by the subsequent paintings due to which sometimes it is very difficult to identify the paintings of a particular phase and to ascertain the number of superimpositions.
  • In spite of some distinctive features of Kaimur rock paintings most of their nature, style and content as compared to those in other rock painting sites of India are the same.
  • The rock paintings of Kaimur region remarkably show great similarity with the rock paintings of Mirzapur district.
    • This is mainly due to the fact that the Vindhya Range extends right from the Mirzapur district up to Sasaram in the Rohtas district and the Kaimur hills and plateau in the Kaimur district forms a part of the same range. The subject matters such as the depiction of various animals, human beings in action and floral as well as geometrical patterns including handprints and footprints etc. at times also show great affinity.
    • Also, some of the features like depiction of sticklike figures, dancing figures, either individually or in-group. X-ray style figures etc. are also quite commonly noticed in the Kaimur rock paintings as in the rock paintings of Mirzapur and to some extent in other rock painting sites of India.
  • examples from cave painting from Kaimur:
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• The Laljal painting is only specimen of rock art found in West Bengal.
  • It is located in the village of Laljal in the district of Midnapur, West Bengal
  • The painting depicts a bovine animal in profile with its head turned. The representation is described as lively, accurate, and attractive.
  • Three colors were identified: oxidic red, chocolate, and buff red. The colors were mixed with oily compounds or fats for durability.
• Isko Caves in Jharkhand
  • Located in Hazaribagh, the rock painting here offer an extraordinary glimpse into the lives and artistic brilliance of early humans. These paintings dates back to the Mesolithic period.
  • They depict various scenes of hunting, fishing, dancing, fighting and ritual activities. The paintings also ahs the enigmatic abstract geometrical designs making it a very rare site to watch.
  • The paintings are made with natural pigments such as red ochre, yellow ochre, white kaolin and black manganese.
  • The paintings show a high degree of artistic skill and expression, as well as a rich cultural and social life of the ancient people.
  • There is a strange resemblance between the motifs of Isko cave rock painting and the Sohrai Painting which is a tribal painting tradition practices in the villages of Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh area.
    • Some examples from Isko:

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  • Thethangi, Rahaman and Sidpa are some other rock painting site in Jharkhand.
• Jogimara Cave Paintings
  • Located in Chattisgarh, It is one of the oldest cave paintings made in 1^st century BC. You can find paintings of non-religious elements like dancing humans, nature elements and others.
  • The cave is said to be an attachment to the amphitheatre and paintings were made to decorate the room.
• Yogimatha and Gudahandi rock painting located in Odisha drawn by red paint over rock surfaces. The most significant pictures are of a bull followed by cow, calf and a man indicating the domestication of animal by man and agriculture.
  • Gudahandi rock art of Odisha:
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  • Yogimatha rock painting:
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  • On the basis of art style, colour composition of the motifs, the paintings can be dated to the Mesolithic or Chalcolithic periods. The paintings at Gudahandi of Kalahandi may be placed about the 15th millennium B.C., but those at Yogimath are somewhat of later period and may be assigned to about the 10th millennium B.C.
  • The paintings are largely disfigured by human vandalism and superimposition of ritualistic symbols such as the trident, swastika, and other Hindu symbols in a paste of vermillion and ghee.
• Sonbhadra Caves (Uttar Pradesh, near Bihar Border)
  • These caves are dated to the early and middle Stone Age, particularly from the Mesolithic period.
  • The paintings feature primarily animal motifs, such as tigers, rhinoceroses, and buffaloes. Human figures, often in action poses, appear hunting or engaged in dance-like rituals.
  • The Lakhania Caves, located in the Kaimur Range are known for their beautiful pre-historic rock paintings. These historic paintings are about 4,000 years old and bring to life the culture of an era gone by.
  • Khodwa Pahar or Ghoramangar is another well-known ancient cave painting site.