Bhimbhetka Caves and Rock Shelters

The Rock Shelters of Bhimbhetka are in the foothills of the Vindhya Mountains. Within massive sandstone outcrops, above comparatively dense forest, are five clusters of natural rock shelters, displaying paintings that appear to date from the Mesolithic Period right through to the historical period. The excavations at Bhimbhetka have revealed continuous human habitation from the Lower Palaeolithic era to Medieval times.

The outcrop with painted rock shelters rises 100m above the surrounding plains. The hillocks are formed of sandstone of the Vindhya super group, one of the oldest geological formations. These sedimentary rocks have been differentially morphed and turned into ortho-quartzite.

The outcrops with painted rock shelters run east-west for about 8km. Its eastern and southern slopes are very steep while the northern and western are gentle. The hill is topped by a chain of dissected vertical tors rising up to 20m high. These are the eroded remnants of a formerly continuous rock mass. The site has more than 700 rock shelters, of which over 400 have paintings. Only a handful of these are accessible to lay visitors.

Bhimbetka is closely associated with a hunting and gathering economy as demonstrated in the rock art. The paintings are mainly executed in red and white with occasional use of green and yellow. The predominant themes in the paintings are human and animal figures. Composites depict hunting, battle, and cultural scenes featuring dancers and musicians. These paintings cover the period from the lower Palaeo-lithic times up to the medieval period. The paintings from the earliest period are in the form of line drawings of human and animal forms. Over time, the paintings evolved to hunting scenes (Mesolithic and Chacolithic periods), and battle scenes featuring soldiers riding horses and elephants (most of which are from the historical period).

Rock paintings are made on bare rock surface without any preparation in the form of plastering, grinding, or smoothening. Naturally existing soft and smooth fibers, hair, and fingers were typically used as burhses to render the images. Figures drawn on high ceilings and surfaces were probably painted by artists who used branches, projecting platforms (which have subsequently collapsed), or some form of scaffolding. Paintings were often drawn over existing paintings. As many as fifteen layers of superimpositions have been recorded at Bhimbhetka.

The colours are obtained from naturally occuring materials - ochre from hametite and white colour from lime. The binding medium was one of water, animal fat, or plant extract (gum).

Bhimbhetka has been occupied through the Lower Palaeolithic era (100,000 to 40,000 years ago), Middle Palaeolithic (40,000 to 20,000 years ago), Upper Paleawolithic (20,000 to 10,000 years ago), Mesolithic (10,000 to 2,500 years ago), and the historical era.

Shelter No. 1 features paintings from the historic period, including silhouttes of two long-tusked elephants on the ceiling, one with a spear-wielding rider.

Shelter No. 2 features an image of an animal (a horse?) with a rider. While there are over 40 drawings in the cave, most of them have faded.

Shelter No. 3 is dubbed the 'Auditorium Rock' given its large size. It has seventeen clusters of paintings from the pre-historic period. The colours used here are red sienna, light red, burnt umber, and sepia. The paintings in this cave include bulls, buffaloes, deer, antelope, peacock, a tiger, and a the outline of a small, human left-hand. There are several line drawings of humans and animals at a lower level on the left. This cave has a number of cupules (depressions on stone), probably dating to the Lower Palaeolithic period.

Shelter No. 4 is a large, semi-circular shelter and has a large projection. This has been dubbed 'Zoo Rock' on account of a number of animal images drawn here. There are 453 figures in this shelter - 252 animals of 16 species, 90 humans engaged in different activities, two squirrels, a cock, spotted deer, snake, and barasinga (swamp deer), along with six decorative elements, two enclosures (probably hunting snares), an inscription in Sankha script, and 99 fragmented figures. As many as ten layers of superimposed figures can be seen in this cave. While most can be dated to the pre-historic era, there are some from the historical period as well. The paintings here include a boar painted in dark red, animals like elephant, rhinoceros, boar, barasingha, spotted deer and cattle and snake. Later paintings include battle scenes painted in red and an elephant painted in white.

Shelter No. 5 has a lower and an upper chamber. Stick figures of a group of dancing humans is seen in white. The image of a langur near a tree is also clearly visible among other paintings of this chamber.

Shelter No. 6 is a relatively small chamber facing east. It has depictions of animals in white. There are three layers of paintings seen here, the earliest of which can be seen in faded red on the right hand side of the shelter.

Shelter No. 7 has paintings originating in the early historic period. The figure of a horseman riding a horse is seen on the ceiling, below which are depicted six horse riders, with the third being larger than the others.

Shelter No. 8 has two sections - a main chamber, and a smaller cell on the west. The larger chamber has a richly painted ceiling dating back to the historical period. These paintings, now partly faded, depict bands of armor-clad soldiers, and cavalrymen. The ceiling features more images in white, with later-day images in red ochre overlaid on them.

Shelter No. 9 is a shallow, east-facing cavity. It has the most colourful set of images with red, ochre, green, and yellow images, part of which are executed on a white base rock. The images here feature a flower pot, alongside images of horsemen and elephants with riders.

Shelter No. 10 has depictions of birds which resemble peacocks and peahens painted on the left side of the wall. A swordsman, deer, and eight figures of drummers and dancers - all painted in white - are also seen in this cave.

Shelter No. 11 features paintings from the historical period, mostly in white, with a few of them having a border in red ochre. Battle scenes are depicted here with groups of cavalrymen and foot soldiers.

Shelter No. 12 features paintings of different kinds of animals - a buffalo with large horns, a galloping nilgai antelope. Four chital does are depicted in a vertical arrangement, as if they are diving off a cliff.

Shelter No. 13 features several images of boars - in two different cavities on the ceiling, and on a lower panel. The lower panel is a hunting scene with a group of hunters clearly visible. The body of the boar is decorated with geometric designs.

Shelter No. 14 features a hunting scene with men carrying a dead boar seen here. The shelter also has a group of eleven hunters, carrying bows and arrows. The cave also has vermilion figures of two elephants, and three buffaloes in creamy white. A depiction of an animal with a honeycomb patterns on its body, tapering legs, and large horns is also seen here.

Shelter No. 15, also known as 'Boar Rock' is a mushroom shaped rock featuring a large silhoutted figure of a mythical feature resembling a boar. The animal has large curved horns, a massive snout, mustache, and bristles on the back. A small figure of a man is seen fleeing from the boar, and a small crab is inscribed next to the man. The hind legs of the boar are overlaid by the figure of a buffalo facing the other way. This prominent image is painted nearly 10m above ground level. There are other figures - human, buffalo, rhinoceros, langur, etc. - also seen on this rock.