Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka
The Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka are in the foothills of the Vindhyan Mountains on the southern edge of the central Indian plateau. 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 cultural traditions of the inhabitants of the twenty-one villages adjacent to the site bear a strong resemblance to those represented in the rock paintings.
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/925
The Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka are a repository of rock paintings within natural rock shelters with archaeological evidences of habitation and lithic industry, from the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods through the Chalcolithic to the Mediaeval period. They are located within the designated Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary, in an area of abundant natural resources and shelter. The shelters exhibit the earliest traces of human life in India, its rock paintings are among the world's oldest.
The inscribed area consists of 5 clusters (5 hills) of in total ca. 400 shelters. The paintings, largely in white and red, show the varied animal life which shared the forest environment with the prehistoric people, and of the various facets - economic and social - of the peoples' lives. Later more elaborate paintings such as large processions of men on horses and elephants, battle scenes depicting spears, bows, arrows, shields and swords were added. Some of the paintings are superimpositions.
The site was proposed as a cultural landscape, as it shows the cultural evolution in this microcosm from the Palaeolithic to the Medieval Period.
The Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka were discovered by V.S. Wakankar in 1957. Archaeological findings from excavations in the 1970s and 1980s include knives, hand axes, chopper tools and floors.
http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/bhimbetka.html
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