Rock Art: Recent Researches and New Perspectives (Festschrift to Padma Shri. Dr. Yashodhar Mathpal) (Vol. I)
Rock Art: Recent Researches and New Perspectives (Festschrift to Padma Shri. Dr. Yashodhar Mathpal)
(Vol. I)
Ajit Kumar
New Bharatiya Book Corporation
Delhi
India
Publisher : NEW BHARATIYA BOOK CORPORATION 208, IInd Floor, Prakashdeep Building, 4735/22, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi - 110002 Ph. : 011-23280214, 011-23280209 E-mail :
[email protected]
All rights reserved. No part of the work may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. The Editors are not responsible for the views and opinions expressed by the contributors.
© Publisher
ISBN : 81-8315-263-5 978-81-8315-263-1
Type Setting: Dr. Rajesh S.V Cover Design: Dr. Ajit Kumar
Assistant Editors: Rajesh. S. V Abhyan. G. S Raj. K. Varman Sachin Tiwary
Printed at : Jain Amar Printing Press Delhi – 110007
Yashodhar Mathpal
Padma Shri. Dr.Yashodhar Mathpal was born in 1939, in the small village of Naula, in Almorah district, he is an acknowledged Archaeologist, Curator, Philosopher, Gandhian and Artist. Yashodhar Mathpal belongs to a category of dedicated and selfless lovers of art. His artistic talents came to the fore, as a child, when he had to assist his uncle, an astrologer, in drawing horoscopes and illustrating almanacs. Perusing his skills and interest, he later obtained his Masters degree in fine arts from Lucknow Arts College. Mathpal came back to his village and started teaching in the school founded by his father, who was a social worker and a follower of Gandhi. His fatherʹs nationalist idealism exposed him to Gandhian thought and philosophy which cultivated in him austerity and simplicity. In 1973, he read a magazine article on the rock paintings of Bhimbetka near Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. He resigned his job and with the few hundred rupees he had saved, set out to join the Deccan College under the University of Pune to obtain his Ph.D in Archaeology on Bhimbetka rock-paintings. Mathpal studied and reproduced the rock painting of Bhimbetka laboriously. He discovered that primeval drawings often tell stories of the lives of our ancestors who painted them. Consequent to obtaining his doctorate, Mathpal has carried out archaeological exploration-excavations and rock art studies in the regions of Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and the Shivaliks. Mathpal has tried to visualize the life of the prehistoric man and has captured some really beautiful glimpses of these on his canvas. His reproductions breathe with a life of their own and have received praise from art-lovers all over the world. His paintings have been exhibited in France, Italy, Portugal,
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Rock Art: Recent Researches and New Perspectives (Festschrift to Yashodhar Mathpal)
England and Australia. He has also converted his drawings into glossy picture-postcards, to popularize and bring out the depth of ancient rock art. It is one thing to eulogies art/folk-art and folk culture, and yet another to dedicate your life to the preservation of this rich and rare cultural heritage. With only his vision and invincible spirit by his side, Dr. Mathpal embarked on a venture which today has flowered into the Folk Culture Museum in Bhimtal. It is a one-man show and he runs it without accepting any aid either from the government or from any individual. The museum houses more than 700 stone implements of prehistoric period, collected and classified by Mathpal himself, old fossils, pottery and bricks recovered from prehistoric/historic excavation sites, dozens of woodwork specimen from Kumaoni region, rare manuscripts, and other folk and tribal crafts are the pride of his collections He has authored eight books and has more than 175 published papers. He has presented papers in various national and international seminars and conferences and won accolades. His efforts and contribution to promote Indian culture has received appreciation from the society at large. He has been felicitated with several awards of international and national fame including Padma Shri from the Government of India. He continues his life, which is a saga of persistence, perseverance and patience at Bhimtal, nurturing his endeavour to preserve folk art and culture.
About this Book This book is a humble tribute to Padma Shri. Dr.Yashodhar Mathpal, a scholar whom I had known from his rock art research works on Bhimbhetaka and Kerala. I got to meet him in person at New Delhi, while attending the International Conference on Rock Art organized by the IGNCA in 2012. I was deeply drawn to his scholarship, simplicity and affectionate approach. When I placed before him the thought and request of bringing out a festschrift volume in his honour, he acceded to it after some persuasion. Considering the specialization of Dr. Mathpal, it was decided to devote the festschrift volume exclusively to rock art. The proposal received spontaneous support when placed before scholars working in the field. Papers on rock art from four foreign countries and nineteen Indian states find discussion in this book. I am grateful to all the scholars, foreign and Indian, who have contributed their research papers for this volume. It is heartening to note that a large number of young researchers are taking keen interest in rock art studies and have contributed papers. I am optimistic that this book will be useful to the connoisseurs of rock art studies. Editing the articles and making it presentable for publication was an arduous task happily undertaken. In this task, I have had the support and active collaboration of young dynamic assistant editors like Rajesh.S.V, Abhyan, G.S, Raj.K.Varman and Sachin Kr. Tiwary. The credit of setting the books in its entirety goes to Rajesh, S.V, and I am indebted to him for it. I am thankful to proprietors of New Bharatitya Book Corporation, New Delhi Shri. Subhash Jain and Deepak Jain for conceding to publish the book. Dr. Ajit Kumar
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Contents Page No. v-vi vii-xi
Yashodhar Mathpal Contents
Vol. I CUBA 1 Art in Majayara-Yara Elevations in Baracoa, Guantánamo, Cuba Racso Fernández Ortega, Dany Morales Valdés, Dialvys Rodríguez Hernández, Roberto Orduñez Fernández, Alejandro Correa Borges and Juan Carlos Lobaina Montero PERU 2
Quilcas and Toponymic Approach, an Original Contribution to Rock Art Research in Peru Gori Tumi Echevarría López
1-22
23-33
ITALY 3 Prehistoric Pleistocenic Cave Art in Italy Dario Seglie
34-46
PAKISTAN 4 Cup-Marks in Gadap, Karachi (Sindh, Pakistan) Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro
47-58
INDIA 5 Ladder Symbolism: Morphology and Meaning with Special Reference to Rock-Art India Ajit Kumar 6 Some Thoughts on Rock Art Bulu Imam JAMMU AND KASHMIR 7 The Rock Art of Ladakh: A Historiographic and Thematic Study Laurianne Bruneau
59-71
72-78
79-99
viii 8 9
Stupas in Petroglyphs: A Living Héritage of Ladakh Meenakshi Dubey-Pathak A Note on Petroglyphs from Bomai, Sopore District, Jammu and Kashmir Ajit Kumar and Abhishek Mishra
UTTARAKHAND 10 Situating Rock Art in the Archaeology of Garhwal Himalaya: A Fresh Look Akshay Verma, Pradeep M. Saklani, Vinod Nautiyal, R. C. Bhatt, Sudhir Nautiyal, Bhagat Pawar, Manmatya Mishra and Nagendra Rawat UTTAR PRADESH 11 Rock Art of Fatehpur Sikri Region with Special Reference to Bandrauli and Madanpura Arakhita Pradhan RAJASTHAN 12 Study of Rock Art and Associated Archaeological Cultures in Harauti Plateau, South-Eastern Rajasthan, India Shaik Saleem GUJARAT 13 Rock Paintings and Tribal Art in Gujarat: A Case Study Urmi Ghosh Biswas 14 Prehistoric Investigations in Kutch, Gujarat Shaik Saleem MADHYA PRADESH 15 The Lower Paleolithic Petroglyphs of Bhimbetka Robert G. Bednarik 16 Discovery of New Rock Art Sites and It’s Implications for Indian Archaeology in Central Indian Context Ruman Banerjee, Radha Kant Varma and Alistair W. G. Pike 17 Decorated Rock Shelters of the Gawilgarh Hills Prabash Sahu and Nandini Bhattacharya Sahu 18 Nanoun, A Rock Art Site Near Chanderi (Ashok Nagar District), Madhya Pradesh Rajendra Dehuri and Sachin Kumar Tiwary
100-105 106-112
113-121
122-133
134-163
164-174 175-180
181-202 203-216
217-230 231-237
ix 19
Handprints in the Rock Art and Tribal Art of Central India Meenakshi Dubey-Pathak and Jean Clottes
CHHATTISGARH 20 Some Aspects of Rock Art Research in Chhattisgarh with Reference to Bastar and Adjoining Regions G.L.Badam, Bharti Shroti and Vishi Upadhyay BIHAR 21 Rock Art of Kaimur Region, Bihar Sachin Kumar Tiwary JHARKHAND 22 Distinct Dominant Thematic, Motivational and Stylistic Traits in the Rock Art of Southern Bihar and Adjoining Jharkhand A. K. Prasad 23 A Newly Discovered Painted Rock Art Site at Banpur, Jharkhand Himanshu Shekhar and Yongjun Kim NORTH-EAST 24 A Note on the Rock Engraving of the North- East India L. Kunjeswari Devi and S. Shyam Singh ORISSA 25 Signs and Symbols in Odishan Rock Art and the Indication about Early Writings Soumya Ranjan Sahoo 26 Glimpses of the Rock Paintings and Rock Engravings in Odisha Tosabanta Padhan
238-246
247-274
275-286
287-296
297-304
305-315
316-320
321-331
Vol. II ANDHRA PRADESH 27 Botanical Survey at the Rock Art Sites in Andhra Pradesh- A Report M. Raghu Ram 28 Rock Art of Andhra Pradesh: A Review P. C. Venkatasubbaiah
333-340
341-366
x MAHARASHTRA 29 Rock Art of Maharashtra Kantikumar A. Pawar 30 Petroglyphs on the Laterite Rock Surface at Kudopi, District Sindhudurg, Maharashtra: Evidence of Prehistoric Shamanistic Practices? Satish Lalit GOA 31
Rock Art of Goa- A Few Observations M. Nambirajan
KARNATAKA 32 Rock Art at Kurugodu, District Bellary, Karnataka M. Mahadevaiah and Veeraraghavan N. 33 Further Discovery of Rock Art at Tatakoti (Badami), North Karnataka Mohana R. 34 A Note on the Rock Art in Coastal Karnataka T. Murugeshi TAMIL NADU 35 Rock Art in Vellore Region Rajan K. 36 Prehistoric Hunting from Palanimalai Paintings, Tamil Nadu – An Ethno-archaeological Study R. N. Kumaran and M. Saranya 37 An Iron Age-Early Historic Motif on the Rock Paintings of Tamil Nadu V. Selvakumar KERALA 38 Petroglyphs in Kerala with Special reference to Those in Edakkal Rock - Shelter, Kerala Ajit Kumar 39 Some Fresh Observations on the Human Figures in Edakkal Rock Engravings, Kerala Praveen C. K. and Vijay Sathe 40 Rock Art in Kerala: Emerging Facets and Certain New Interpretations Jenee Peter
367-379 380-386
387-394
395-414 415-424
425-432
433-446 447-456
457-460
461-474
475-481
482-490
xi 41 42
43 44
Rock Art in the Great Migration Corridor of East Anamalai Valley Benny Kurian The Excavation of the Rock Shelter in the Anjunad Valley: A Preliminary Report N. Nihil Das and P. P. Joglekar White Paintings from Anjunadu Valley Shabin Mathew Discoveries of Rock Engravings from the Districts of Palakkad and Ernakulam, Kerala V. Sanalkumar Contributors
491-521 522-528
529-539 540-544
545-550
Nanoun, A Rock Art Site Near Chanderi (Ashok Nagar District), Madhya Pradesh Rajendra Dehuri1 and Sachin Kumar Tiwary2 1
2
Archaeological Survey of India, Khajuraho Museum, Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, India (Email:
[email protected]) Archaeological Survey of India, Sarnath Circle, Sarnath, Varanasi 221007. (Email:
[email protected])
Abstract: Rock art reveals great potentialities for cultural studies right from the prehistoric times. This paper attempts to discuss the rock art observed in the explorations conducted in the Chanderi block of Ashok Nagar district falling in the Nanoun region of Madhya Pradesh.
Introduction The area of study comes under the Malwa sub region, though physiographically it would comprise a large area, here only the upper Betwa region and rock shelter scattered around Nanoun have been taken into consideration.
Location of the Site Nanoun village is located 25 km south-west of Chanderi (Ashok nagar district) and an all season road connects the two (Fig.1a) The rock shelters generally face west are located about 2 km away from the Nanoun village and on the eastern side of the river Urr or Urvashi, (a tributary of Betwa)(Fig.1b).
Geographical Features The area is situated at an average elevation of 507 m above MSL (1640 ft). This plateau region, is an extension of the Deccan trap of the Cretaceous period. The main classes of soil are black and brown soil. The volcanic soil of the region owes its black colour to the high iron content in the basalt from which it is formed. During winter the region is pleasant with the temperature ranging 180C -50C with occasional rainfall. In summer, starting in March, it is very hot and dry and the temperature during the day can go as high as 490 C. The south-west monsoonal rain begin in the region around mid-June and last to September and receives a precipitation of around 140 cm/ year.
Previous Work V.S. Wakankar was probably the first to report rock art sites in the region (Wakankar 1994:56-60). Later Neumayer added a few more site of from this region. Most of these works were limited to mere reporting and no in depth analysis (Tiwari 2000: 273).
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Figure 1a: Location map
Figure 1b: A rock shelter close to river Urr
Superimposition The Nanoun rock shelters have superimposed paintings datable to three different periods/phases (Fig.2). It is interesting to note that the pictographs of these three phases use varied colour and
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pigments. The pictograph layer the first phase is very thin and it has an approach which is essentially crude. Whereas pictographs of phase two have a light colour tone and thin out lines. In the third phase artist use dark colour and thick out line and have it painted over the pictographs of the second phase. The darker colour scheme of the third phase was possibly used to dominate over the colour scheme of the earlier work executed on the same surface.
Figure 2: Superimposed paintings
Colours Used The artists were well aware with the different notation of colours and their uses, possibly due their prolonged use. The colours used are ochre red and various shades derived from it like light red, crimson red colour, dark orange, brown and black. How and why they selected different colours for painting the art themes like floral, animals, human or their activities, is difficult to estimate.
Motifs: Floral On the centre of wall is depicted a large tree with its branches full of big sized honey combs and such depictions are not a very popular in Indian rock-art (Fig.3). This depiction brings to fore the keen observation of the creators of the paintings and the importance of honey in their diet.
Animals There are carnivorous and herbivorous animals painted on the walls of the shelter. The carnivorous include crocodiles, snake and lion etc., while the herbivorous include bull, horses, Neelgai/cow, buffalo, antelopes, elephants, and deer (Fig.4). Barasinga and Neelgai seem to dominate the depictions (Fig.5 and 6). The painting of peacock and snakes either mating or biting into a designed frame are interesting. (Fig.7) the technical affinity of these animals with the human is interesting. The animals are sometimes depicted larger than the human forms and painted in rows. Some of them are painted very naturalistically, rarely some have the ‘X-ray’ form, some time animals are depicted in dotted lines. Some animals have criss-crossed lines drawn over their body. At times animals are depicted in linear
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Rock Art: A Recent Reesearches and New N Perspectivves (Festschrift ft to Yashodharr Mathpal)
sstick like forrm, or with h heavy and d thick pain nts and some animals are a depicted d with highlly ornate a antlers or ho orns. Numeriically animaal depictionss exceed hum mans (Fig.7)..
F Figure 3: Treee with honeeycombs
Figure 4: Animals run nning and man m possibly y in hunt witth bow and arrow a
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D Dehuri and Tiw wary 2014: 232 2-238
Figu ure 5: Animals moving to o left in a row w
H Human A Activity Sccenes H Human form ms, artistica ally and tecchnically sh hares the ch haracters off animals depictions. d T They are
Figuree 6: A man chasing c herd d of Barasing gas
Figure 7:: Snake and circles
depicted in single d s or in groups. g A man m possibly chasing outt some wild animals from m his farm land with s stick and raissed arms is an a interestin ng depiction n as it records and recallss the man-an nimal conflicct during a ancient times (Fig.6, 8). In hunting scenes, the use u of bow and arrow and a spear iss notable (Fiig.4). The u of possib use bly a horse in the chasse of wild an nimals duriing hunt is notable and d this depicttion is of h historical period (Fig.5).. In the grou up activitiess depicted, iss a dance reecital. Here the perform mers have o leg raiseed quite like in the dancce practiced by one b the aboriiginals in the region tod day (Fig.9). There T are a also some th herianthropo omorphic crreatures in depiction in n the ‘x ray y’ style of which w one is i shown p possibly seatted on podiu um of reeds (Fig.8).
G Geometri c and Non-geomettric Form There are veery few geom T metric and non-geometr n ric forms and possibly of o later perio od. They aree done in b both dark an nd light colo ours and found in isolaation. Some concentric circles and a snake is shown s in c close associaation and th he magico-reeligious overtones and alliance of some s of these figures cannot be r ruled out.
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Rock Art: A Recent Reesearches and New N Perspectivves (Festschrift ft to Yashodharr Mathpal)
Figure 8: Therianthro opomorphicc creaturess
Fig gure 9: Danccing human group g
T Tentative Chronolog The chronollogy is still an enigmaatic issue in T n rock art studies. s Ho owever, bassed on com mparative p parameters w with others regional wo orks undertaake in the ceentral Indian n regions it is i quite posssible that t the painting gs seen in th he rock sheelters aroun nd Nanoun region com mmenced du uring Mesoliithic and c continued in nto the historrical period.
T Threats Posed to th he Site 1 These sheelters and art in them are 1. a being su ubjected to human van ndalism and degradation n due to environm mental factorss. 2 The seepaage of waterr is washing 2. g off pigmen nts of the picctographs, an nd depositio on of salts, clays c and mineral co omponents on o the surface are creatiing condition ns suitable for cryptograammic grow wth. 3 The local villagers, domestic 3. d aniimals and tourist visitin ng them aree posing thrreat to this valuable heritage.
D Discussio on and Co onclusion IIn this regio on, most cav ves and sheelters are lo ocated closee to water sources. s Nott surprising gly, these s shelters by virtue v of theeir strategic locations atttracted nom mads who ch hanced to diiscover them m during
Dehuri and Tiwary 2014: 232-238
237
the course of their hunting and gathering excursions. During this course, they left behind the traces of their stay and activity in the form of pictographs. The general features of the rock art in Nanoun, is that, they have been generally found executed on the smooth surfaces of the inner walls and ceilings of the rock shelter. The pictographs executed on the rock surfaces generally have horizontal or vertical composition oriented towards left, right or top. In many examples, it is noticed that the pictographs of the earlier period are superimposed by the subsequent pictographs due to which sometimes it is very difficult to identify the pictographs of a particular phase and to ascertain the number of superimpositions. Most of the illustrations in the pictographs are in different shades of ochre, which was presumably prepared by utilizing the hematite, available in the surroundings.
Acknowledgement The authors are thankful to Shri Kailash Sen and Odorico Bradmasche of Bapu Cultural Tours, Khajuraho for providing information about the site. Thanks also to Kale Bhai, the local guide at Chanderi who helped us during our study, at the site. The authors are also thankful to the editor Dr. Ajit Kumar for meticulously editing the article and accepting it for publication.
References Tiwari, S.K., 2000, Riddles of Indian Rock shelter paintings, Delhi: Sarup and Sons publishing. Wakankar, V.S., 1994, The Madhya Pradesh Gazetteers, Guna, Directorate of Gazetteers, Department of Culture, Government of Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal, 1994, pp.56-76.
