Prehistoric Painting – UPSC Notes – Art and Culture

Prehistoric Paintings – Cave Paintings and Their Significance

The term ‘Prehistory‘ denotes a distant era when there was an absence of paper, language, and the written word, leading to the absence of books and written documents. Painting and drawing emerged as the earliest forms of artistic expression for humans during this time, utilizing cave walls as their canvas.

Prehistoric paintings have been discovered in various parts of the world, with a notable surge in artistic activities during the Upper Palaeolithic era. Caves worldwide from this period showcase intricately carved and painted depictions of animals that were crucial to the sustenance of cave-dwellers.

The subjects of these ancient artworks encompassed human figures, human activities, geometric designs, and symbols. In India, the earliest reported paintings date back to the Upper Palaeolithic times.

Significance of Prehistoric Paintings

These prehistoric paintings provide valuable insights into early human beings, offering glimpses into their lifestyle, food habits, daily activities, and, most importantly, their mindset—shedding light on the way they thought. Studying these artworks helps us unravel the rich tapestry of our ancestors’ lives and enhances our understanding of their cultural and cognitive evolution.

Discovery of Prehistoric Rock Paintings in India

• The first discovery of prehistoric rock paintings in India took place in 1867–68 by archaeologist Archibold Carlleyle, preceding the Altamira discovery in Spain by twelve years.
• Early archaeologists, including Cockburn, Anderson, Mitra, and Ghosh, played key roles in uncovering numerous sites across the Indian subcontinent.
• Remnants of rock paintings are found on cave walls in districts of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Bihar.
• Noteworthy paintings also reported in the Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand, specifically at Lakhudiyar along the River Suyal.
  • Lakhudiyar, translating to “one lakh caves,” features paintings categorized into three types: man, animal, and geometric patterns in white, black, and red ochre.
  • Human figures depicted in stick-like forms, alongside animals like a long-snouted creature, fox, and multiple-legged lizard.
  • Geometric patterns include wavy lines, rectangle-filled designs, and groups of dots.
  • Intriguing scenes, such as hand-linked dancing human figures, add cultural depth to the artwork.
• Neolithic artists utilized the granite rocks of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh as canvases, with famous sites including Kupgallu, Piklihal, and Tekkalkota.

Evolution of Prehistoric Paintings

Upper Paleolithic Period:

• Linear representations in green and dark red depict massive animal figures like bisons, elephants, tigers, rhinos, and boars, alongside stick-like human figures.
• Predominantly consisting of geometrical patterns, with green paintings portraying dancers and red ones representing hunters.
• The Vindhya ranges in Madhya Pradesh, particularly at Bhimbetka, feature the richest paintings from this period.

Mesolithic Paintings:

• The largest prehistoric paintings in India belong to this period, characterized by smaller-sized works.
• Hunting scenes dominate, depicting people in groups armed with barbed spears, pointed sticks, arrows, bows, traps, and snares.
• Depictions of adorned hunters with elaborate head-dresses and masks, along with a diverse range of animals.

Prominent Mesolithic sites include Langhnaj in Gujarat, Bhimbetka, Adamagarh in Madhya Pradesh, and SanganaKallu in Karnataka.

Chalcolithic Painting:

• Reflects the association between cave dwellers and settled agricultural communities of the Malwa plains.
• Common motifs include cross-hatched squares, lattices, pottery, and metal tools.
• Vividness and vitality of earlier periods diminish, replaced by a variety of colors, including white, yellow, orange, red ochre, purple, brown, green, and black.
• Artists utilized haematite for red, chalcedony for green, and limestone for white.
• Stories of survival depicted dramatically, showcasing both humans and animals in struggle.
• Individual animal paintings demonstrate the primitive artist’s mastery of proportion and tonal effects, maintaining realism.

Note: The Bhimbetka caves were discovered in 1957–58 by archaeologist S. Wakankar.

Related Posts:

Chapter 1	Indus Civilization Sculpture
Chapter 2	Buddhist Sculpture
Chapter 3	Gupta Sculpture

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FAQs on Prehistoric Paintings

1. What is a prehistoric painting?

• Prehistoric paintings refer to artistic expressions created by early humans before the advent of written records. These artworks provide insights into the daily lives, beliefs, and environments of ancient cultures. Examples include cave paintings, petroglyphs, and other forms of primitive art.

2. What is the most famous prehistoric painting?

• Some of the most famous prehistoric paintings include:
  • Altamira Cave Paintings, Spain
  • Lascaux, France
  • The Apollo 11 Cave Stones, Namibia
  • Kakadu National Park and Other Rock Art Sites, Australia
  • The Lower Pecos Rock Art in Texas and Mexico
  • Cueva de las Manos, Argentina

3. What are the prehistoric paintings in India?

• Important Indian sites of prehistoric paintings include Mirzapur (Uttar Pradesh), Garhwal-Kumaon Region (Uttarakhand), Raigarh Area (Madhya Pradesh), Panchmarhi Area (Madhya Pradesh), and South India Area.

4. What are three characteristics of prehistoric art?

• Common features of prehistoric art include the use of natural materials (stone, bone, wood), depictions of animals, humans, and abstract symbols, and the use of simple and repetitive shapes.

5. What are prehistoric paintings called?

• Cave wall paintings are known as pictographs, found worldwide alongside petroglyphs (incised, pecked, or cut designs on rock surfaces).

6. What is the main characteristic of prehistoric painting?

• The characteristics of prehistoric art vary based on culture, beliefs, and individual artists. They include the use of materials like charcoal, ash, pigment, or carvings in stone or wood.

7. What is the first prehistoric painting?

• One of the oldest known figurative paintings is a depiction of an unknown bovine, discovered in the Lubang Jeriji Saléh cave, dated to be more than 40,000 (perhaps as old as 52,000) years old. Many caves in France and Spain contain prehistoric art dating back tens of thousands of years.