FL27ROCKBHIMBETKA

Published : Nov 24, 2024 18:04 IST

BHOPAL, 15/05/2008: Bhimbetka rock paintings. The rock shelters at Bhimbetka in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh are spread across a sprawling hillock on the foothills of the Vindhyan Mountains on the southern edge of the central Indian plateau. The site draws its name from Bhima, one of the Pandavas of the great epic Mahabharata. UNESCO has listed Bhimbetka as a World Heritage Site and declared that Bhimbetka reflects a long interaction between people and the landscape, as demonstrated in the quantity and quality of its rock art. Bhimbetka's importance is that it is closely associated with a hunting and gathering economy as demonstrated in the rock art and in the relics of this tradition in the local adivasi (tribal) villages on the periphery of this site. A section of historians have claimd that there are signs of the domestication of horse around 6000 years ago on the shores of Black Sea in present day Ukraine. Many Bhimbetka rock paintings also depict the domestication of horse, cattle and elephant. They show how horses were used for hunting as well as war purposes. The rock paintings here have defied the vagaries of time and reflect the rhythm of life dating back almost 10000 to 5000 years ago. They show how hunting parties armed with spears, shields, bows and arrows rode their horses and there was also time to celebrate with the whole community dancing to the drum beats. Photo: Lalit Shastri 15-05-2008

FL27ROCKBHIMBETKA

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