Cave and Rock Art in India
A list of online resources
April 2016
Ancient paintings and figures made on the walls inside caves or on rock shelters are some of the oldest specimens of art or communication by early humans, often tens of thousands of years old. Many locations within India and South Asia have brilliant examples of such art. We provide here a list of links and resources where you may find images and write-ups about these specimens of art. The list is not in a particular order. Besides the examples from India, some links feature nearby regions like Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
 Ancient and medieval Indian cave paintings (Wondermondo)
Long list and descriptions of Indian cave sites
http://www.wondermondo.com/Best/As/IndMedCavePaint.htm
10 Prehistoric Cave Paintings (A listing of the world) Touropia
http://www.touropia.com/prehistoric-cave-paintings/
Prehistoric Cave Paintings - Picture Gallery
http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/rockpain/gallery.htm
Prehistoric Era Art – Rock Paintings (Indian Culture Series – NCERT)
http://www.clearias.com/prehistoric-rock-paintings/
Prehistoric Rock Paintings of Bhimbetaka, Dr. K. L. Kamat
http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/rockpain/betaka.htm
World Heritage Sites - Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka (ASI)
http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_whs_rockart_bhimbetka_detail.asp
 Ancient cave paintings discovered near Palani, K. Raju
http://thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/ancient-cave-paintings-discovered-near-palani/article7258269.ece
Jogimara Cave and Sita Bengra Cave
Here one can find one of the oldest theatre stages in the world. Interior of Jogimara cave is covered with paintings, including probably the oldest known love message.
http://www.wondermondo.com/Countries/As/India/Chhattisgarh/Jogimara.htm
Visit ancient India through cave art with Dr. Jean Clottes
http://blog.hmns.org/2015/10/visit-ancient-india-through-cave-art-with-dr-jean-clottes-this-thursday/
ROCK ART SITES OF CHHATTISGARH (Culture department, Govt. of Chhattisgarh)
http://www.cgculture.in/ARCHAEOLOGY/Rock Art Site In Chhattisgarh.htm
Rock Art Unit of The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA)
http://ignca.nic.in/rockart.htm
Kondane cave art depicts myth and daily life, T.S.Subramanian (The Hindu)
http://thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/kondane-cave-art-depicts-myth-and-daily-life/article8306081.ece
Rock art sites of India (Frontline) A Slideshow
http://frontline.in/arts-and-culture/heritage/rock-art-sites-of-india/article7865939.ece
 Call to Save Fading Sitabhinji Cave Art (Odisha, The New Indian Express)
http://newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Call-to-Save-Fading-Sitabhinji-Cave-Art/2016/02/15/article3277958.ece
Bagh Caves - rock cut Buddhist temples, Wondermondo
http://www.wondermondo.com/Countries/As/India/MadhyaPradesh/Bagh.htm
Rock-cut Jaina temple, Sittannavasal (ASI)
http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_tktd_tn_rockjaintemple.asp
Sittanavasal – The Legacy of Chitrasutra (Puratattva)
http://puratattva.in/2011/05/02/sittanavasal-the-legacy-of-chitrasutra-13
Sittanavasal - the zenith of painting
http://poetryinstone.in/lang/en/2010/11/01/sittanavasal-the-zenith-of-painting-part-2
Indian Rock Art Archive (Bradshaw Foundation)
http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/india/central_india/
 ARMAMALAI CAVE - MALAYAMPATTU (Deptt. Archaeology, TN)
http://www.tnarch.gov.in/cons/paint/paint5.htm
Also see, http://www.wondermondo.com/Countries/As/India/TamilNadu/Armamalai.htm
Badami Cave Temples - four ancient rock cut temples
http://www.wondermondo.com/Countries/As/India/Karnataka/Badami.htm
Bhaja Caves - rock cut Buddhist temples
http://www.wondermondo.com/Countries/As/India/Maharashtra/Bhaja.htm
Cave painting: Demons and depictions (Pakistan) Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro
http://www.dawn.com/news/1200288
Threatened rock carvings of Pakistan, by Suhail Yusuf
http://dawn.com/news/629659/basha-dam-threatens-thousands-of-ancient-rock-carvings
The writing on the wall, Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro
http://thefridaytimes.com/beta2/tft/article.php?issue=20110805&page=16
Dam to drown Gilgit-Baltistan’s vandalised rock art
http://maverickpakistanis.com/2010/03/dam-to-drown-gilgit-baltistans-vandalised-rock-art/
Gandharan roots: Cave paintings depicted on a modern canvas, By Fazal Khaliq
http://tribune.com.pk/story/746939/gandharan-roots-cave-paintings-depicted-on-a-modern-canvas/
Hunza Valley Petroglyphs
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=26223
 Rock art in the Swat Valley, Pakistan, Badshah Sardar
http://www.ancient-asia-journal.com/articles/10.5334/aa.12306/
The Discovery of Rock Paintings in Sindh, Zulfiqar Ali Kolharo
https://questia.com/library/journal/1P3-3470087921/the-discovery-of-rock-paintings-in-sindh
Rock art in Sri Lanka
http://www.island.lk/2006/08/26/features3.html
Sigiriya Frescoes, Sri Lanka
http://seelanka.net/sigiriya/sigiriya-frescoes.html
Indonesian cave paintings challenge Europe as cradle of art
http://pakistantoday.com.pk/2014/10/10/entertainment/indonesian-cave-paintings-challenge-europe-as-cradle-of-art/
Prehistoric Rock Art of India (OUP), Erwin Neumayer
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/prehistoric-rock-art-of-india-9780198060987
The Ajanta cave murals: 'nothing less than the birth of Indian art', William Dalrymple, The Guardian
http://theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/aug/15/mural-ajanta-caves-india-birth-indian-art
ROCK ART HERITAGE OF INDIA, Dr. Gautam Chatterjee
http://www.ibiblio.org/gautam/heri0008.htm
 Do Indian Cave Paintings Show Prehistoric Alien Abductions? Paul Seaburn
http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2014/07/do-indian-cave-paintings-show-prehistoric-alien-abductions/
International attention for Pachmarhi rock art, Sravani Sarkar, Hindustan Times
http://hindustantimes.com/india/international-attention-for-pachmarhi-rock-art/story-uweerO59ZyEdUSFIFacUDI.html
10,000-year-old rock paintings depicting aliens and UFOs found in Chhattisgarh, Rashmi Drolia
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/10000-year-old-rock-paintings-depicting-aliens-and-UFOs-found-in-Chhattisgarh/articleshow/38435091.cms
40,000-year-old Indonesian cave art oldest ever found in Asia (India Today)
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/cave-paintings-40000-years-old-indonesia/1/394875.html
Meet the keepers of India's oldest art gallery, Rachel Lopez, Hindustan Times
http://hindustantimes.com/brunch/meet-the-keepers-of-india-s-oldest-art-gallery/story-CSgNJ2jaUa3tMSwUQksu8N.html
Sound Illusions: Eerie Echoes May Have Inspired Prehistoric Cave Art, by Stephanie Pappas, Live Science
http://livescience.com/48493-sound-illusions-inspired-prehistoric-cave-art.html
Ceremonial use of rock art in Central India, Dr. Jean Clottes & Dr. Meenakshi Dubey Pathak
http://livelystories.com/2014/06/30/ceremonial-rock-art-central-india/
 5000-year-old cave art in dating milestone, G.S. MUDUR, The Telegraph
http://telegraphindia.com/1130118/jsp/nation/story_16456186.jsp
What does cave art mean?
http://myweb.usf.edu/~dlroger4/Cosquerweb/art.htm
Wikipedia entries:
Cave paintings in India
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_paintings_in_India
Sittanavasal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sittanavasal
Ellora Caves
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellora_Caves
Bhimbetka rock shelters
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhimbetka_rock_shelters
Armamalai cave
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armamalai_Cave
This list is in progress. Please let us know if you know of some good Oral history archive on the Internet which concerns us and we may have missed. Please report if you find any dead links. |
