More than 1,000 petroglyphs unearthed in Maharashtra
A depression in a rock in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri indicates that it was left by someone lying down. For years, local villagers insist the impression was created by Sita, Lord Rama’s wife who lay on the surface during the period in which the demon king Ravana had abducted her. The story, however incredulous, bears immense significance. Mythology is usually weaved around fact.
And, it was only in this millennium that the zone’s myriad carvings were scientifically analysed and examined by archaeologists to reveal the presence of petroglyphs created by prehistoric man: a fact that changes history for the zone.
Sudhir Risbood’s wonderment as a child at viewing odd concentric circles and artistic carvings on a square-shaped rock off the main road in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri while cycling as a child in the zone grew into what would provide Maharashtra its biggest link with prehistoric times.
It was only after finding a similar rock at a site project near Ganpatipule that Sudhir many years later and working as an engineer realised there was a method in the occurrences. The rocks weren’t similar by accident. There was a design in the entire affair. So, in 2012, Sudhir with engineer friend Dhananjay Marathe embarked on a pilot project to discover similar sites by asking around the villages in the vicinity. They soon realised that because of the new roads, a lot of people didn’t walk across the flat rock surfaces any more. However, a lot of older residents who had used the rocks to walk upon, knew…and spoke about them.
In the next few years, the two unearthed a whopping 86 creations at 10 sites in Ratnagiri District. These petroglyphs, as the rock carvings are know, are said to be carved by prehistoric humans.
Technically, it is difficult to determine the exact period of the carvings, but these particular petroglyphs were carved using metal tools providing archaeologists a way to determining the period of origin. For years on end, the locals would refer to the markings as ‘Pandava Chitra’ and had little reason to believe otherwise. After all, their ancestors had referred to them as Pandava Chitra and that could simply not be questioned.
Coordinator of Maharashtra archaeological department’s technical team Rutwij Apte went on to find over 700 stone tools of varying sizes, including microliths (small stone tools), inside a Konkan cave. Meanwhile, the amateur archaeologists have begun talking to locals about the importance of the sites and the need to protect them. A ring of stones around the human carving in Devache Gothane is an attempt towards the direction.
Where petroglyphs fall in land mined for laterite stone, widely used in construction across the western coast, land-owners have been requested to erect brick boundaries protecting the sites. In Ukshi village in north Ratnagiri, the local archaeologists have worked overtime with local authorities to construct a circular viewing gallery, complete with an inscription that explains the art work’s significance.
Historians maintain that from the data gathered, it appears that the carvings found in Ratnagiri ranged from from prehistoric to the early historic period. The presence of curvilinear lines on the rocks suggests advanced thinking and the etchings of animals indicate it was not a farming society. So, more excavations is expected follow to find tools and other living implements.
The petroglyphs are said to be about 25,000 years old; in the Mesolithic age (or middle stone age), which existed between the Paleothilic period (old stone age) and Neolithic period (new stone age). It is the nature of the porous laterite rock that dominates the terrain of Ratnagiri and Rajapur along Maharashtra’s Konkan coast. on which the petroglyphs are carved that helped researchers arrive at this.
Among the 1,000-odd petroglyphs discovered in the zone is an eight-foot long human form — a man standing feet apart with his arms hanging loose by his side. Covering over 52 sites across the region, the forms range from human and animal shapes to a 50-foot carving of an elephant within which smaller animals and aquatic forms were carved.
Some of the patterns are abstract and carved roughly on the rock surface while others are geometrically perfect reliefs cut deep into the rock. Distinctly different from pictographs, the petroglyphs are carved into flat, open rock surface lending a unique finesse.
History is replete with evidence that the Konkan coast was lined with important port towns. Epigraphs reconstructed lend credulity to contemporary records that it had a history of trade and contact with Europe even with the Roman Empire.
“Apart from the caves in the region, there always existed a huge gap regarding the zone’s prehistoric times. So, from the time period of the port towns existing in 3,000 BCE to 25,000 year old stone tools discovered and the more recent petroglyphs dating back to about 10,000 BCE, archaeologists can now embark on the historical accounting to match the dots,” says Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, Maharashtra Director Tejas Garge.
The petroglyphs are placed in the Mesolithic Period, which lies between the Old Stone Age or Paleolithic period, characterised by chipped stone tools and the New Stone Age or Neolithic period, associated with smaller, more polished tools.
Here, at Ratnagiri, was also found a motif of two legs, squatting and spread outward. Cut off at the hip and is usually deployed as a side motif to the larger, more abstract rock reliefs. “Images from later periods depict a goddess called Lajja Gauri, similarly portrayed, squatting and with legs facing outward, though in those cases the rest of the body is also shown. We are exploring a link between the two,” maintains Garge.
The preponderant depiction of animals and aquatic life suggests that the petroglyphs were created by hunter-gatherer tribes. Unlike the carvings in Bhimbetka and Mirzapur where hunting of animals has been depicted in scenes, in Maharashtra’s cultural records, there is no evidence of any art being practised until about 3,000 BCE, which is when first mention of painted pots and clay figurines is available. Some of the petroglyphs depict the rhinoceros and hippopotamus, never thought to be prevalent in this part of India. They, however, suggest that the Konkan may have once been a lot like the rainforests where these animals are typically found.
Also, the art, large and prominently animalistic in nature indicates some form of religious belief or religious system. The theory that more complex reliefs, etched deep into the ground could have been done using metal implements rather than stone indicates that like Bhimbetka, where art has been dated from prehistoric times right down to the medieval period, points to an uninterrupted habitation possibly by various nomadic tribes.
There is a theory that the carvings get more complex as one moves from north to south, suggesting a pattern of migration in this direction over centuries. An petroglyph of a man standing with two tigers flanking him on both sides, in the village Barsu can be found in petroglyph sites across the world indicating man’s control of nature.
The Maharashtra government has put aside ₹24 crore for further research on these sites and a lot of administrative work will needs to be done to showcase the same to tourists. From a notification as an archaeological heritage site down to acquiring the lands legally from locals, it’s a long road ahead.
And, it was only in this millennium that the zone’s myriad carvings were scientifically analysed and examined by archaeologists to reveal the presence of petroglyphs created by prehistoric man: a fact that changes history for the zone.
Sudhir Risbood’s wonderment as a child at viewing odd concentric circles and artistic carvings on a square-shaped rock off the main road in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri while cycling as a child in the zone grew into what would provide Maharashtra its biggest link with prehistoric times.
It was only after finding a similar rock at a site project near Ganpatipule that Sudhir many years later and working as an engineer realised there was a method in the occurrences. The rocks weren’t similar by accident. There was a design in the entire affair. So, in 2012, Sudhir with engineer friend Dhananjay Marathe embarked on a pilot project to discover similar sites by asking around the villages in the vicinity. They soon realised that because of the new roads, a lot of people didn’t walk across the flat rock surfaces any more. However, a lot of older residents who had used the rocks to walk upon, knew…and spoke about them.
In the next few years, the two unearthed a whopping 86 creations at 10 sites in Ratnagiri District. These petroglyphs, as the rock carvings are know, are said to be carved by prehistoric humans.
Technically, it is difficult to determine the exact period of the carvings, but these particular petroglyphs were carved using metal tools providing archaeologists a way to determining the period of origin. For years on end, the locals would refer to the markings as ‘Pandava Chitra’ and had little reason to believe otherwise. After all, their ancestors had referred to them as Pandava Chitra and that could simply not be questioned.
Coordinator of Maharashtra archaeological department’s technical team Rutwij Apte went on to find over 700 stone tools of varying sizes, including microliths (small stone tools), inside a Konkan cave. Meanwhile, the amateur archaeologists have begun talking to locals about the importance of the sites and the need to protect them. A ring of stones around the human carving in Devache Gothane is an attempt towards the direction.
Where petroglyphs fall in land mined for laterite stone, widely used in construction across the western coast, land-owners have been requested to erect brick boundaries protecting the sites. In Ukshi village in north Ratnagiri, the local archaeologists have worked overtime with local authorities to construct a circular viewing gallery, complete with an inscription that explains the art work’s significance.
Historians maintain that from the data gathered, it appears that the carvings found in Ratnagiri ranged from from prehistoric to the early historic period. The presence of curvilinear lines on the rocks suggests advanced thinking and the etchings of animals indicate it was not a farming society. So, more excavations is expected follow to find tools and other living implements.
The petroglyphs are said to be about 25,000 years old; in the Mesolithic age (or middle stone age), which existed between the Paleothilic period (old stone age) and Neolithic period (new stone age). It is the nature of the porous laterite rock that dominates the terrain of Ratnagiri and Rajapur along Maharashtra’s Konkan coast. on which the petroglyphs are carved that helped researchers arrive at this.
Among the 1,000-odd petroglyphs discovered in the zone is an eight-foot long human form — a man standing feet apart with his arms hanging loose by his side. Covering over 52 sites across the region, the forms range from human and animal shapes to a 50-foot carving of an elephant within which smaller animals and aquatic forms were carved.
Some of the patterns are abstract and carved roughly on the rock surface while others are geometrically perfect reliefs cut deep into the rock. Distinctly different from pictographs, the petroglyphs are carved into flat, open rock surface lending a unique finesse.
History is replete with evidence that the Konkan coast was lined with important port towns. Epigraphs reconstructed lend credulity to contemporary records that it had a history of trade and contact with Europe even with the Roman Empire.
“Apart from the caves in the region, there always existed a huge gap regarding the zone’s prehistoric times. So, from the time period of the port towns existing in 3,000 BCE to 25,000 year old stone tools discovered and the more recent petroglyphs dating back to about 10,000 BCE, archaeologists can now embark on the historical accounting to match the dots,” says Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, Maharashtra Director Tejas Garge.
The petroglyphs are placed in the Mesolithic Period, which lies between the Old Stone Age or Paleolithic period, characterised by chipped stone tools and the New Stone Age or Neolithic period, associated with smaller, more polished tools.
Here, at Ratnagiri, was also found a motif of two legs, squatting and spread outward. Cut off at the hip and is usually deployed as a side motif to the larger, more abstract rock reliefs. “Images from later periods depict a goddess called Lajja Gauri, similarly portrayed, squatting and with legs facing outward, though in those cases the rest of the body is also shown. We are exploring a link between the two,” maintains Garge.
The preponderant depiction of animals and aquatic life suggests that the petroglyphs were created by hunter-gatherer tribes. Unlike the carvings in Bhimbetka and Mirzapur where hunting of animals has been depicted in scenes, in Maharashtra’s cultural records, there is no evidence of any art being practised until about 3,000 BCE, which is when first mention of painted pots and clay figurines is available. Some of the petroglyphs depict the rhinoceros and hippopotamus, never thought to be prevalent in this part of India. They, however, suggest that the Konkan may have once been a lot like the rainforests where these animals are typically found.
Also, the art, large and prominently animalistic in nature indicates some form of religious belief or religious system. The theory that more complex reliefs, etched deep into the ground could have been done using metal implements rather than stone indicates that like Bhimbetka, where art has been dated from prehistoric times right down to the medieval period, points to an uninterrupted habitation possibly by various nomadic tribes.
There is a theory that the carvings get more complex as one moves from north to south, suggesting a pattern of migration in this direction over centuries. An petroglyph of a man standing with two tigers flanking him on both sides, in the village Barsu can be found in petroglyph sites across the world indicating man’s control of nature.
The Maharashtra government has put aside ₹24 crore for further research on these sites and a lot of administrative work will needs to be done to showcase the same to tourists. From a notification as an archaeological heritage site down to acquiring the lands legally from locals, it’s a long road ahead.
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