An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c18.s8: 13.8 Other Forms

v1.c18.s8.1

The major form of rock art in India consists of paintings. There are however at a few places a small number of figures produced by engraving and bruising. The first record of engravings was made by F. Fawcett in 1901 in the cave of Edakal in Dt Kozhikode. These engravings consist of a complex of close-set and overlapping lines, and their exact significance is not clear. Later on A.H. Franche recorded engravings from Lower Ladakh. In 1923 P. Mitra found a few more engravings at Ghatsila in Dt Singhbhum. R.B. Foote, D.H. Gordon, F.R. Allchin, A. Sundara and K. Paddayya have found engravings and bruisings at several places in Dts Bellary, Raichur and Gulbarga of Karnataka. Engravings and bruisings are usually found on loose boulders in the open. In the Bellary area these often depict bulls and are believed to be the work of Neolithic cattle-keepers. Considering their subject matter and style the chiselled drawings appear to be younger in age than the earliest paintings.