Over 5,000 Year Old Rock Art Painting Site Discovered in Telangana
The rock art depicts animals, human and hand figures, reptiles, geometric patterns, honey bees, human figures with elongated bodies and raised hands, anthropomorphic forms, tiger footprints, and deer. The paintings were created using red ochre natural pigments and date back to the Mesolithic or Microlithic period (10,000 BCE to 3,000 BCE).
Hyderabad: Telangana has added one more rock art painting site with the discovery of Mesolithic paintings at Veladri hills in Khammam district. The site sheds light on how early humans lived, their habits, and their relationship with animals. The paintings are spread across around 10 caves, which are locally known as Bainedu Banda.
The rock art depicts animals, human and hand figures, reptiles, geometric patterns, honey bees, human figures with elongated bodies and raised hands, anthropomorphic forms, tiger footprints, and deer. The paintings were created using red ochre natural pigments and date back to the Mesolithic or Microlithic period (10,000 BCE to 3,000 BCE).
The site, as per officials, was explored for the first time with the help of local villagers, and plans are underway to include it under protected sites.
As per the preliminary understanding, the paintings show how early humans lived alongside animals, their daily life, hunting, traditions, and food habits, said an official of the heritage department. The site will help in research on early life and preserve it for future generations to understand history, the official said.
In Telangana, more than 20 rock art concentrations have already been identified across around 30 rock shelters. These sites date from the Upper Paleolithic period to the late Medieval period.
Other locations where similar rock art has been found include Pandavulagutta, Kossegutta and Bommala Loddi, Devarlagutta, Akka Mahadevi Caves, Dupadugattu, Sanganonipalli, Mudumula, Potanpalli, Sivaru Venkatapur, Wargal, Edithanur, Hasthalpur, Dharmaram, Bangla Venkatapur, and Kokapet.