Stone Age rock paintings found in Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh

PTI, Sep 20, 2024, 5:22 PM IST

Jaipur: Historians have recently uncovered Stone Age rock paintings, cup marks and sharp-edged artefacts in a village in Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh district, offering fresh evidence of the region’s ancient human history.

Located approximately 50 kilometres from the Aalaniya river in Kota, the findings add to the region’s significance as a hub for Stone Age carvings, further underlining the prehistoric importance of Hadauti and Chittorgarh.

Last week, three locals stumbled upon unusual markings on a rock in a forested area near Amarpura village, Rawatbhata. Historian Tej Singh from the Maharishi History Institute in Kota visited the site with his team after receiving information.

Cup-shaped engravings and a mortar, likely used by early humans for grinding food, was discovered at the site, Singh said, explaining that the cup marks and circular indentations on rocks are characteristic of early Stone Age humans.

The markings possibly date back between 35,000 and 2,00,000 years, he said.

Singh also suggested that this might be the oldest evidence of human habitation in present-day Rajasthan, comparing the site to a similar discovery made in 2003 just 200 metres away.

The mortar, weighing 2.4 kilograms, along with sharp-edged stones found at the site, indicates that early inhabitants may have used these tools to process wild grains, nuts and legumes.

The findings have been shared with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in Jodhpur and the Department of Archaeology and Museology (DAM) for further examination.

Jafarullah Khan, a former superintendent archaeologist with DAM, highlighted that the Hadauti and Malwa regions in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh were key centers for Stone Age settlements.

“This discovery aligns with previous findings along the Aalaniya and Chambal rivers,” Khan said, calling on the government to protect the area and begin major excavation efforts to uncover more about early human life.

According to UNESCO, the Chambal basin and central India host one of the largest known concentrations of rock art sites worldwide.