Cave paintings in India

Paleolithic art

Haryana

Archaeologists discovered cave paintings and tools in Mangar Bani hill forest in May 2021; the cave paintings are estimated to be 10,000 years old. These are believed to be the largest in the Indian subcontinent and possibly the world's oldest. It is likely the largest paleolithic site in the Indian subcontinent and this is the first time cave paintings have been found in Aravalli. According to the Haryana Archaeology and Museums Department, "On the basis of this exploration, it can be said that this may be one of the biggest Palaeolithic sites in the Indian sub-continent, where stone age tools were recovered from different open-air sites as well as from rock shelters. Though tools from the Palaeolithic Age have been identified earlier in parts of the Aravallis, it is for the first time that cave paintings and rock art of a large magnitude have been found in Haryana."

Cave painting is a type of rock art that includes petroglyphs, or engravings, found on the wall or ceilings of caves. Mangarbani hill forest is a Palaeolithic site with rock art as well as cave paintings. It is believed to be the largest in the Indian subcontinent and possibly the world's oldest.

On the basis of tool topology, it can be said that the date of prehistoric habitation at the site may be from about 100,000 to about 15,000 years ago. But we have also found evidence of later habitation, even up to 8th–9th century AD

— Banani Bhattacharyya, Deputy Director of Haryana Archaeology & Museums Department., Prehistoric stone age site in Faridabad’s Mangar Bani could a lakh years old: Archaeologists, The Indian Express.

Karnataka

Cave paintings are found in Hiregudda which is near Badami.

Madhya Pradesh

Bhimbetka

The Bhimbetka rock shelters are an archaeological site in the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India that spans several prehistoric periods. It exhibits the earliest traces of human life on the Indian subcontinent and evidence of Stone Age habitation starting at the site in Acheulian times. It is located in the Raisen District southeast of Bhopal. Bhimbetka is a UNESCO world heritage site that consists of seven hills and over 750 rock shelters distributed over 10 kilometres (6.2 mi). At least some of the shelters were inhabited more than 100,000 years ago.

Some of the Bhimbetka rock shelters feature prehistoric cave paintings of which the oldest date from 10,000 years BP, corresponding to the Indian Mesolithic. The paintings show themes such as animals, and early evidence of dancing and hunting. The Bhimbetka site has the oldest known rock art in the Indian subcontinent, and is one of the largest prehistoric complexes.

Odisha

Odisha has the richest repository of rock art in Eastern India. The state has recorded more than a hundred rock shelters with rock paintings and engravings. Numerous geometric symbols, dots and lines are found along with animals, and human paintings and engravings dating from late Pleistocene onwards. Many of the geometric shape and patterns found in rock art of Odisha are enigmatic in nature. Painted figures have been found executed in monochrome, red and white or sometimes in combination with shades of yellow color.

Gudahandi

The rock shelter of Gudahandi is located on the summit of the hillock and situated about 20 km from Block headquarters Koksara in Kalahandi district. The rock art shelter exhibits both monochrome and bi-chrome paintings of early historic period. It is the only reported rock art site of Kalahandi district. The rock art panel preserves the specimen of paintings which include a styl ized human figure in red, deer and a variety of geometric patterns of squares and rectangles either empty or in filled with straight and diagonal lines or with dots on the borders grid patterns, wheels with spokes, apsidal patterns, oval shapes with dots executed either in monochrome of red or in polychrome of red, blue and black.

Yogimatha

The rock painting of the Yogimatha (10th millennium BCE) of Nuapada District of Odisha which was an older script in India. The script 'Ga', and 'o' (tha) was discovered from Yogimatha rock painting, this painting saw a person with four animals and write some alphabet. That painting created a word Like "Gaitha" (very popular Odia word at present 'Gotha' or 'group' in English). This art closely related to this alphabet. This alphabet has similarity to Dhauli and Jaugada Inscription's script of Ashok. It was the ancient form of Indian script, and it is the first glimpse of possible origin of the Odia language and script.

Tamil Nadu

In Tamil Nadu, ancient Paleolithic cave paintings are found in Padiyendhal, Alampadi, Kombaikadu, Kilvalai, Settavarai and Nehanurpatti. The paintings have not been dated, but they could be around 30,000 to 10,000 years old, as they use similar art form of Bhimbetka rock shelters in Bhopal.

In the Nilgiri Hills, they are also found in Kumittipathi, Mavadaippu and Karikkiyur. In Theni District they are found in the Andipatti Hills.