Rock Art

Cave 3, Bhimbetka

The "caves" (actually, deep overhangs) of Bhimbetka, near Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, were decorated with art beginning in the Neolithic period (approximately 8000 BC) and continuing in some caves into historic times. According to a local guide, the paintings in Cave 3 date to 5,000 BC. All Bhimbetka dates in the following pages are quoted as they were recited by this guide, who may have been speaking by rote.