Archaeology & Prehistory
Daraki-Chattan and Bhimbetka cupules
claimed over 200,000 years agoLower Palaeolithic hominins (claimed)Daraki-Chattan & Auditorium Cave (Madhya Pradesh)Madhya Pradesh
200,000 years ago
Hundreds of hammered cup-shaped hollows in quartzite, proposed as some of the oldest rock markings in the world.
- Dated
- 200,000 years ago
- As scholars put it
- claimed over 200,000 years ago
- Originator
- Lower Palaeolithic hominins (claimed)
- Source text
- Daraki-Chattan & Auditorium Cave (Madhya Pradesh)
- Region
- Madhya Pradesh
- Discipline
- Archaeology & Prehistory
- Evidence
- Plausible precursor
- Confidence
- Low
- Verification
- Reference-cited
Meanwhile in the West
If confirmed, among the earliest non-utilitarian marks globally.
Fair to say
The very early dates come from associated deposits, not the cupules themselves, and are contested.
Path to modern innovation
Central to debates on the origins of symbolic behaviour.
References
- 1Bednarik et al., Rock Art Research (2005)
Further reading
Corrections and additional sources: edit IND-210 on GitHub.