Center of Rock Art Science

Proposed Indian Centre for Excellence in Rock Art Science (ICE-RAS) in DEI

The only major Indian project that has so far presented purely scientific work in rock art studies is the Cupule Replication Project led by Professor Giriraj Kumar. It is an integral part of an international project called the EIP (Early Indian Petroglyphs) Project that has operated very successfully since 2000. The EIP project is a joint venture by a team of Indian and Australian scientists organised by Rock Art Society of India (RASI) and Australian Rock Art Research Association (AURA) under the aegis of International Federation of Rock Art Organisations (IFRAO). Therefore it meets both of the above objectives: it is a scientific (comprising only testable propositions) initiative and it occurs in a context of international collaboration. However, it has been severely hampered because of the absence of a dedicated agency for rock art science and by lack of funding for analytical facilities and has not been able to call on the required support from outside science agencies, such as specialised Indian dating laboratories.

To fill this obvious need it is proposed to establish an Indian Centre for Excellence in Rock Art Science (ICE-RAS) in DEI, Agra, to be headed by Dr Giriraj Kumar. The work by Dr Kumar over the last fourteen years concerns the need to determine the circumstances of production of cupules, a form of rock art that occurs globally but in India extends for hundreds of millennia into the past. This has included extensive replication work, a form of scientific study currently gaining prominence in several other countries as well, such as China, Peru and Australia. Dr Kumar’s work is the most advanced in the world, the only instance of international Indian leadership in the field of rock art science. In fact he has just published his current findings in Rock Art Research (2014). It is suggested that the continuation of this project should form a departing point for the proposed Centre for Excellence.

However, this Centre is to include several other key functions. An agency of this kind tends to be most effective by establishing what areas of research and methodology it may be most efficient in, in reference to other such agencies in other countries, and in reference to the particular conditions in its own country. It needs to fit into the existing mosaic of international efforts and bring a specific Indian content to the global efforts in rock art science if it is to establish a high reputation, both nationally and internationally. Therefore it needs to ascertain clear objectives and guidelines from the beginning.

Planning

The centre for Excellence in Rock Art Science in DEI will strive for excellence in:

1. The technology of rock art production
2. The taphonomy and forensic science of rock art
3. The advanced recording and study of rock art
4. Rock art conservation, site management and tourism based on scientific understanding of deterioration processes and on a deep awareness of the needs of rock art to survive into future centuries.
5. To develop expertise in sample collection from rock art and rock art related materials and sample preparation to obtain direct dates of rock art
6. Public education about rock art

Expertise needed by the proposed Centre:

1. Experts in petrology, rock weathering processes and geological dating methods
2. Experts in rock art production technology
3. Experts in rock art conservation and management
4. Expert in cinematography with specialisation in 3D documentation and video recording of rock art and living cultural traditions.
5. Experts in Stone Age archaeology, rock art sampling and analytical study.
6. Trainees and research scholars in these fields.

Project Proposal

Early Indian Petroglyphs:

Scientific Investigations and Dating by International Commission, Phase II

‘Early Indian Petroglyphs: Scientific Investigations and Dating by International Commission’ project was established  in the AURA Congress, Alice Springs, Australia by Indian and Australian scientists in 2000. It is briefly called as the EIP Project. It was basically to test the antiquity of early Indian petroglyphs by archaeological excavations and different dating methods such as OSL, AMS¹⁴C and Micrerosion methods. It was a joint venture by a team of Indian and Australian scientists organised by Rock Art Society of India (RASI) and Australian Rock Art Research Association (AURA) under the aegis of International Federation of Rock Art Organisations (IFRAO). It was carried out in collaboration with and under the supervision of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Prof Giriraj Kumar and Robert G. Bednarik were the Indian and Australian directors of the project respectively. Under this project Daraki-Chattan cave was excavated for five seasons from 2002 to 2006 under the direction of Giriraj Kumar. It was a scientific (comprising only testable propositions) initiative and it occurs in a context of international collaboration. It has operated very successfully since 2000 onwards. It established scientifically that the antiquity of Indian petroglyphs at Daraki-Chattan  in Chambal basin and in the Auditorium cave at Bhimbetka near Bhopal goes back to Lower Palaeolithic, earliest in the world (Kumar 2006, 2008, 2010a, 2010b,  2010c, 2012, Kumar et al. 2002, 2005, 2012, Kumar 1995a and b, 2008, 2010a, 2010b,  2010c, 2012, Bednarik et al 2005; Bednarik, 1993, 2009, 2012, Bednarik and Kumar  2012,  Krishna and Kumar 2012a, 2012b, 2012c)).

We have huge numbers of Middle Palaeolithic rock art motifs, mostly from Australia (Fig. 8) (cf. Foley and Lahr 1997) and at least one instance of 18 cupules on underside of a large limestone slab placed on top of La Ferrassie burial No. 6, the grave of a Neanderthal infant (Fig. 9) (Peyrony 1934). In other continents, pre-Upper Palaeolithic rock art and portable palaeoart are much more common (Bednarik 1992, 1993b, 2001a, 2002a, 2003, 2009; Bednarik et al 2005). But the incidence of Lower Palaeolihic cases remains very rare, and confirmed cases of it are limited to India.

More than any other evidence during the last 100 years, the evidence produced by the EIP Project, especially from the excavations at Daraki-Chattan and Auditorium Cave, Bhimbetka has shown that we have misjudged the time depth of palaeoart and human cognition, creative ability and symbolism. Now time has come to change our mindset. The evidence is so important that it is set to affect not only our concepts of Pleistocene hominin development in southern Asia, but it will influence the way we view cognitive evolution generally.

Besides, the Cupule Replication project led by Professor Giriraj Kumar and Ram Krishna is an integral part of the EIP Project. It is the only major Indian project that has so far presented purely scientific work in rock art studies (Kumar and Prajapati 2009, Kumar 2010, Krishna and Kumar 2012a, 2012b, 2012c, Kumar  and Krishna 2014 ).

The need for EIP project pahse II

 In spite of its great achievements the first phase of the EIP project has been severely hampered because of the absence of a dedicated agency for rock art science and by lack of funding for analytical facilities and has not been able to call on the required support from outside science agencies, such as specialised Indian dating laboratories.  The EIP project phase II is to meet the challenges posed by the first phase of the EIP project and to build a solid foundation for Rock Art Science in India.

Objectives of the EIP project phase II and methods to be adopted

1. Scientific study and understanding of the technology of cupules and the process of their production on quartzite and other kind of rocks such as basalt, granite, dolerite, sandstone, schist, limestone, etc. For it we will continue the cupule replication project. We will also extend it for replication of other kind of petroglyphs on different types of rocks.
2. Exploration and application of the new methods for dating of the cupules, linear petroglyphs and other form of rock art such as U/Th, ²⁶Al/¹⁰Be, OSL, AMS ¹⁴C, Microerosion, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar analysis and fission track analysis, etc. It forms the major part of the project to obtain direct dates for the cupules of such a great antiquity of Lower Palaeolithic Age. We will also extend it for dating the rock paintings.
3. Protection and conservation of DC and cupules in it, so far unique and very important heritage of the humanity. For it the scientific study of the weathering process of the cave surface and cupules in Daraki-Chattan (DC) will be carried out. The knowledge will be extended to other rock art sites of different rock types.
4. Scientific understanding of the chemical compositions and organic matter used or trapped in the salt accretions found deposited on the cave surface of DC and pigments applied to create rock paintings in the region. For it sampling will be done properly in a scientific way. If organic matter is found in these samples it can be used for AMS ¹⁴C dating. For it the analytical and nano-stratigraphical study of the accretions and pigments of the rock paintings will be carried out. It will help to understand the antiquity and technology of rock paintings and phases of their execution scientifically.
5. Creation of a rock art science module for Indian university curricula in archaeology and other disciplines, as well as suitable brochures for teaching at secondary schools.
6. Advanced 3D recording and study of rock art

Five year action plan

It is proposed that the Indian Centre for Excellence in Rock Art Science (ICE-RAS) will initially operate under a five-year plan. Under this plan the following primary multidisciplinary research activities are to be undertaken:

Year 1: To establish the ICE-RAS physically, including its library supplemented by materials donated by the members of IFRAO at minimal cost, and by other solicited material as required. Establishment of a laboratory, comprising: a specialised binocular microscope, digital microscopes, computers with dedicated software for 3D recording, XRF spectrometer, Laser Raman analyser, and other minor equipment as determined. Establishment of an office with standard office equipments. Continuation of the cupule replication project and its extension to rock types other than quartzite. Finalisation of the catalogue of  the lithics obtained from the excavations of Daraki-Chattan.

Year 2: Continuation and expansion of the cupule replication project, to be applied to granite, basalt, sandstone, schist, limestone. Sampling of Daraki-Chattan ferromanganese accretions from the linear petroglyphs and from other suitable surfaces; and their processing by uranium-series analysis, optically stimulated luminescence analysis, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar analysis and fission track analysis. Establishment of forensic science methodology in Indian rock art studies. Establishment of a project website, and attendance of international conferences.

Year 3: Establishment of advanced rock art recording program in India. Continuation of analytical work and expansion to other sites, applying gained expertise. Emphasis on publishing results in international journals and development of the project website as a major resource in rock art science intended for global consumption. Production of a final monograph on Daraki-Chattan and Auditorium Caves.

Year 4: Establishment of advanced rock art conservation methodology in India, in collaboration with the Indian Archaeological Survey and other relevant agencies. Expansion of the high-technology recording program to all major rock art corpora in India. Attendance of international conferences. Continuation and expansion of the work of previous years and continuation of publishing programs, including major book on the scientific study of Indian rock art.

Year 5: Continuation of previous year’s programs, but increasingly focusing on results. Expansion of rock art replication studies to rock paintings with an emphasis on creating new technological innovations in this field. Creation of a rock art science module for Indian university curricula in archaeology  and other disciplines, as well as suitable brochures for teaching at secondary schools. Production of a final report about the ICE-RAS as well as international reports of its work.

Summary

It is proposed that the ICE-RAS project will provide detailed annual reports to the funding body, to ensure that it has met its commitments in meeting the nominated project milestones. The overall objectives of this five-year plan would be:

• that rock art science will be established in India as a viable research discipline, gradually replacing traditional approaches to the subject;
• that the awareness of the Indian public of the importance of rock art will be improved considerably;
• that the prospects of the preservation of Indian rock art will be significantly enhanced;
• and that India will be recognised as a leading nation in the contribution of new knowledge in this area of science, commensurate to the country’s rich heritage of rock art.

In this the ICE-RAS will extensively and intensively collaborate with all relevant agencies in India, such as the Archaeological Survey of India, the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, the National Museum of Man, and the various university departments, site management authorities and other relevant bodies. It will also collaborate with any international agencies that may be able to facilitate fulfillment of its aims, and which in turn will benefit from its pursuits and the scientific results of its activities.