Rock Art Research

Daraki-Chattan Cave, a Lower Palaeolithic cupule site in the Chambal basin in India, is one of the oldest known rock art sites in the world. Containing more than 500 cupules, it has been studied by the EIP Project since 2000 and the sediment deposits at the cave’s entrance have been excavated. This paper presents an analysis of the cupules in the cave as well as those of another, nearby site at Chanchala Mata Hill. The formation of the erosion-resistant surfaces in the cupules is explained and how it facilitates their enhanced preservation. However, the taphonomy of these extremely resistant tectonite layers not only protects the cupules from weathering, but it has also significant retarding effects in the production of such features. Future work needs to focus on the relationship between cupules, KEM phenomena and the quantification of weathering processes.