Rock Art Research

In human history, rock art has been one of the most powerful means of communication, created and developed by early humans on rock surfaces. A global phenomenon, this important human creation has widely survived the vagaries of time. Rock art is also considered to constitute exograms, i.e. memory traces stored outside the human brain on the natural surface of rock. Therefore, it is an essential source for understanding the perceived reality of its authors, which can form the basis for comprehending and appreciating the cognitive, technological and cultural development of early humans through time and space. To achieve this goal, we need scientific study of the essential properties of rock art and understand the processes of its production, survival and damage, i.e. its preproduction processes, production processes and postproduction processes. The first two stages can be understood to some extent by the replication of rock art and the ethnographical study of the creative traditions of indigenous communities. In contrast, the third stage involves pure scientific pursuits of multiple disciplines, including the taphonomy of the site and rock art. The conceptual aspects of all these processes of rock art research are discussed in this paper, emphasising an Indian perspective.