Bhimbetka Cave Paintings

Through the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods, hunter-gatherer communities in central India created cave paintings. Some of these, preserved in the Bhimbetka caves in present-day Madhya Pradesh, are considered among the oldest rock paintings in the world. They include depictions of animals, anthropomorphic figures dancing and on horseback, and hunting scenes. The paintings are made from natural colours derived from vegetables, in shades of red, green, black, brown and white. 

Other examples found in the Pachmarhi caves in present-day Hoshangabad district, Madhya Pradesh, feature similar subjects made primarily in red, with shades of white, black, yellow and brown pigments derived from minerals. Unlike the Bhimbetka paintings, these works show little to no evidence of overpainting or later additions.