Ruman Banerjee

British Rock-art Group SymposiumSaturday 02 May 2015, Bristol

What is Archaeo-astronomy in Indian context?

Prehistoric societies in different pockets of India understood and appreciated equinoxes, solstices, novae and supernovae, constellations, zodiac, eclipses and shaped their world view including cosmogonical and mythological ideas accordingly as evidenced by various rock art motifs depicting sun, moon, lunar phases, other complex images like wavy and dashed lines, astral motifs often associated with human burials, hunting, mating and battle scenes

Basic Principles after Vahia et. al, 2009

The planets moved relative to the stars. The brightest stars were the easiest to spot.We need Sun, Moon, Stars, meteors, comets and Planets + Keen Observation through generations, below location of sunrise point over a period of one year

Research Questions

1.To conduct an intensive survey and documentation of Rock art sites related to the concepts of archaeo-astronomy2.To determine the point of sunrise and sunset during solstices and equinoxes 3.To understand weather the painted rock-shelters have anything to do with the circulation of sun, moon and seasons 4.To find the inter site similarities and differences5.To determine the precise geographical coordinates of every site under purview6.To understand what are the astronomical symbols in Central Indian rock art7.To delineate how rock-shelters and rock art are inextricably related?8.To unpack what is the relation between astral motifs and other motifs and how value addition takes place here9.To demarcate the place of rituals in archaeo-astronomy?

Methodology

1.Detailed study of ancient monuments and sacred cities within their cultural context, eg. Megalithic monuments, when related to sunrise and sunset etc.2.Simulation of ancient observations and situations, like novae and supernovae etc.3.Harappan script and pattern recognition4.Rock art (paintings, engravings, Geoglyphs, Location and shape of rock-shelters, Megalithic burials 5.Ethnography , oral compositions, , Mythology, written materials etc.

1. Rigorous literature review and Local consultation2. Asking the right questions identifying the problems3. Field work, Landscape system science and Landscape Geometry4. Documentation, Cataloguing, comparison of the data5. Excavation, Mapping, Model building, scientific input6. Disseminate plausible answers for peer review and theoretical

framework

Study Region

Burzahama (5000-3,500 BP), Kashmir valley, India, Photo courtesy, IGNCA, New Delhi, Apparently the engravings represent a hunting scene

Dataset, Literature review and Comparison

Sky map showing the region of HB9 in 5,000 BP. to facilitate easy comparison with the drawing, rough patterns drawn in the map. The large circle in the centre is the fullMoon in the month of August in roughly 5,000 BP, and the smaller damaged circle to its left marks the position of HB9, after, Iqbal , et al., 2009, Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage

Orion Taurus

Cetus

Andromeda or Pegasus

Rock art from Liktse, Kashmir showing a super human controlling the Sun and the Moon. © Indira Gandhi National Gallery of Art, New Delhi

Association of the Harappan seal with the Night sky at sunset at the onset of Monsoon

Winter Solstice sunset framed by two Menhirs at Nilaskal in South India

Engraved Sun motif at Panchmukhi site, Mirzapur district, Courtesy, IGNCA

Engraved Sun motif or floral design? Example of a site from Manipur, Photo courtesy, IGNCA

Painted Sun motifs or floral design? Bedia rock-shelter at Mirzapur district, India, Dstretched, Photo by the author

Direction of the Sun at sky is changing, Uraihava site, Mirzapur District, Dstretched, Photo by the author

The Cosmos at Uraihava, Mirzapur district, Dstretched. Photo by the author

In, Prehistoric Art of India, by E. Neumayer, 2013

The author opined that these are Megalithic period painting and engraving without assigning any archaeo-astronomical connotation

I argue that these are sun and moon motifs, purposefully designed and established on the rock surface

Landscape of Rock art at Bhilwara district in Rajasthan, Photo by the author

Supernova explosion or ritualistic Sun motif with infilled humans and animals, Dstretched photo by the author

These rock-shelters never receive direct sunlight throughout the year, although they are open air sites, but the content is hidden or the actual rock art is hidden from direct sun rays and wind action

A hidden landscape, Sacred landscape based on the movement of the sun

Rock-shelter in Bundi district, That doesn’t receive direct sunlight, represent astral motifs and design element, Dstretched, photo by the author

Rock-shelters that receive direct sunlight

Dstretched Astral motifs from Bundi, Photo by the author

Worshipping the Sun ?

Astral motifs or just decoration, Dstretched, photo by the author, Two different sites in Rajasthan

A constellation of stars or nebulae associated with stylized Mesolithic deers , Dstretched photo by the author

Domestic decoration at a multiethnic village in Bhilwara, Rajasthan

Megalithic burial sites are also important archaeo-astronomical markers that record the Sun’s movement across the sky, Site Loicha, Bhilwara district, Rajasthan, Photo by the author

Barwadi Punkhri, Courtesy, Mr. Bulu Imam

NAP, Photo courtesy, Mr. Bulu Imam

Megalithic monuments from Jharkhand, See book, Antiquarian Remains of Jharkhand, by Mr. Bulu Imam, 2014

Photo Courtesy: Mr. Subhasis Das

ConclusionConclusion

1.Indian rock art is full of hunting, battle, household scenes. Art directly related to archaeo-astronomy is rare2.Study and in-depth research on Megalithic monuments and excavation of burial sites might impart solid clues to understand the development of ancient belief systems during the Neolithic-Chalcolithic3.The analysis of rock art and relating motifs to different natural phenomena invite stringent caution4.However, the landscape of the art should be thoroughly researched and sacred regions representing sacred rock art sites, hence ritualistic evidence could be gathered and compared from different regions of India5.The pursuit of archaeo-astronomy should be linked with ethnographic studies, where the traditions of nature-worship are still very much alive6.Last, but not the least; data, field-work, computation, algorithms, research questions and final interpretations should be linked incisively, inclusively and lucidly before making any conclusive claims

The setting of Two rock-shelters in the Bhilwara district of Rajasthan, Photo by the author

Thank you very much for your kind attention