Central Idea

A recent discovery by D. Kanna Babu, former Superintending Archaeologist, reveals a Mesolithic period rock painting in Orvakallu village, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh.
The painting depicts a person tilling land, shedding light on the social life and culture of the ancient inhabitants.

Orvakallu Rock Paintings

The researchers while conducting a survey of the lower River Krishna Valley, identified a new prehistoric rock painting in Orvakallu.
The painting was found on the walls and ceiling of natural rock shelters on a hillock.
The site consists of five caves, two of which exhibit distinct depictions of rock paintings from the Mesolithic Age (approximately 5000 BC).

The paintings were created using natural white kaolin and red ochre pigments.
The passage of time and exposure to air and wind have significantly damaged most of the paintings.
Despite the deterioration, some sketches and outlines remain visible for visitors.

The discovery sheds light on the social life and culture of the people who inhabited the area during the Mesolithic Age.
One painting depicts a man catching a wild goat while holding a hooklike implement.
Another painting portrays two couples with raised hands, accompanied by a child.
Notably, a painted figure shows a man holding a plough, suggesting a semisettled life pattern and agricultural practices.

The depiction of a man tilling land indicates the cultivation of crops and a semi-settled lifestyle.
The paintings offer valuable insights into the daily activities, occupations, and interactions with the environment of the ancient community.

	Paleolithic	Mesolithic	Neolithic	Bronze Age	Iron Age
Time Period	2.6 million 10,000 BCE	10,000 6,000 BCE	6,000 2,000 BCE	3,300 1,200 BCE	1,200 500 BCE
Characteristics	Use of crude stone tools	Transition from hunter-gatherer to settled lifestyle	Agriculture and farming practices become more prominent	Introduction of bronze, a metal alloy made of copper and tin	Transition from bronze to iron as the dominant metal
Animals in use	Hunter gatherer lifestyle	Domestication of plants and animals	Domestication of animals	Advanced metallurgical techniques	Increased trade and warfare
Economy	Nomadic existence	Emergence of early agriculture and semi-permanent settlements	Development of pottery and weaving techniques	Rise of complex societies and city-states	Emergence of empires and large scale political systems
Artistic Development	Cave paintings and engravings	Advanced stone tools, including micro-liths	Establishment of permanent settlements and early civilizations	Development of writing systems and recorded history	Flourishing of art, literature, and technology