Prehistoric Sites and Rock Art of Chhattisgarh
Stone Age Chhattisgarh for CGPSC: Raigarh rock shelters (Singhanpur, Kabra Pahad, Ongna), Chitwa Dongri and the Karkabhat megaliths.
Prerequisites
- Ancient Chhattisgarh: chapter overview: where this topic fits in the chapter
- Indus Valley Civilisation: the all-India timeline of Stone Age and Bronze Age cultures
- Physical Geography of Chhattisgarh: the Raigarh hills, the Mahanadi basin and the Bastar plateau, where most sites lie
The Hook: The Spotted Mountain Near Raigarh
Eight kilometres east of Raigarh town rises a sandstone hill that local people call Kabra Pahad (कबरा पहाड़). In Chhattisgarhi, kabra means “spotted”. Look closely at its overhangs and the “spots” turn out to be red-ochre paintings: wild buffalo, a turtle, human figures, geometric patterns. Someone painted them thousands of years before anyone wrote a word in this region.
Who were these people, where else did they leave traces, and what can a rock painting or a burial stone tell a historian?
Why it matters: Prelims asks you to match sites with districts and periods, especially the Raigarh rock shelters and the Karkabhat megaliths. Mains asks about the sources for the earliest history of Chhattisgarh. The answer begins here, with archaeology, because there are no written records for this period.
The Stone Age Sequence (All-India Frame)
Prehistory (प्रागैतिहासिक काल) is the period before writing. Archaeologists divide it by the tools people used. The same sequence is used for Chhattisgarh.
| Phase | Hindi term | Typical tools and life | What to remember for Chhattisgarh |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age) | पुरापाषाण काल | Large hand axes, cleavers, scrapers; hunting and gathering | Tools reported from the Mahanadi basin and the Bastar region |
| Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) | मध्यपाषाण काल | Microliths (small, finely made stone tools); hunting, fishing, early herding | Many painted rock shelters are linked to this and later phases |
| Neolithic (New Stone Age) | नवपाषाण काल | Polished stone axes; farming and settled villages | Polished tools reported from several districts |
| Megalithic (early Iron Age) | महापाषाण काल | Large stone monuments over burials; iron weapons | Karkabhat and neighbouring sites in Balod district |
Researchers have reported several hundred prehistoric sites in Chhattisgarh. The densest clusters are in the upper Mahanadi basin and the Bastar region. Stone tools are the most common finds: hand axes, scrapers, microliths and polished axes.
Rock Art: the Raigarh Cluster
Rock paintings are called shailchitra (शैलचित्र). Most of the state’s known painted shelters are in Raigarh district, along the hills north and east of the town. The State Department of Culture and Archaeology has identified paintings at the places below and others.
| Site | Location | What is painted |
|---|---|---|
| Singhanpur (सिंघनपुर) | About 20 km north-west of Raigarh, off the Raigarh–Kharsia road | Hunting scenes, animal figures and a ladder-like human figure; the paintings are now faint |
| Kabra Pahad (कबरा पहाड़) | About 8 km east of Raigarh | Wild buffalo, turtle, human figures and geometric designs; also deer, bear and other animals, and hand and foot marks |
| Ongna (ओंगना) | Raigarh district | Painted shelter listed by the State Department of Culture and Archaeology |
| Karmagarh (करमागढ़) | Raigarh district | One of the three shelters (with Singhanpur and Kabra Pahad) that scholars rate highest for style and age |
| Ushakothi, Basnajhar, Botalda, Khairpur, Sirolidongri and others | Raigarh district | Smaller painted shelters in the same hill belt |
Discovery and Research
- The first painted rock shelters in the state were reported in 1910 by an English researcher named Anderson. Singhanpur is the site usually linked to this discovery.
- The historian Amarnath Dutt carried out a detailed survey of Raigarh district between 1923 and 1927 and recorded many more painted shelters.
- New finds keep appearing. In January 2023, rock paintings were reported on a hill about 200 feet high in the Dharamjaygarh area of Raigarh district.
- Hunting and gathering: groups chasing animals, people carrying weapons.
- Animals: wild buffalo, deer, bear, elephant, monkey, turtle and lizard-like forms.
- Human life: dancing figures and group scenes.
- Symbols: hand and foot prints, geometric patterns.
- Medium: natural pigments, mainly red ochre, on sandstone overhangs.
These themes match rock art elsewhere in central India, such as Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh, and they let historians reconstruct how people lived without any written source.
Chitwa Dongri: Rock Art from a Later Age
Chitwa Dongri (चितवा डोंगरी) lies in the Durg region (today usually listed under Balod district). Its paintings show a figure in Chinese-looking dress riding a donkey, a dragon-like creature and farming scenes. These are not Stone Age paintings: the subjects show a farming society in contact with distant cultures. That is a useful reminder that rock painting in Chhattisgarh continued into historic times. The painted ceiling of the Jogimara cave at Ramgarh (Surguja), which carries a Brahmi inscription, belongs to the historic period too. It is covered in Mauryan and Satavahana Period.
The Megalithic Burials of Balod
A megalith (महापाषाण) is a large stone, or a group of stones, set up over or beside a burial. In Chhattisgarh the best-known megalithic landscape is in Balod district (formerly part of Durg).
Karkabhat (करकाभाट)
- About 12 km from Balod on the Dhamtari road.
- More than 800 burials and many stone monuments, spread over several square kilometres. They are dated to the first millennium BCE.
- Burials are marked by menhirs (single upright stones). Studies describe three shapes: conical, obliquely pointed, and forked like a fish-tail.
- The menhirs are carefully placed. Their finished face looks north and their tilt is to the east or west, which researchers link to the position of the sun when they were raised.
- Excavation produced iron daggers, spearheads and arrowheads. These show that the megalith builders used iron and knew how to quarry, move and raise very heavy stones.
Other megalithic sites in the same belt include Karhibhadar and Dhanora, with menhirs and capstone burials.
Why Prehistory Matters: Analysis for Mains
- Only archaeology speaks for this period. There are no texts, so tools, paintings and burials are the entire evidence base.
- Continuity of settlement. Sites from the Palaeolithic to the Iron Age show that the region was inhabited continuously, long before it appears in literature as Dakshin Kosala.
- Art as a record of life. The Raigarh paintings record hunting, animals, dance and belief, which is social history without writing.
- The Iron Age prepared the ground for kingdoms. Iron tools helped clear forest and expand farming in the Mahanadi plain, the base for the later kingdoms of the region.
- A heritage and tourism asset. Rock-art sites are fragile and need protection from weathering, graffiti and quarrying. This is a point for GS answers on heritage conservation.
Memory Tricks
Don’t Confuse
| This | vs | That |
|---|---|---|
| Singhanpur (Raigarh): prehistoric rock shelter | Sirpur (Mahasamund): ancient capital with temples and monasteries, a historic-period site | |
| Kabra Pahad (Raigarh): rock paintings | Karkabhat (Balod): megalithic burials | |
| Chitwa Dongri (Durg–Balod region): paintings with a Chinese-looking rider and a dragon, historic period | Jogimara (Surguja): painted cave with a Brahmi inscription, c. 3rd–1st century BCE | |
| Menhir: single upright memorial stone | Microlith: tiny stone tool of the Mesolithic | |
| 1910: first painted shelters reported (Anderson) | 1923–27: Amarnath Dutt’s survey of Raigarh |
Common Mistakes
Practice
These are original practice questions written in CGPSC style. They are not previous-year questions.
Level 1: Foundation
- The Chhattisgarhi word kabra, as in Kabra Pahad, means ________.
- The first painted rock shelters of Chhattisgarh were reported in the year ________ by ________.
- Karkabhat, a megalithic site with more than 800 burials, is in ________ district.
Answers
- Spotted
- 1910; Anderson
- Balod
Level 2: Prelims MCQs
Q1. Consider the following statements about the rock art of Chhattisgarh:
- Singhanpur and Kabra Pahad are both in Raigarh district.
- The paintings of Kabra Pahad are mainly in red ochre and include wild buffalo and turtle figures.
- Amarnath Dutt surveyed the painted shelters of Raigarh district in 1910.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only (b) 1 and 2 only (c) 2 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer and explanation
Q2. Match List-I (Site) with List-II (Feature):
| List-I | List-II |
|---|---|
| A. Karkabhat | 1. Painting of a rider in Chinese-looking dress and a dragon |
| B. Chitwa Dongri | 2. Megalithic burials marked by menhirs |
| C. Singhanpur | 3. Painted cave with a Brahmi inscription |
| D. Jogimara | 4. Prehistoric rock shelter near the Raigarh–Kharsia road |
(a) A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3 (b) A-1, B-2, C-4, D-3 (c) A-2, B-1, C-3, D-4 (d) A-4, B-1, C-2, D-3
Answer and explanation
Q3. The iron daggers, spearheads and arrowheads found at Karkabhat indicate that its burials belong to which phase?
(a) Palaeolithic (b) Mesolithic (c) Neolithic (d) Megalithic / early Iron Age
Answer and explanation
Q4. “Microliths” are the characteristic tools of which period?
(a) Lower Palaeolithic (b) Mesolithic (c) Chalcolithic (d) Iron Age
Answer and explanation
Level 3: Mains Answer Writing
Q1. Describe the main features of the prehistoric rock art of Chhattisgarh. (150–200 words)
Intro: With no written records, rock paintings (शैलचित्र) are among the richest sources for the earliest history of Chhattisgarh. They are concentrated in the sandstone hills of Raigarh district.
Body:
- Sites: Singhanpur, Kabra Pahad, Ongna, Karmagarh, Ushakothi, Basnajhar and Botalda in Raigarh; Chitwa Dongri in the Durg–Balod region.
- Discovery: first reported by Anderson in 1910; Amarnath Dutt surveyed Raigarh in 1923–27; new finds continue (Dharamjaygarh, 2023).
- Themes: hunting scenes, animals (wild buffalo, deer, bear, elephant, turtle), dancing figures, hand prints and geometric designs.
- Technique: natural pigments, mainly red ochre, on rock overhangs.
- Continuity: later paintings (Chitwa Dongri’s rider and dragon, farming scenes) show the tradition lasted into historic times.
Conclusion: These shelters are an open-air archive of early life in the region. Documenting and protecting them should be a priority of heritage policy.
Q2. What do the megalithic sites of Balod district reveal about early Iron Age society in Chhattisgarh? (60 words)
Quick Revision Table
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Main rock-art district | Raigarh |
| Key shelters | Singhanpur, Kabra Pahad, Ongna, Karmagarh, Ushakothi, Basnajhar, Botalda |
| Singhanpur | About 20 km north-west of Raigarh; hunting scenes, animals, ladder-like human figure |
| Kabra Pahad | About 8 km east of Raigarh; “spotted hill”; wild buffalo, turtle, human figures, geometric designs |
| First report | 1910, Anderson |
| Major survey | Amarnath Dutt, 1923–27 |
| Recent find | Dharamjaygarh area, Raigarh (reported January 2023) |
| Chitwa Dongri | Durg–Balod region; Chinese-looking rider on a donkey, dragon, farming scenes |
| Karkabhat | Balod; 800+ megalithic burials; menhirs; iron weapons; 1st millennium BCE |
| Other megalithic sites | Karhibhadar, Dhanora |
| Densest prehistoric clusters | Upper Mahanadi basin and Bastar |
Key Takeaways
- Chhattisgarh’s prehistory is known only from archaeology: tools, rock paintings and burials.
- Raigarh is the rock-art capital of the state. Learn Singhanpur, Kabra Pahad, Ongna and Karmagarh first.
- Anderson reported the first painted shelters in 1910; Amarnath Dutt surveyed Raigarh in 1923–27.
- Chitwa Dongri shows that rock painting continued into historic times.
- Karkabhat (Balod) is the key megalithic site: 800+ burials, menhirs, iron weapons.
What’s Next
- Dakshin Kosala in Literature and Epics: the region’s first appearance in texts and tradition
- Mauryan and Satavahana Period: the painted Jogimara cave and the first inscriptions
- Tourism and Heritage of Chhattisgarh: how these sites fit into the state’s heritage map
- Art and Culture: Indian painting traditions from Bhimbetka onwards