RAJANNA-SIRCILLA: A rock shelter at Maisamma Gutta near Gannevaripalle village has revealed prehistoric paintings resembling a kangaroo and an echidna — animals not native to India. The discovery was made by a team from the Matti Foundation led by researcher Reddy Ratnakar Reddy.
According to the researchers, the rock shelter, situated 407 metres above sea level, contains numerous paintings executed in red and dark red pigments. The most striking figure resembles a kangaroo, with an elongated body and long tail, depicted as if grazing. Another painting on the shelter’s ceiling appears to resemble an echidna. Other figures seem to depict a tortoise, lizard, snake and a horse or donkey, along with five-pointed, star-like motifs drawn in a single continuous line.
The team also identified a circular motif above the kangaroo-like figure, accompanied by three branch-like symbols.
According to Ratnakar Reddy, the circle may represent the sea, while the branch-like figures could symbolise trees, although he emphasised that this interpretation is tentative.
Researchers also reported finding Paleolithic and Mesolithic stone tools near the rock shelter, along with grinding grooves on exposed rock surfaces and pieces of hematite that may have been used to prepare the red pigment for the paintings.
Based on the overlapping artwork and associated archaeological material, they estimate that the earliest paintings may date to around 10,000 BCE, while some engravings and geometric motifs could be about 5,000 years old.
Ratnakar Reddy noted that archaeologists led by Jinu Koshy of the University of Madras had previously reported similar kangaroo-like rock art in the Kurnool region of Andhra Pradesh.
The Matti Foundation stressed that the identification of the figures as kangaroos or echidnas requires scientific verification by the Archaeological Survey of India and other experts. If confirmed, the discovery could offer significant insights into prehistoric human migrations, cultural memory and artistic traditions, added the experts.
The foundation has appealed to the Archaeology Department and the government to immediately protect the site from damage. Local residents currently worship the rock shelter as a shrine of Goddess Maisamma, raising concerns that the paintings could be inadvertently damaged by the application of lime or other ritual practices, as has reportedly happened at other nearby rock art sites.