Beyond motif typologies

: A digital and theoretical reinterpretation of the Mesolithic rock art of the Betwa Source Region, Madhya Pradesh

Abstract

India holds the third largest rock art cache globally. Traditionally, Indian rock art and its analyses have predominantly focused on recording and reporting the existence of the motifs and analysis from an art historical perspective. Consequently, there is a significant lacuna in the holistic understanding of the cultures engaged in rock art creation and their archaeological implications for the study of material culture, especially for specific periods of prehistory. This thesis addresses the analytical gap in Indian rock art interpretations by applying an alternative relational approach and its implications on an archaeological understanding of landscape, movement and connectivity in the past. The research looks at rock art an intentional modification of the landscape explored and encountered, created to marked sites of performative action where social and communal activities were situated and how these motifs were eventually accorded cultural values, exapted and passed on, giving rise to a socio-cultural continuity of rock art creation.
Methodologically, this thesis employs non-invasive methods and comparative spatial analysis tore-examine the Mesolithic rock art of twelve sites in the region, including the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bhimbetka. The methodology also includes GIS to understand the human landscape interactions and the tenets of the Actor Network Theory to analyse what was encountered and interacted with. The focus of this research is rock art and the landscape of its creation with the lens of materiality and embodiment of experience beyond the physical body of the human actor.
Findings indicate that motifs functioned not only as graphic expressions but as relational markers embedded in social networks, acquiring cultural value through practices of continuity and connectivity. Rock art sites are interpreted as deliberate modifications of the landscape or places of performative and communal activity that contributed to shaping social identities and interactions. By integrating digital methodologies with the theoretical framework of materiality, embodiment and distributed cognition, this thesis offers a new interpretative model for Indian rock art. It demonstrates the value of shifting beyond motif typologies towards a contextualised, relational understanding of rock art as a socio- cultural practice in Mesolithic societies.

Date of Award	Sept 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Brighton
Supervisor	James Cole (Supervisor) & Matthew Brolly (Supervisor)