Southern Neolithic Rock Bruisings Continuity into Modern Herding Communities in Raichur Doab, South India

Arjun Rao

Southern Neolithic sites (south India) are primarily hill sites in the semi-arid climatic regions, established sedentary villages with socio-cultural dynamics associated with ash mounds, settlement terraces, ringing rocks, and rock bruisings sites. This paper talks on cattle (Bos indicus) in a centripetal role in societal rituals and pastoralism in the southern Neolithic culture, as reflected in rock bruisings (petroglyphs), and rock bruisings in the continuity of modern herding communities. The popular image of ‘cattle (Bos indicus)’ is also associated with other features such as the ringing rocks/lithophones and water retention features; locations which are highly functional and symbolically influenced through visuals and sonic production. In such sites of Raichur Doab (south India), which are associated with the dyke swarms and granodiorite hills are rich in rock-brushing images. On these sites, there is continuity of rock bruising as a technique produced by modern herding communities, and they engaged in imitating Neolithic cattle images and ringing rocks. Further, this process has developed, narrating a comprehensive site history from the advent of the Neolithic culture to contemporary activities, testifying to landscape changes through new content illustrating modern farming inventions, such as earth diggers and ploughing tractors, along with images of ringing rocks and cattle. They explain the development of demonstrative art forms at the site as reinvented content and abrasive techniques, posing challenges for rethinking rock art dating issues and trajectories in their discourses.