Interpreting Individual Artistic Creativity in Rock Art: An Example from Silari, District Raisen, India

Ishan Singh*, S. B. Ota, and Niharika Srivastava

The study of individual variation in archaeological material has often been overlooked by archaeologists, who sometimes regard such studies as less significant; moreover, some have argued that it is impossible to examine the individual in archaeology despite advances in art history and classical archaeology. Recent trends in rock‑art research reveal a gap in attempts to interpret individual creation in rock paintings, a notion that has hitherto seemed far‑fetched. It is a fact that individuals differ in their motor habits and motor performances, and paintings produced by different people are therefore likely to vary in executional style. Two intra‑individual variation types can be distinguished – subconscious and conscious – while a third type, individual creativity, is unique to each person. Using this third approach, one can analyse particulars and individuals based on patterns and stylistic features, and observe inter‑individual variation in artistic creations. With this theoretical background, a profusely painted rock shelter at Silari, in District Raisen, Madhya Pradesh, was selected for detailed study. The present research emphasises parameters such as hand‑movement patterns, stroke sequences, and brush‑stroke characteristics, with the objective of assessing the efficacy of such analyses for identifying individual signatures in rock‑art production and their implications for understanding socio‑cultural aspects of the community. Detailed analysis of selected images in the shelter indicates that three similar mythical animal figures were depicted by three different individuals across different periods; although there was an attempt to copy the same motif, each depiction bears distinct signatures in execution, reflecting individual perception, hand movement and other idiosyncratic traits. This study demonstrates that a regional application of the method can illuminate cultural aspects such as the number of individuals involved in art making, learning behaviour, social structure, belief systems, migration patterns and territoriality.