The discovery in the Konkan region of Maharashtra of thousands of rock carvings may hold clues to a previously unknown civilisation. Etched on flat rocky hilltops, most remained unnoticed for thousands of years hidden beneath layers of soil and mud, but a few were were considered holy and worshipped by locals.
     A stunning variety of animals, birds, human figures, and geometrical designs are depicted. Their similarity to those found in other parts of the world leads experts to believe they may be about 12,000 years old.
     A group of explorers led by Sudhir Risbood and Manoj Marathe began searching for the images after observing a few. Many were found in village temples and played a part in local folklore. They found petroglyphs in and around 52 villages, but only around five villages were aware that the carvings existed.
     Mr Risbood: "We walked thousands of kilometres. People started sending photographs to us and we even enlisted schools in our efforts to find them. We made students ask their grandparents and other village elders if they knew about any other engravings. This provided us with a lot of valuable information."
     The pair have also played an important role in documenting the petroglyphs and lobbying authorities to study and preserve them.
     Maharashtra state archaeology department director Tejas Garge says the images appear to have been created by a hunter-gatherer community which was not familiar with agriculture: "We have not found any pictures of farming activities. But the images depict hunted animals and there's detailing of animal forms. So this man knew about animals and sea creatures. That indicates he was dependent on hunting for food."
     While some of the petroglyphs depict animals like hippos and rhinoceroses which are not now found in this part of India, Doctor Shrikant Pradhan, a researcher and art historian at Pune's Deccan College who has studied the petroglyphs closely, says "Most of the petroglyphs show familiar animals. There are images of sharks and whales as well as amphibians like turtles."

Edited from BBC News (1 October 2018)