Bhimbetka rock shelters 4.97

The Bhimbetka rock shelters are an archaeological site of the Paleolithic, exhibiting the earliest traces of human life on the Indian Subcontinent, and thus the beginning of the Indian Stone Age. It is located in the Raisen District in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, near Abdullaganj town and inside the Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary. At least some of the shelters were inhabited by Homo erectus over 100,000 years ago. Some of the Stone Age rock paintings found among the Bhimbetka rock shelters are some 30,000 years old. The caves also deliver early evidence of dance. They were declared a World Heritage Site in 2003.The name Bhimbetka (भीमबेटका) is associated with Bhima, a hero-deity of the epic Mahabharata. The word Bhimbetka is said to derive from Bhimbaithka (भीमबैठका), meaning "sitting place of Bhima".LocationThe Rock Shelters of Bhimbetaka lies 9 km from Obedullaganj city in the Raisen District of Madhya Pradesh and 45 kilometers south of Bhopal at the southern edge of the Vindhya hills. South of these rock shelters are successive ranges of the Satpura hills.