By Team Augie – M. Parthasarathy* & Aarthika Srinivasan**
Content provided by K.T Gandhi Rajan***
Dogs and humans have been best friends since the very beginning of civilization. Proof of the very same is found in multiple rock sculptures, and paintings found all over India. The paintings found in India are the oldest paintings of dogs and human relationships.
The oldest known rock art may be seen in Europe, Australia, Asia, Africa, and the Upper Palaeolithic period. Anthropologists who have studied this piece of art may believe that they may had magical or religious significance. Before written language was discovered and developed entirely, rock art and paintings were the only way to convey and communicate messages.
For a long time, now the bond between humans and dogs has been impeccable and robust. Evidence of the same has been found in Bhopal. The 9000-year-old rock paintings in the Bhimbetka rock shelters depict the relationship of humans with dogs. Indian rock art is highly underrated and usually doesn’t get the recognition it truly deserves worldwide. Many committees are organized in India to ensure more awareness about Indian Rock art, like IRAC (International Rock Art Congress), RASI (Rock Art Society of India).
The oldest account of dog painting goes back to when they are depicted as the companions of various gods to the Rig Veda. They have also been featured by the Indus Valley people; in an excavation at Roper, there were bronze and clay models of dogs buried with their owners.
Dog paintings were also seen within temples in medieval South India! A family with a pet dog is depicted in the Veerbhadra temples in Lepakshi. A Chola dynasty fresco of a dog was discovered in the inner precincts of Thanjavur’s Big Temple. Experts say its characteristics are like those of the Alangu breed.
Inside three rock-dwellings at Kuriji Nagar, some 15 kilometers from Usilampatti, prehistoric rock art portraying scenes of human-animal cooperation has been unearthed. The region is presently populated by Paliyar tribes, and the sights of human-animal cooperation were crucial to the region’s traditional lifestyle.
The following exclusive images contain depictions of the dog and human coexistence. These were taken at Porivarai Shelter, Karikkaiyur Village, Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu. These rock paintings were dated at almost 5000 BC.
*Author is the CEO of Augie Pets India Pvt. Ltd
**Content Writer – Team Augie, Email: info@augie.in
*** Rock Art Research Scholar
