MPPSC 2020 Prelims Paper-I · Question 24 of 100

Correct — C, Dr. Vishnudhar Vakankar (Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar). The Ujjain-based archaeologist came upon the Bhimbetka rock shelters in 1957 — famously spotting the Vindhyan rock formations from a passing train near Bhopal — and went on to study their prehistoric paintings. Bhimbetka, in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (inscribed 2003) with Stone Age (Palaeolithic to Mesolithic) rock art.

• (a)Dr. H. D. Sankhalia — H. D. Sankalia was an eminent Indian archaeologist (Deccan College, Pune) known for excavations at Langhnaj, Ahar and Navdatoli — but he did not discover Bhimbetka.
• (b)Dr. Shyam Sundar Nigam — Not credited with the discovery of the Bhimbetka rock shelters, which was Wakankar's find.
• (d)Dr. Rajbali Pandey — Rajbali Pandey was a historian of ancient India (noted for work on Hindu Samskaras), not the archaeologist who located Bhimbetka.

Bhimbetka is a cluster of natural rock shelters in the Vindhyan sandstone hills of Raisen district, MP. Its walls carry a long sequence of prehistoric paintings — hunting scenes, animals and dancing figures — making it one of the earliest records of human life on the subcontinent. It was brought to scholarly notice by V. S. Wakankar in 1957.

All four options are 'Dr.' academics, so the recall is precise: attach the site to its discoverer. Bhimbetka <-> V. S. Wakankar is the single link to remember; Sankalia is the tempting distractor because he is the more famous archaeologist.

• Discovered by Dr. V. S. Wakankar (Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar) in 1957.
• Located in Raisen district, Madhya Pradesh, in the Vindhyan hills near Bhopal.
• Prehistoric rock paintings from the Palaeolithic to Mesolithic and later.
• UNESCO World Heritage Site (inscribed 2003).

• Choosing the more famous H. D. Sankalia instead of the actual discoverer, Wakankar.
• Confusing the discoverer (a person) with the year of UNESCO inscription (2003).

MPPSC asks 'who discovered Bhimbetka' or 'when was it discovered'; anchor Bhimbetka -> V. S. Wakankar (1957), UNESCO listing 2003.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Bhimbetka rock shelters are located in which district of Madhya Pradesh?

  • (a)Raisen
  • (b)Vidisha
  • (c)Sehore
  • (d)Hoshangabad

  Answer(a) Raisen district.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The rock paintings at Bhimbetka mainly date from which prehistoric period onwards?

  • (a)Palaeolithic-Mesolithic
  • (b)Chalcolithic only
  • (c)Iron Age only
  • (d)Early medieval

  Answer(a) Palaeolithic-Mesolithic (and later) periods.