Written by: Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro
Posted on: July 18, 2024 | 
| 中文
Cup-marks with grooves near Kamal Cheena Rock Shelter (Picture credits to Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro)
My journey of documenting rock art in Pakistan began in 1998. Since then, I have been on a quest to uncover and study the diverse rock art sites in Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab's Pothohar, and Azad Kashmir, where I discovered many rock art sites. This journey is not just a professional pursuit but a personal one, fueled by an inexpressible passion for rock art. I have also visited those rock art sites that were previously discovered by others, in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the diverse rock art landscapes that our country boasts.
Kamal Cheena painted rock shelter near Talang village (Picture credits to Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro)
In 2019 and 2020, I visited rock art sites in Swat and Malakand. In this article, I will discuss the rock art of Talang village. Several rock art sites around Talang village were discovered and documented by Dr. Luca Maria Olivieri. Talang village is located about 10 km from Barikot town, and is known for its picturesque setting and rock art sites. About 1 km west of the village is a spring where a painted rock shelter is located. This site was first discovered in 2005 by Dr. Luca Maria Olivieri, the Director of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan. Dr.Luca Maria Olivieri is an inspirational figure for many young scholars in Pakistan, not only for his expertise but also for his generosity in sharing his knowledge. He has mentored numerous scholars, and I have personally benefited from his expertise in rock art. He has authored many articles and books on rock art sites and other significant archaeological sites. His publications serve as a guide for young scholars in the field of rock art studies and archaeology. He discusses his discoveries in his books and articles and shares valuable insights. He also discusses paintings and other rock art sites in Painted Rock Shelters of the Swat-Malakand Area from Bronze Age to Buddhism: Materials for a Tentative Reconstruction of the Religious and Cultural Stratigraphy of Ancient Swat (2013) and Talking Stones: Painted Rock Shelters of Swat Valley (2015). Some of his most valuable contributions to rock art and other archaeological sites in Swat, Malakand, Buner etc., have been published in the esteemed Journal of East and West.
A closer view of painting in Kamal Cheena Rock shelter near Talang village (Picture credits to Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro)
I will only discuss Kamal Cheena painted rock shelter and the nearby cup marks in Talang village. The main reason for visiting this site was to see the cup marks, depictions of bulls and handprints, which I have discussed in my forthcoming book on the Rock Art of Pakistan. My visit to Kamal Cheena painted rock shelter was a collaborative effort. I was accompanied by Fazal Azeem, who is associated with the Italian Archaeological Mission, and my student Muhammad Abbas Akhon Khail of Saidu Sharif. We were also joined by residents of Talang village, who added local insights to our exploration.
Kamal Cheena painted rock shelter near Talang village (Picture credits to Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro)
Paintings in red are found on the lower surface of the jutting rock. One finds horse riders, humped bulls (zebu), axes, handprints, and a few other figures. I found the representations of bulls the most fascinating in this rock shelter. Bull images appear in the rock art of Pakistan. However, they are numerous in the rock art of Sindh. In Sindh, there are rock carvings of humped bulls or zebu found in Nali, Gaj, Khashani, Seeta, Mazarani, Chhanhar, Sallari, and Makhi valleys in Khirthar. Many depictions of bulls are concentrated between the Nali and Gaj valleys. If one crosses Lorah Lak and enters Balochistan’s Khuzdar, one will also come across several rock art sites between Lorah Lak, Zaidi, and Pallimas in Wadh tehsil. Representations of bulls or zebu can be found in painted rock shelters of Pallimas and petroglyphs at other rock art sites in Khuzdar. The most magnificent painted bull images are found at Tharia rock shelter in Wadh tehsil’s Pallimas. Bull images can also be found in various other rock art sites in Balochistan.
Bull image in Kamal Cheena rock shelter (Picture credits to Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro)
When discussing the rock art sites along the Indus, one can find images of bulls in petroglyphs at locations ranging from Bagh Neelab in Attock, Mandori in Nowshera to Diamer in Gilgit-Baltistan. Bull images are also seen in the painted rock shelters of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Dr.Luca Maria Olivieri discusses some of these in his book Talking Stones: The Painted Rock Shelters of the Swat Valley (2015). I have also seen a bull image in the painted rock shelter of Lal Kamar in Malakand’s Loi Banda area, which is home to many painted rock shelters. One also learns from Dr.Luca Maria Olivieri that bull depictions are also found in the Kwar-patai and Allahdan-dheri. It is also featured in rock carvings at Gogdara I, which have also been studied systematically by Luca Maria Olivieri (1998). Zebu also appeared on the painted potsherds from Swat. Dr.Luca Maria Olivieri believes that the zebu was important in the culture of Chalcolithic and Bronze Age in Swat. Undoubtedly, it was also an important animal in the Indus civilization. Zebu is also featured in the prehistoric rock art of Sindh, Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Apart from depictions of zebu in Kamal Cheena painted rock shelter, handprints attract the visitor's attention. At least four handprints are depicted in this rock shelter. Handprints appear in the rock art of Pakistan, Sindh and Gilgit-Baltistan. The figures of horse riders are very impressive and seem to have been made later than the depictions of bulls and handprints. One can also see an anthropomorphic figure holding a banner! Two battle axes are also depicted in a rock shelter. Professor Dr. Ahmad Hasan Dani (1983) also discussed depictions of battle axes at Chilas in his book Chilas: The City of Naga Parvat (Dyamar). I have discussed depictions of axes in my books, Symbols in Stone: The Rock Art of Sindh (2018) and The Rock Art of Karachi (2020).
Depictions of bull on left, handprints in the center and horse riders on the right (Picture credits to Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro)
The presence of a spring at the location drew visitors to create art on the wall of the rock shelter. The handprints and depictions of bulls indicate that the rock shelter held sacred significance for an ancient community.
If one climbs up from the painted rock shelter and moves a little further to the right, until one reaches the end of the ridge, one will find many cup-marks on the boulder’s surface. However, the most noticeable ones have interconnecting grooves. One can have a panoramic view of Talang village from this boulder. I find it fascinating to observe cup-marks with interconnecting grooves. It is likely that these marks represented either a nearby landscape or a receptacle for certain rituals. I have come across several such types of cup-marks with grooves in Sindh. Interestingly, cup-marks have not received scholarly attention from Pakistani scholars, but have been studied by Italian scholars, particularly Luca Maria Olivieri and Massimo Vidale. I have written numerous articles on the subject of cup marks in Sindh and Islamabad.
Painting in Kamal Cheena Rock shelter near Talang village (Picture credits to Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro)
The Kamal Cheena painted rock shelter and other rock art sites reflect the area's historical and cultural significance. This site should be converted into a rock art park to promote rock art tourism in the region, which would certainly boost the local economy.
The writer Is an anthropologist. He has authored 15 books on Pakistan’s cultural heritage and anthropology. He tweets @kalhorozulfiqar
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