Context:
The Maharashtra government has allocated funds to scientifically document and analyse thousands of prehistoric petroglyphs in the Konkan region using Artificial Intelligence (AI). The initiative aims to strengthen their conservation and support India’s bid for UNESCO World Heritage status.
Explanation:
- Petroglyphs are prehistoric rock carvings created by engraving, pecking, incising or abrading natural rock surfaces.
- They are a form of rock art and provide evidence of prehistoric human life, beliefs, fauna and environment before the advent of writing.
- Geoglyphs are large designs or figures created on the ground or exposed rock surfaces; Konkan rock art is referred to as both petroglyphs and geoglyphs.
- The Konkan petroglyphs are found mainly on laterite plateaus in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts.
- Archaeologists date many of these carvings to the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age), around 20,000–10,000 BC, making them older than the Harappan Civilization.
- Their study helps reconstruct prehistoric societies, subsistence patterns and environmental history.
- These sites are on India’s UNESCO Tentative List, a prerequisite for World Heritage nomination.
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