Mesolithic rock cut architecture of India not only reflects the cultural life of the times but also a fine aesthetic sense comparable to modern painting. Critically evaluate this comment.

Hunting and gathering

Bhimbetka and Adamgarh show bands hunting bison, deer and boar with barbed spears and bows, while honey collection, fishing and a dog beside hunters reveal an economy nearing domestication.

Community and belief

Group dances with drummers, the linked dancers of Lakhudiyar in Uttarakhand and masked figures point to shared festivity and ritual.

Limits of the record

Gender roles and beliefs are inferences, and up to twenty superimposed layers make many scenes hard to date.

Economy of line

A few strokes give a hunter or a charging bison its motion, as modern artists reduce a form to its gesture.

Pattern and palette

Cross-hatched and X-ray style animal bodies in haematite red, white and green show a deliberate decorative sense.

Anachronistic yardstick

These were most likely ritual or narrative records, with no perspective and a narrow palette, so the likeness to modern art is one of abstraction, not intent or technique.