Dear JK,

--- In IndiaArchaeology@yahoogroups.com, JK <tiptronicus@...> wrote:

> According to this article, the oldest surviving attempt to depict
> the world was painted, perhaps about 7,000 or 8,000 years ago, on
> a cave wall at Jaora in India. Google bhagwan does not have more
> details about this aspect of Jaora.
>
> http://tinyurl.com/3yudeo
>
> December 2, 2007
> Map Quest By FELIPE FERNÁNDEZ-ARMESTO
>
> [QUOTE:]
>
> "The oldest surviving attempt to depict the world was painted,
> perhaps about 7,000 or 8,000 years ago, on a cave wall at Jaora in
> India. Around an empty central disk, complex patterns -— key
> shapes, zigzags, lozenges, diamonds and paddlelike forms -— are
> arrayed in broadly vertical bands, like the skins of scaly beasts
> laid out to dry."


"Google bhagwan" was more merciful to me and enabled me to find a
drawing of the Jaora rock painting in question. It is reproduced in
Fig. 22 on p. 18 of the pdf document at

http://mc2.vicnet.net.au/home/aura/shared_files/Berger1.pdf

This is the figure's caption:

"Figure 22. Rock painting from Jaora, Bhopal region, India, showing
the cosmos (?); redrawn after [Erwin] Neumayer (1993: Fig. 120),
schematic."

Summary by the author of the pdf article (Friedrich Berger):

"Circle and square together combine heaven and earth, this
represents the 'total world'. One of the earliest examples may be
shown in Figure 22. Neumayer (1993: 66) interprets this rock
painting from Jaora, Bhopal region, India, in the style of the early
hunters and gatherers as a representation of the cosmos. This
painting shows a 'square' (actually a rectangle), divided into
several stripes decorated with a variety of design patterns. An
empty circle is in the centre. On the upper periphery of the
square, 'fish' are shown between 'reeds' or 'lotus stems'. Along two
other sides are 'water birds', besides the rectangle are five 'flying
birds'. The geometric design within the rectangle does not seem to
represent fields of agriculturists because this kind of design is
also applied to animal bodies and is used independently. Neumayer
assigns the rock art of this style to the Mesolithic period as only
activities of hunters and gatherers are shown in contrast to
pictures of other rock art styles (1993: 31&#8722;5, 43)" (p. 18).

Regards,
Francesco