These are real prehistoric petroglyphs (rock carvings/geoglyphs) from the Konkan region of western India (mainly Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts, extending into Goa), but the “lost civilization” framing is media exaggeration.
The image shows characteristic examples: white- outlined figures etched into dark laterite rock, including stylized animals (some aquatic or terrestrial), abstract shapes, and possibly human or hybrid forms. Thousands of such carvings (over 1,000-1,500 documented across 50- 70 and more sites) have been catalogued since local discoveries and systematic surveys in the 1990s- 2010s, often by amateur explorers later supported by state archaeologists.
Estimates place many of them around 10,000- 12,000 years old (Mesolithic/Middle Stone Age), based on associated microlithic stone tools, stylistic comparisons, absence of agricultural or domestic- animal scenes, and ecological clues. Direct dating of the carvings themselves is difficult and imprecise; ranges sometimes cited go broader (e.g., 5,000- 40,000 years in some assessments). They predate the Indus Valley Civilization by millennia and help fill a long gap in the Konkan archaeological record between the Paleolithic and early historical periods.
They were made by hunter-gatherer communities using hard stone tools on open, flat laterite plateaus (unusual compared to typical cave or cliff rock art). Subjects include life-size or large animals (elephants, one famous example measures ~13 × 18 m with dozens of smaller figures inside its outline—tigers, deer, monkeys, boars, peacocks), marine life (sharks, stingrays), humans (often stylized or fertility-related), and geometric/abstract designs.
Some carvings depict rhinoceroses and hippopotamuses (or similar forms). These species are not part of the modern Konkan fauna and are thought to have disappeared from the region thousands of years ago. Their presence in the art suggests the creators were familiar with them, pointing to a wetter, more forested post- Ice Age environment in the past. This is ecological evidence rather than proof of exotic or impossible fauna.
Archaeologists describe these as the work of previously poorly documented prehistoric (Mesolithic) hunter-gatherers in the region, not a sophisticated urban or “forgotten civilization” with advanced technology or written records. No associated settlements, metal tools, farming scenes, or other markers of complex society have been firmly linked. The carvings provide valuable insights into local ecology, symbolic thought, possible ritual use, and continuous human presence, and several sites are on India’s UNESCO World Heritage tentative list. Conservation is a concern due to weathering, development, and quarrying.
In short, this is an important and genuine discovery of ancient Indian rock art that expands our understanding of Mesolithic life on the Konkan coast. The dramatic “lost civilization” and mystery-animal headlines overstate the case for popular appeal. The image is consistent with published examples of these Konkan petroglyphs.
The main systematic uncovering and cataloguing effort was led by local engineers and naturalists (notably Sudhir Risbud and Dhananjay/Manoj Marathe or similar collaborators), who began exploring the laterite plateaus of Maharashtra’s Konkan coast (especially Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts) around 2012 or earlier. They were significantly aided by schoolchildren, villagers, shepherds, and other residents who guided them to sites or shared oral knowledge.
Over time the work expanded to dozens of locations, reports commonly reference clusters across roughly 50- 70 and more sites or villages in the region, with only a small minority of communities having prior awareness of the carvings. In those places where locals already knew about them, some images were (and in cases still are) treated as sacred or auspicious symbols, sometimes protected or incorporated into local traditions. Many others had been covered by soil, vegetation, or simply overlooked on remote hilltops until the surveys brought them to wider attention.
The repertoire is diverse, exactly as described:
- Human (anthropomorphic) figures, often stylized
- Animals (elephants, tigers, deer, rhinoceroses, hippopotamus- like forms, boars, monkeys, etc.)
- Birds
- Marine creatures (sharks, stingrays, etc.)
- Abstract and geometric designs
These details reinforce that the carvings represent the symbolic and observational world of Mesolithic hunter- gatherers rather than a later, more complex “lost civilization.” The community involvement also highlights how local knowledge was essential to recovering this heritage, much of which remains vulnerable to weathering and development.
The creators of the Konkan petroglyphs were prehistoric Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) hunter- gatherers.
In India, the Mesolithic period roughly spans from about 10,000 BCE to 5,000–2,000 BCE (varying by region), marking the transition from the Pleistocene into the Holocene. It is defined archaeologically by:
- Widespread use of microliths — small, finely made stone blades and tools often set into composite implements (arrows, spears, sickles).
- A continued reliance on hunting, gathering, fishing and foraging, with no clear evidence of agriculture or animal domestication in the Konkan carvings.
- Increased seasonal mobility or semi- permanent camps near water sources, and a flowering of symbolic expression, including rock art.
In the Konkan region specifically, the petroglyphs (and associated microliths found at some sites) are the primary evidence filling a long gap between earlier Paleolithic occupations and much later historical periods. The absence of domestic animals, farming scenes, metal tools, or settled village imagery in the carvings supports a mobile or semi-mobile foraging way of life.
Around 12,000 years ago (early Holocene), the climate of peninsular India, including the Konkan coast, was significantly different from today:
Post- glacial recovery: Following the Last Glacial Maximum, global temperatures rose and the Indian summer monsoon strengthened during the Early Holocene Climatic Optimum. Rainfall was higher (in some reconstructions substantially more than modern levels), supporting denser vegetation.
Wetter, more forested landscape: Much of the region supported tropical evergreen to moist deciduous forests rather than the more open or seasonally dry conditions of later periods. Coastal and inland water bodies were more extensive.
Faunal implications: This environment could sustain larger mammals such as rhinoceros and hippopotamus (depicted in some petroglyphs), which later disappeared from the Konkan as conditions dried. Sea levels were still rising after the glacial lowstand, reshaping the coastline and coastal ecosystems.
Later, around the mid- Holocene (~6,000- 5,000 years ago), monsoon weakening contributed to “savannization” — expansion of grasslands and reduction of dense forests across parts of peninsular India. This climatic shift is linked in some regions to the eventual adoption of agro- pastoralism, but the Konkan petroglyph tradition appears to reflect an earlier, still fully foraging adaptation to the wetter early Holocene environment.
In summary, the people who made these carvings lived as skilled hunter- gatherer- fishers in a warmer, wetter Konkan landscape richer in forests and large wildlife than the one we see today. The petroglyphs themselves serve as both cultural and paleoenvironmental records of that period.
You must be logged in to post a comment.