Sanganakallu is an ancient archaeological site from the Neolithic period (c. 2000 BCE).?? It is about 8 km from Bellary in the north-eastern part of Karnataka.
It is an important site not only in terms of the history of Karnataka and India, but also in terms of the history of world civilization when the notion of country, state, districts, caste, and religion were not yet born.
Rock art gives us information about the human past and the richness of human culture which is not available from any other source. ??It reflects in every direct way the emergence and flourishing of the human imagination and provides information about the nexus between human culture and the natural environment.
Rock art depicts conflict between wild animals and humans through scenes of hunts or magical-religious rites.?? It seems certain that the artists were from technically not-so-advanced cultures.
The collection of stone tools at Sanganakallu indicates that it was once a pre-historic stone tool factory some 4000 years ago.
One can find other artefacts like ceramic pottery, shell bone, steatite beads, neolithic age ash mound fragments which are conserved at Robert Bruce Foote Museum, Ballari.?? This museum renamed after the British geologist and archaeologist, Robert Bruce Foote, who made enormous contributions towards the study of Indian pre-historical sites.
Rock art provides an incredibly rich array of visual information on the lives, technologies, beliefs and preoccupations of humankind. As these sites are a great source of archaeological evidence and the greatest surviving art treasures of humankind, they should be preserved for the future.
Shiva is an avid field explorer of history and the environment.