Question

Rock shelters of Bhimbetka are in which state:
(A) Madhya Pradesh
(B) Maharashtra
(C) Gujarat
(D) Rajasthan

Answer 1

Hint: A shelter is defined to be a small structure or protected area designed to shield someone or something from adverse conditions or threat. Rock shelters are narrow caves or even areas that look like caves, created by a protruding ledge of mountains or standing rocks. They were inhabited by Stone Age communities for long periods of time.

Complete answer:
The Bhimbetka rock shelters are a Palaeolithic archaeological site that exhibits the oldest evidence of human existence in the country of India, and hence it marks the initiation of the Stone Age of India.
Any of the Stone Age rock drawings discovered among the Bhimbetka rock shelters date back millions of years, approximately 3000030000 years. The caves also provide traces of early performances. In 2003, they were designated as a World Heritage Site.

The Bhimbetka Rock Shelters are located 45 kilometres south of the area of Bhopal and 9 kilometres from Obedullaganj city within the state's Raisen District, on the south end of the range, Vindhya Range. At the south of these rock shelters, we are able to find consecutive Satpura hill ranges.

We can examine each option carefully:
Option (A) Madhya Pradesh is the correct option. This is because the rock shelter is situated in Raisen District which is south of Bhopal. Bhopal is the capital city of Madhya Pradesh state so it is clear that the rock shelter is present in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
Option (B) Maharashtra is an incorrect option. The Satpura range lies at the border of Maharashtra but it is further south when compared to the region of Bhopal. So Maharashtra is not where the Bhimbetka rock shelter is present.
Option (C) Gujarat is an incorrect option. This state lies on the western side of Bhopal, but the rock shelter is found in the southern part of Bhopal so this cannot be the region. Also, Raisen District is not a part of Gujarat hence the rock shelter is definitely not present here.
Option (D) Rajasthan is an incorrect option. This state again lies west of the region of Bhopal but is at the northwestern side. Also, the district Raisen which lies south of Bhopal is where the rock shelter can be found, so this rock shelter clearly does not lie near the state of Rajasthan. Hence this is a wrong option.

Therefore the correct answer is option (A) Madhya Pradesh.

Note: We must note that rock-shelters are very significant archaeological site settings since they develop in a variety of manners, in different forms of bedrock and in various landscapes. The same properties of rock shelters that are able to shield their human and animal occupants also help in safeguarding the archaeological resources that have remained within those structures. This helps archaeologists to study these caves better.