Almost all early painting in India survives in caves, as very few buildings from Ancient India survive, and though these were probably often painted, the work has been lost. The history of
cave paintings in India or
rock art range from drawings and paintings from prehistoric times, beginning around 30,000 BCE in the caves of Central India, typified by those at the
Bhimbetka rock shelters to elaborate
frescoes at sites such as the
rock-cut artificial caves at
Ajanta and
Ellora, extending as late as the 8th - 10th century CE.