RAS question
Which Chambal Valley prehistoric rock-art site is partly protected by the Archaeological Survey of India?
Correct answer: (D) Chaturbhujnath Nala.
Chaturbhujnath Nala is the Chambal Valley prehistoric rock-art site that is partially protected by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Explanation
Chaturbhujnath Nala is the answer because the UNESCO World Heritage Centre tentative-list entry for the Rock Art Sites of the Chambal Valley lists it within Cluster II of the Chambal Basin rock-art sites and then states, in the integrity discussion, that only Chaturbhujnath Nala is currently partially protected by the Archaeological Survey of India. This matters because the question is not asking for any rock shelter or any Rajasthan location in the Chambal cultural landscape. It is asking for the specific site with partial ASI protection. The same UNESCO entry treats the Chambal Basin as a multi-district cultural landscape across Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, so the protected-site clue is the decisive identifier.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Garh Bitli is not identified as the Chambal Valley rock-art site with partial ASI protection.
- (B) Kolvi is associated with rock shelters, but the UNESCO entry names Chaturbhujnath Nala, not Kolvi, as the site currently partially protected by the ASI.
- (C) Darrah/Darra is not the ASI-protected answer here; the UNESCO entry reserves that partial-protection status for Chaturbhujnath Nala.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan prehistoric art and the UNESCO-style identification of rock-art landscapes in the Chambal Basin. It recurs in RAS because factual site matching often turns on one official protection or listing clue, not just broad district familiarity.