A photo is being widely shared through a post claiming that these are alien rock paintings found in the caves of Charama, Chhattisgarh. The post even claims that these 10,000-year-old rock paintings depict aliens and UFOs. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of rock paintings depicting aliens and UFOs in Charama, Chhattisgarh.
Fact: The photo is an Australian Aboriginal Rock Art painting. The painting is of the Creation Ancestors Namondjok, Namarrgon, and Barrginj in the Anbangbang gallery at Nourlangie in Kakadu National Park. According to a 2014 article by Times of India, Chhattisgarh state department of archaeology and culture had planned to seek help from NASA and ISRO for research on 10,000-year-old rock paintings depicting aliens and UFOs in Charama region of Chhattisgarh. A French expert had contradicted these claims in 2014. We could not find any recent credible news reports that confirm or contradict these claims made about rock paintings in Charama, Chhattisgarh. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When reverse image search is done on the photo, the same image was found in an article by the Smithsonian magazine. The article (a sponsored content) is titled, ‘Discover Ancient Rock Art In Australia’s Northern Territory’. The image is from Nourlangie, one of the top rock art sites in Australia. According to the article, these sites found in Kakadu National Park have been occupied by human settlements for more than 50,000 years.
The photo is an Australian Aboriginal Rock Art painting. The painting is of the Creation Ancestors Namondjok, Namarrgon, and Barrginj in the Anbangbang gallery at Nourlangie in Kakadu National Park. Nourlangie Rock’s main art site is the Anbangbang gallery with the paintings of Namondjok and Namarrgon, the lightning man.
To the left of the painting is Namondjok, below is Barrginj, his wife, and to the right is Namarrgon, the lightning man responsible for storms that occur every wet season. Beneath these three is a large group of men and women (as seen in the photo) with ceremonial headdresses.
According to a 2014 article by the Times of India, the Chhattisgarh state department of archaeology and culture had planned to seek help from NASA and ISRO for research on 10,000-year-old rock paintings depicting aliens and UFOs in the Charama region of Chhattisgarh. Articles about the same event can be seen here and here. A French expert had contradicted these claims in 2014. We could not find any recent credible news reports that confirm or contradict these claims made about rock paintings in Charama, Chhattisgarh. But the photo does not belong to the Charama region in Chhattisgarh.
Recently, a leaked video had shown a UFO disappear into the water. The Pentagon had confirmed these images of UFOs are part of ongoing investigations. UFOs were rebranded by the US government as ‘UAPs’ or Unidentified Aerial Phenomena and the Pentagon confirmed the authenticity of some videos which have been circulating online
To sum it up, this photo shows an Aboriginal Rock Art painting found in Australia, not in the caves of Charama, Chhattisgarh.