The subject of the paintings in Bhimbetka’s rock shelters include human figures, hunting, communal dances, warfare, horse riding, elephant riding and day to day activities of ancient man. These subjects are painted with locally available mineral colors such as red, green, white and ochre. The colors were derived from locally available minerals such as ochre color from haematite and white from lime. The binding medium used for the pigments are both water and fixative like animal fat and plant extract like gum etc. In the presence of water and other solvents minerals get oxidized so as to leave their color on the rock surface. The superimposition of paintings of different styles and periods can be seen in many of the rock shelters. There are around fifteen layers of superimposition that have been recorded at Bhimbetka.