Painting History: Indigenous Observations and Depictions of the ‘Other’ in Northwestern Arnhem Land, Australia

Abstract

In this paper we focus on contact rock paintings from three sites in northwestern Arnhem Land, Australia. In doing so we highlight that such sites provide some of the only contemporary Indigenous accounts of cross-cultural encounters that took place across northern Australia through the last 500 years. Importantly, they have the potential to inform us about the ongoing relationships that existed between different parties. The lack of research on contact rock art is emphasised and the development of a large-scale project (of which this fieldwork is part) aimed at addressing this problem is outlined. Important new findings for contact rock art are presented, including evidence for 'traditional' protocols relating to rock art continuing long after first contact, evidence for particular contact period subject matter dominating in art of this region, and the oldest date yet recorded for contact art in Australia.

Art and megafauna in the Top End of the Northern Territory, Australia: Illusion or reality?

“…In some of the relatively recent art of western Arnhem Land, and to a lesser extent the Kimberley and Pilbara regions, naturalism is evident not only in paintings of terrestrial and aquatic wildlife of the everyday world, but also in recent times of non-Aboriginal objects such as European ships, Macassan prau, aircraft, firearms and other objects (e.g. Chaloupka 1993;May et al 2010;Wesley 2013). Such naturalistic imagery is easily recognisable and can often be identified to particular animal taxa or object types and makes.…”

The rock art of Madjedbebe (Malakunanja II)

“…May et al 2010;Taçon et al 2010) suggests that this walking route may have extended beyond Oenpelli to as far as the Coburg Peninsula, and that it may well have been associated with Macassan-Aboriginal, and later missionary, trade systems along the northern coastline at sites such as Anuru Bay (see, for example, Wesley et al 2014). At the same time, European contact-period walking routes must have relied on traditional knowledge of shelter, water and food supplies, as well as alliances with neighbouring groups and movements across Country for ceremonies.…”

The archaeology of western Arnhem Land’s rock art

“…More recently, and with particular reference to western Arnhem Land, Taçon and others have highlighted the incorporation of outside influences (Contact art) -European but also including Macassan from Island Southeast Asia -into much recent Aboriginal rock art (e.g. May et al 2010;Taçon et al 2010). …”

“…May et al 2010;Taçon 1992a). Despite decades of archaeological research within this region, the only rock art images to have been dated directly prior to this monograph are 151 mid to late Holocene beeswax images mainly dating to the past 600 years (Gunn and Whear 2008;Gunn et al 2012;Nelson 2000;Nelson et al 1995;Taçon et al 2004Taçon et al , 2010) -with a total of 111 other pictograms superimposed over or subimposed under these (Gunn 2016: Chapter 4;Gunn et al 2012:59-60;Taçon et al 2010:2-4) -and a small excavated broken rock with part of a black linear painting or drawing from an original image of indeterminate form dated to c. 27,000 years ago from Nawarla Gabarnmang Square E (David et al 2013a;see David et al 2014 for the latest calibrations of the originally reported radiocarbon dates).…”