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Early Australian Anthropomorphs: Jabiluka's Dynamic Figure Rock Paintings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 August 2017

Sally K. May ,
Iain G. Johnston ,
Paul S.C. Taçon ,
Inés Domingo Sanz  and
Joakim Goldhahn
Sally K. May
Affiliation:
PERAHU, Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Gold Coast campus, Griffith University, QLD 4222Australia Email: s.may@griffith.edu.au
Iain G. Johnston
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National UniversityCanberra, ACT 0200. Australia Email: iain.johnston@anu.edu.au
Paul S.C. Taçon
Affiliation:
PERAHU, Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Gold Coast campus, Griffith University, QLD 4222, Australia Email: p.tacon@griffith.edu.au
Inés Domingo Sanz
Affiliation:
ICREA, Universitat de Barcelona, SERP, Section of Prehistory and Archaeology, Montealegre 6–8, 08001 Barcelona, Spain Email: ines.domingo@ub.edu
Joakim Goldhahn
Affiliation:
School of Cultural Sciences, Linnæus University, Kalmar, S-391 82, Sweden PERAHU, Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Gold Coast campus, Griffith University, QLD 4222, Australia Email: joakim.goldhahn@lnu.se
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Abstract

Early depictions of anthropomorphs in rock art provide unique insights into life during the deep past. This includes human engagements with the environment, socio-cultural practices, gender and uses of material culture. In Australia, the Dynamic Figure rock paintings of Arnhem Land are recognized as the earliest style in the region where humans are explicitly depicted. Important questions, such as the nature and significance of body adornment in rock art and society, can be explored, given the detailed nature of the human figurative art and the sheer number of scenes depicted. In this paper, we make a case for Dynamic Figure rock art having some of the earliest and most extensive depictions of complex anthropomorph scenes found anywhere in the world.

Type
Research Article
Information
Cambridge Archaeological Journal , Volume 28 , Issue 1 , February 2018 , pp. 67 - 83
Copyright
Copyright © McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research 2017 

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