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Articles on Rock art

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The view from the Arnhem Land escarpment over the floodplains that contain a hidden landscape. Ian Moffat

Remarkable new tech has revealed the ancient landscape of Arnhem Land that greeted Australia’s First Peoples

Beneath the floodplains of Arnhem Land lies a hidden landscape that has been transformed over millennia as seas rose and fell.
Chiribiquete National Natural Park and the Serranía de la Lindosa buffer zone feature many flat-topped mountains known as Tepuyes. Unesco

In a Colombian national park, pictographs and pristine nature point the way toward a more hopeful future

Local communities and national authorities are working to develop sustainable tourism in Colombia’s Chiribiquete National Natural Park, a Unesco World Heritage Site since 2018.
Indigenous Rangers pointing to damaged rock art. Left to right: William Campbell, Meryl Gurruwiwi, Aron Thorn, Marcus Lacey, Djorri Gurruwiwi. Jarrad Kowlessar/courtesy of Gumurr Marthakal Indigenous Rangers

From crumbling rock art to exposed ancestral remains, climate change is ravaging our precious Indigenous heritage

Cyclones, floods and other climate change-linked events are threatening Indigenous heritage tens of thousands of years old. Unless we act, they’ll be gone for good.
Josie Maralngurra touching her hand stencil made when she was around 12. In the background are three white barramundi fish figures with red line-work also created by her father Djimongurr. Photograph by Fiona McKeague, copyright Parks Australia

Friday essay: ‘this is our library’ – how to read the amazing archive of First Nations stories written on rock

Australia’s stunning galleries of rock art are vast repositories of knowledge that can teach us much.
Adventurer Francis Birtles in his car with a man identified as Indigenous artist Nayombolmi. National Library of Australia

Aboriginal art on a car? How an Indigenous artist and an adventurer met in the 1930 wet season in Kakadu

One was a celebrity adventurer, the other was a skilled Indigenous artist who painted everything in sight. A new look at old photographs confirms their meeting.
Painting of a raider on horseback (bottom right) with a musket and domestic stock. A ‘rain-animal’ (top right) was likely summoned to wash away the raiders’ tracks. Courtesy of Sam Challis and Brent Sinclair-Thomson

South Africa’s bandit slaves and the rock art of resistance

Runaway slaves joined indigenous Khoe-San people and raided colonial farms. The rock art they left in their hideouts tells a fascinating story.
Rock paintings from the main gallery at Djulirri in Namunidjbuk clan estate, showing traditional Aboriginal motifs as well as European boats, airplanes, and more. Photo by Sally K May.

Threat or trading partner? Sailing vessels in northwestern Arnhem Land rock art reveal different attitudes to visitors

Pictures of boats and ships in rock art at the northwestern tip of Australia show the European incursions from the 1800s — but also the much earlier and lesser known sea trade with southeast Asia.

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