Australia's rock art heritage: Past knowledge for a richer future

THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
VOL LXXI NO.92 DECEMBER 2013

Title :
Australia's rock art heritage: Past knowledge for a richer future

Author :
Paul S.C. Taçon

Abstract:

What is Australian rock art, why is it important and what is the problem? Australia has one of the most outstanding and diverse rock art records in the world. Rock art consists of paintings, drawings stencils, engravings (petroglyphs), bas-relief and figures made with the wax of native bees. It is found in caves and rock shelters, on rock platforms and boulders. These are special, often spectacular places that reflect ancient experience, identity, history, spirituality and relationships to land. From inner Sydney in New South Wales to the Pilbara of Western Australia, from Tasmania to the Top End of the Northern Territory, from near Brisbane to Cape York in Queensland as many as 100,000 individual rock art sites are thought to still exist, with exciting new discoveries made each year. But because Australia has never had a national data base or a coordinated approach to rock art documentation, conservation and management the extent of Australian rock art is still unknown.

DOI:
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How to cite:
Paul S.C. Taçon. (2013). Australia’s Rock Art Heritage: Past Knowledge for a Richer Future. The Sarawak Museum Journal, LXXI (92) : 49-80

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