Rock art and socio‐demography in northeastern Australian prehistory

David, Bruno; Lourandos, Harry

doi:10.1080/00438243.1998.9980407

Cited by 66 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Examples of this correlation occur in Northern Australia where rock art style 'boundaries' parallel ethnographically-stated clan groups (David 2002;Taçon 1993). On Cape York, an expansive tradition of engraved geometric figures shifted to a dualistic division of painted motifs, closely correlating with two ethnographicallyknown regions (David 1991;David and Cole 1990;David and Lourandos 1998). This duality was also observed in a number of other regions of Queensland (Lourandos 1997) and Western Arnhem Land (Taçon 1993(Taçon , 1994.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…It has been argued that stylistic 'groups' may have increased during the late Holocene, potentially overlapping with ethno-linguistic regions (e.g. David and Lourandos 1998). Examples of this correlation occur in Northern Australia where rock art style 'boundaries' parallel ethnographically-stated clan groups (David 2002;Taçon 1993).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…David and Lourandos 1998;Mulvaney 2012;Taçon 1993). It has been argued that stylistic 'groups' may have increased during the late Holocene, potentially overlapping with ethno-linguistic regions (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Painted shark vertebrae beads from the Djawumbu–Madjawarrnja complex, western Arnhem Land

Wright

Langley

May

et al. 2016

Australian Archaeology

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In Europe and Africa, fine grained use wear and residue analyses of various organic bead technologies have provided remarkable information about specialist artisans and their affiliate communities. Ethnographic research suggests that personal ornaments represent one of the best ways to explore past human interactions and ethno-linguistic diversity. The study of material culture featured in rock art is now well established in Australia, but few detailed analyses have concentrated on personal ornaments recovered from the archaeological record. Fewer still have assessed the potential of this medium for assessing regional variations, despite rich ethnographic histories which point to the significance of these objects for self-differentiating communities and/or clans. This paper examines a collection of painted shark vertebrae beads recently discovered during archaeological survey in Arnhem Land. Detailed morphometric and use wear analysis is presented for these ornaments, alongside Aboriginal oral traditions, and assessment of similar artefacts held in museum collections across Australia. The potential of this combined approach within the Australian context is discussed, including how these studies add to our understanding of group signifying behaviour.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Painted shark vertebrae beads from the Djawumbu–Madjawarrnja complex, western Arnhem Land

Wright

Langley

May

et al. 2016

Australian Archaeology

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“…The epistemic value of analogy was established long ago (see Wylie 1985, Lane 2006 and analogical reasoning has helped to make rock art meaningful in its broader social context on many occasions. Ethnography has been a real peer to archaeology, especially in case studies where ethnographic data have been complemented with a strong interest in landscape, the location of the rock art and the patterns of association of rock art and other elements (Deacon 1988, Morwood & Hobbs 1992, Smith 1992, Taçon & Faulstich 1993, Bradley et al 1994, Waddington 1996, Millerstrom 1997, Rosenfeld 1997, David & Lourandos 1998, Martínez 1998, Santos 1999, Layton 2000, Lee & Stasack 2005, Cruz Berrocal & Vicent 2007). For these reasons, an anti-ethnography declaration is totally out of place.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analogical Evidence and Shamanism in Archaeological Interpretation: South African and European Palaeolithic Rock Art

Berrocal

2011

Norwegian Archaeological Review

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Rock art studies have been strongly reliant on ethnography in recent decades. Since the 1970s, the (re)turn to ethnography has been considered short of a paradigmatic change, and it has indeed stirred a lot of theoretical discussion in the very under-theorized field of rock art research. The ethnographic turn has been mainly built around shamanism, very loosely defined here as the causal association that researchers establish between shamanic practices and rock art, and from which explanations have been sought. The application of this approach has changed through time, depending on 1) the archaeological context in which it was to be applied, 2) the use of additional sources of evidence (namely, neuropsychology), 3) the role of shamanism as a hypothesis or as an established fact. As a hypothesis it has been built on the basis of three different kinds of analogies: ethnographic, formal and uniformitarian. This paper addresses the shifting character of shamanism in South African and European Palaeolithic rock art studies, seeking to contribute at least in part to a broader reflection on the nature of analogical reasoning and its implications.

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“…To what degree does each category of archaeological material represent independent sets of evidence, and to what degree can they be related inter-textually? With such questions in mind, the stone artefacts, animal bone, land-snail shell, mussel shell, brush-turkey egg shell, charcoal and hearths of Hay Cave are examined here in relation to wider regional chronological patterns for Cape York Peninsula (see David and Lourandos 1998). A large number of AMS radiocarbon determinations were obtained to investigate these data in adequate chrono-stratigraphic detail.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Hay Cave: A 30,000-year cultural sequence from the Mitchell-Palmer limestone zone, north Queensland, Australia

Lourandos¹,

David²,

Roche³

et al. 2012

Peopled Landscapes: Archaeological and Biogeographic Approaches to Landscapes

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Rock art and socio‐demography in northeastern Australian prehistory

Cited by 66 publications

References 43 publications

Painted shark vertebrae beads from the Djawumbu–Madjawarrnja complex, western Arnhem Land

Painted shark vertebrae beads from the Djawumbu–Madjawarrnja complex, western Arnhem Land

Analogical Evidence and Shamanism in Archaeological Interpretation: South African and European Palaeolithic Rock Art

Hay Cave: A 30,000-year cultural sequence from the Mitchell-Palmer limestone zone, north Queensland, Australia

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