Symbols of Power: The Firearm Paintings of Madjedbebe (Malakunanja II)

Abstract

Depictions of firearms in Australian Aboriginal rock art provide a unique opportunity to archaeologically explore the roles that this type of material culture played in times of culture contact. From the earliest interactions with explorers to the buffalo shooting enterprises of the twentieth century-firearms played complex and shifting roles in western Arnhem Land Aboriginal societies. The site of Madjedbebe (sometimes referred to as Malakunanja II in earlier academic literature) in Jabiluka (Mirarr Country), offers the opportunity to explore these shifting roles over time with an unprecedented 16 paintings of firearms spanning the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This rock art provides evidence for early firearms as objects of curiosity Int J Histor Archaeol (2017)

The rock art of Madjedbebe (Malakunanja II)

“…Artists have clearly documented some of their experiences on the walls of this bluff face, and depictions of items of high value -or, perhaps, high curiosity -such as firearms, illustrate the artists' changing lives (Figures 5.9 and 5.10) (May et al 2017).…”

“…This includes an unusually large number of firearms (n=16; Figures 5.9 and 5.10) (May et al 2017), as well as knives, people with hands on hips, watercraft (two ships and a row boat) and a series of smoking pipes. Other paintings featuring more traditional subject matters were identified as having been painted during the European-contact period as they are superimposed over paintings of European subject matters.…”

Survival, Social Cohesion and Rock Art: The Painted Hands of Western Arnhem Land, Australia

“…These historic routes must Survival, Social Cohesion and Rock Art have been essential for communicating information relating to this turbulent period in history (May et al 2017a). The clusters of Painted Hands also align with other clusters of introduced imagery in rock art, such as firearms at Madjedbebe (May et al 2017b) and sailing vessels at Awunbarna (Roberts & Parker 2003). The Painted Hands are, therefore, part of an important communication pathway and central to the contact narrative of the time.…”

“…Most of the Painted Hands appear at a few key sites within these larger areas. As argued by May et al (2017b) and Gunn et al (2017a), historical rock art in Arnhem Land tends to cluster at key sites in the landscape. This is also true for the Painted Hands, with Madjedbebe, Nanguluwur, Minjnymirnjdawabu and Awunbarna having a significantly higher number of individual Painted Hands than anywhere else.…”

Early Australian Anthropomorphs: Jabiluka's Dynamic Figure Rock Paintings

“…In some parts of Australia rock art was being created until very recently (and contin-ues to be produced, at least in western Arnhem Land), and older art traditions still constitute a vital part of contemporary Indigenous societies, their beliefs and cultural understanding of the world (Brady et al 2016;May 2008). This is manifested not least through the rich assemblages of so-called contact rock art, which document encounters with outside groups (see, for example, Clarke 1994;Clarke & Frederick 2006;May et al , 2017Taçon & May 2013;Veth et al 2008).…”