Reading the signs: Depictions of people and things in the rock art of Mirarr Country, Northern Territory, Australia

Abstract

This thesis focuses on rock art paintings from western Arnhem Land and, specifically, those depicting human figures interacting with material culture items - people and things. Previous researchers have found that some of the earliest depictions of the human figure in this region, which are thought to date back to over 10,000 years ago, are often shown with spears, boomerangs and large headdresses. The intense association that people had with things has been an ongoing theme for artists throughout the history of rock art, continuing through to the middle of the twentieth century. How such paintings are interpreted is dependent upon the viewpoint of the observer. Traditionally, rock art has been associated with hunter gatherer cultures and has, therefore, been interpreted as depictions of these activities. In my study, I move beyond these generalisations to provide a more detailed, social interpretation of people and things in rock art. Rather than assuming that artefacts are just functional and technological objects, I consider them as meaningful things in both a social and art context, and evaluate the choices that artists made when constructing a composition of human figures with material culture as having meaningful significance. These ideas are explored through semiological and materiality frameworks, as well as incorporating first-hand recordings from ethnographic collections as comparative data, which add to a more nuanced understanding of the material culture items depicted in rock art.