Art and stone : towards a prehistory of central western Queensland

Abstract

This thesis explores the potential of a multi-attribute approach to the prehistory of,central western Queensland. Two artefacts of Aboriginal culture are examined in detail stone tools and rock art. For the stone analysis, excavated assemblages from four rockshelter sites are used to define regional changes in central western stone-use over the past 11,000 years. Spatial patter ning of artefactual material within sites is also described and related to site use-structure and specific, depositional processes. The results of the sequential and spatial analyses are then compared with those obtained from , other sites in the area, particularly Kenniff and Cathedral Caves. A three-part sequence is defined for Central Queensland and related to general patterns of change in Australian Aboriginal stone use. The analysis of rock art in Central Queensland is based on information from 92 recorded art sites. The history of previous work on the art of the region is briefly outlined and the details of the art recording and classification systems given. A variety of techniques is used to define a relative, then a dated artistic sequence which spans a minimum of 4,200 years. Synchronic variation within broadly contemporaneous art assemblages is used in conjunction with contextual evidence to suggest the former role of rock art in local Aboriginal culture. The implications of sequential change in several aspects of the artistic system are discussed in a wider context, with particular reference to evidence from other areas of Queensland and to general models for change in Australian Aboriginal rock art. In the conclusions, the results of the stone and rock art analyses are compared, contrasted, and common explanatory mechanisms advanced.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 34 citations exist upstream.