Rock Art

An early painting at Ubir,showing a running male figure with hunting gear.The thin, sticklike limbs and animated stance are characteristic of the Dynamic Figure tradition. The original significance of these figures is unknown but some are arranged in groups that appear to depict ancient hunting practices or ritual activities.

The rock art of the Australian Aborigines represents the longest continuously practiced series of artistic traditions anywhere in the world. The site of Ubirr in Arnhem Land, northern Australia, contains one of the most impressive assemblages of Aboriginal rock painting, ranging from the earliest periods to works created within living memory. A favored camping place during the annual wet season, the rock faces at Ubirr have been painted and repainted for millennia. The sequence of rock art at Ubirr and other sites in Arnhem Land has been divided into three periods: Pre-Estuarine (ca. 40,000?–6000 B.C.), Estuarine (ca. 6000 B.C.–500 A.D.), and Fresh Water (ca. 500 A.D.–present)

D200,18-70mm