Aboriginal Australian pictographs known as Wandjina in the Wunnumurra Gorge, Barnett River, Kimberley, Western Australia. CC BY Graeme Churchard via Wikimedia Commons.
Wikipedia says:
The Wandjina (sometimes Wondjina) are cloud and rain spirits from Australian Aboriginal mythology that are depicted prominently in rock art in Australia. Some of the artwork in the Kimberley region of Western Australia dates back approximately 4000 years ago.
The stories of the Wandjina and the artwork depicting them remain important to the Mowanjum Community of Indigenous people.
Let’s compare with other items, petroglyphs, etc. from elsewhere:
Wadjina Petroglyphs: Kimberly, Australia. Approx. 5000 yrs old
A Syrian bronze goddess, middle bronze age IIA, c.1950-1750 B.C.E. © christies.com.
Indus Valley Terracotta Figurine. Pakistan/Western India Circa: 2600 BC to 1900 BC. Terracotta. Height 7 cm. © barakatgallery.com.
Pottery figurine from the Middle Euphrates EBIV 2400-2000 BCE. Photographed at The British Museum in London, United Kingdom. CC BY-NC-SA by Mary Harrsch via flickr.
Three Syrian terracotta idols circa 2nd Millenium B.C. © christies.com
One with long cylindrical body, hands held up to chest, the bird-like face with applied disc eyes; one with flat body, arms outstretched, with dotted lines around waist and on necklace, and incised lines on high headdress; and one with flat outstretched arms, headdress and pierced ears
5½ in. (14 cm.) high max. (3)
Sumerian Large Terracotta Eye Idol. 4th Millennium BC. H. 7 1/2 in. (19 cm.). Ex German private collection. © royalathena.com.
Published: J. Eisenberg, Art of the Ancient World, 2006, no. 220 (amazon).
Goggle-eyed Dogū (clay figurine) from the late Jōmon period (1000-400 BCE), which was unearthed in 1887 at the Kamegaoka Site. Tokyo National Museum. Public Domain by PHG via Wikimedia Commons.
Sculpture,owl, 26 × 17 cm. From Algeria. © lessingimages.com. The source places it between 3rd and 2nd millenium BCE.
The Owl Man, or Bird Man, or Fisherman, or astronaut, in Nazca, Perú. Whatever it is, it's yet another big-eyes anthropomorphic figure. Only this one is over 30 m long. Via Phenomenalplace.com.
Maya. painted stucco. height 12 cm. A trio of owls. May be a reference to the messenger owls of the Popol Vuh. Said to have come from Yucatan. Photographs © Justin Kerr via mayavase.com.
Female figurine with movable legs. Handmade. Bell-shaped body with modeled breasts, tall neck ending in a bird-like face. From Thebes. Early 7th c. BC. © National Archaeological Museum of Greece.
Petroglyphs, Ometepe island, Nicaragua. CC-BY Poutine via Wikimedia Commons.
Gold Anthropomorphic Pectoral - FJ.6239, Origin: Colombia, Circa: 400 AD to 1600 AD, Dimensions: 7.25" (18.4cm) high × 3.25" (8.3cm) wide, Collection: Pre-Columbian, Style: Tolima, Medium: Gold. Via Antiques.com.
Gold Mask. National Museum of Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador. The Qurikancha (the Temple of the Sun in Cuzco, Peru) was covered with gold and filled with golden statues. The sun mask in this image, from the La Tolita culture in northern Ecuador, has survived the vicissitudes of time. La Tolita culture lasted from ca 600BC to 400AD and produced some of the finest pre-Columbian gold artifacts. Via Proyecto Inti. Edited to correct perspective.
Fig. 36. (Left) Bright plasma instabilities, top to bottom, increasing luminance. (Right) Petroglyphs. Some show the entire body including the trifurcated base.
