Australian Aboriginal petroglyph at Anbangbang, Kakadu National Park. © Klaeusle via Panoramio and Google Maps.
This rock painting is said to be from 6000 BCE here, using a photo of the same element from Archivo Iconografico, S.A./Corbis.
Wikipedia says from this site:
In The Anbangbang Shelter drawings are some of the most famous in the National Park. One of the intricate paintings in Anbangbang shelter was created by Najombolmi, a renown artist,of the Bardmardi clan,[4] who painted the images with his friends in the 1963 -64 wet season.[5] Najombolmi lived between 1895 and 1967 and is thought to have created around 604 paintings at 46 sites in Arnhem Land.[5] Najomboli was also known as ‘Barramundi Charlie’ by some.[6]
X-ray paintings are naturalistic depictions of animals that show the internal organs and other anatomical features, which were mostly painted by Aboriginal people in red and white ochre. One such painting created by Najombolmi depicts anthropomohic figures of Ancestral beings such as Namarrgon (lightning man), painted in the x-ray style using European blue, that Chaloupka said came from the blue pigment put in washing by Europeans as a toner to keep clothes white.[1] Paintings and rock art such as this among the only rock art that provides absoulute dating of when it was produced, as rock art is notoriously difficult to date.
Anbangbang was excavated by archaeologists in 1981 and was found to have first been occupied more than 6000 years ago, with some occasional use being up to 20,000 years ago and with intensification of site use occurring between 800 and 1200 years ago when the nearby lagoon was fully formed.[4]
Some figures in that site have been repainted recently. I don’t know about this particular one.
Let’s compare with other similar items from elsewhere:
© Klaeusle via Panoramio and Google Maps
