Australia’s
oldest rock art discovered by USQ researcher
A team of
University of Southern Queensland archaeologists have uncovered the oldest rock
art to have been discovered in Australia in a remote Northern Territory
shelter.
Professor
Bryce Barker, who was working with USQ researcher Dr Lara Lamb, found the
charcoal drawn fragment dated at 28,000 years after excavating a small part of
a massive rock shelter site named Narwala Gabarnmang.
Professor
Barker and Dr Lamb (USQ), along with Professor Jean-Michel Geneste (Universite
de Bordeaux) and Jean-Jacque Delannoy (Universite de Savoie) are partners in a
major archaeological project 'Connecting Country' led by Dr Bruno David of
Monash University in south western Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.
This
project was requested from the Jawoyn Association, based in Katherine, who
would like the sites of their ancestors, including the rock art, documented and
investigated for what it can tell about the history of their culture.
Through the
project work researchers have learned that human occupation of the Narwala
Gabarnmang site dates back to 45,000 years ago, making it one of the earliest
human occupation sites in Australia.
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