Art in the bark: Indigenous carved boab trees (Adansonia gregorii) in north-west Australia

Author(s)
O'Connor, Sue
Balme, Jane
Frederick, Ursula
Garstone, Brenda
Bedford, Rhys
Bedford, Jodie
Rivers, Anne
Bedford, Angeline
Lewis, Darrell
Publication Date
2022-10-11
Abstract
<p>Found only in a restricted area of north-west Australia, the Australian boab (<i>Adansonia gregorii</i>) is recognisable by its massive, bottle-shaped trunk, and is an economically important species for Indigenous Australians, with the pith, seeds and young roots all eaten. Many of these trees are also culturally significant and are sometimes carved with images and symbols. The authors discuss the history of research into carved boabs in Australia, and present a recent survey to locate and record these trees in the remote Tanami Desert. Their results provide insight into the archaeological and anthropological significance of dendroglyphs in this region and add to a growing corpus of information on culturally modified trees globally.</p>
Citation
Antiquity, 96(390), p. 1574-1591
ISSN
1745-1744
0003-598X
Link
Language
en
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International
Title
Art in the bark: Indigenous carved boab trees (Adansonia gregorii) in north-west Australia
Type of document
Journal Article
Entity Type
Publication

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