Changing art in a shifting landscape: A comparative study of rock art sequences in northwest Australia using headdress depictions as a principal method of identification

Abstract

The age of much Aboriginal rock art in northwest Australia is unknown. Concentrating on headdress depictions and some specific motifs in these paintings, an experiment has been undertaken to establish the feasibility of using perceived similarities and differences in their styles to compare the relative ages of art in two major locations. The order of established chronological sequences for the paintings in the core study area, Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory has been used to establish comparative order matches with the Kimberley rock art sequences. The sequences seen in the Aboriginal rock art defined in previous research by well established authors in this topic do not appear to have been matched with the art in the two major locations, specifically using headdress depictions. In my thesis Grahame Walsh's sequence for the Kimberley has been compared with that of George Chaloupka's order for Arnhem Land (Chaloupka, 1993:47; Walsh, 2000). I felt that comparing the changes in headdress depiction over time would allow a method of wider investigation to be undertaken. It was therefore worthwhile to try a new way of comparison over a wider range of art styles than previously attempted. Using depictions of headdresses, as well as portrayals of the specific custom of circumcision, I analysed published reproductions of paintings and personal photographs from Arnhem Land (n=777) and the Kimberley (n=1066), using a database to record each headdress type and region, and then compare numbers of each type, according to the study area. Headdress types were defined by obvious shape. Observing the frequency of the most common Arnhem Land and Kimberley headdresses, I saw that in Arnhem Land, Vertical and Inclined Cones, Swept-Back hair styles and Round heads dominated with frequencies between 15% and 11%. In the Kimberley, Vertical, Inclined and Hanging cones on headdresses lead the counts (between 16% and 10%), along with Bun head shapes (10%) and Round Heads (17%). The resemblance between these particular headdress designs was notable in the Early, Intermediate and Late sequences for both Arnhem Land (AL) and the Kimberley (K). As well, a likeness in circumcision representation was noticed in both the core (AL) and the comparative study area (K), particularly relating to the more recent paintings. This suggested possible parallels in Early and Late sequences. Smaller counts of many different headdress types were also seen during the recording. Observations of paintings with approximately 5-7 headdress types seen only in either Arnhem Land or the Kimberley showed that diversity and local preferences also existed. I found that a visual and quantitative relationship was seen to exist between popular and wide-spread depictions of similar headdress motifs and circumcision motifs which may indicate communication of ideas between the people of Arnhem Land and the Kimberley regions and suggest a comparable time of painting.