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The Devil Is in the Detail: Tasmanian Devil and Tasmanian Tiger Paintings From Awunbarna and Injalak Hill, Northern Territory, Australia

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dc.contributor.authorTaçon, P.S.C.
dc.contributor.authorJalandoni, A.
dc.contributor.authorMay, S.K.
dc.contributor.authorNganjmirra, J.
dc.contributor.authorMungulda, C.
dc.date.issued2026
dc.descriptionOnlinePubl abstract also available in French
dc.description.abstractBoth the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) and the Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) are believed to have become extinct on the Australian mainland about 3000 years ago. However, until now there were only 23 known rock art depictions of the Tasmanian devil and about 150 Tasmanian tiger paintings and petroglyphs, mostly at rock art sites in northern Australia. In this article, we report recently documented images of these species from two locations in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, including two previously undescribed Tasmanian devil paintings in different styles and several thylacines. We then consider reasons why there are so many more depictions of Tasmanian tigers than devils in Australian rock art and whether either species became extinct in Arnhem Land more recently than previously thought.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityPaul S. C. Taçon, Andrea Jalandoni, Sally K. May, Joey Nganjmirra, Charlie Mungulda
dc.identifier.citationArchaeology in Oceania, 2026; 61(1):1-16
dc.identifier.doi10.1002/arco.70024
dc.identifier.issn0728-4896
dc.identifier.issn1834-4453
dc.identifier.orcidMay, S.K. [0000-0003-2805-023X]
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2440/149792
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherWiley
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/SR200200062
dc.rights©2026 The Author(s). Archaeology in Oceania published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of University of Sydney. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License,whichpermitsuseanddistributioninanymedium,providedtheoriginalwork is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1002/arco.70024
dc.subjectArnhem Land; Injalak Hill; rock art; Tasmanian devil
dc.titleThe Devil Is in the Detail: Tasmanian Devil and Tasmanian Tiger Paintings From Awunbarna and Injalak Hill, Northern Territory, Australia
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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