Survival, Social Cohesion and Rock Art: The Painted Hands of Western Arnhem Land, Australia

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dc.contributor.authorMay, S.K.
dc.contributor.authorTaylor, L.
dc.contributor.authorFrieman, C.
dc.contributor.authorTaçon, P.S.C.
dc.contributor.authorWesley, D.
dc.contributor.authorJones, T.
dc.contributor.authorGoldhahn, J.
dc.contributor.authorMungulda, C.
dc.date.issued2020
dc.description.abstractThis paper explores the complex story of a particular style of rock art in western Arnhem Land known as ‘Painted Hands’. Using new evidence from recent fieldwork, we present a definition for their style, distribution and place in the stylistic chronologies of this region. We argue these motifs played an important cultural role in Aboriginal society during the period of European settlement in the region. We explore the complex messages embedded in the design features of the Painted Hands, arguing that they are more than simply hand stencils or markers of individuality. We suggest that these figures represent stylized and intensely encoded motifs with the power to communicate a high level of personal, clan and ceremonial identity at a time when all aspects of Aboriginal cultural identity were under threat.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilitySally K. May, Luke Taylor, Catherine Frieman, Paul S.C. Taçon, Daryl Wesley, Tristen Jones, Joakim Goldhahn, Charlie Mungulda
dc.identifier.citationCambridge Archaeological Journal, 2020; 30(3):491-510
dc.identifier.doi10.1017/s0959774320000104
dc.identifier.issn0959-7743
dc.identifier.issn1474-0540
dc.identifier.orcidMay, S.K. [0000-0003-2805-023X]
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2440/134685
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherCambridge University Press
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DE170100464
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DE170101447
dc.rights© 2020 McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1017/s0959774320000104
dc.subjectRock Art; Social cohesion
dc.titleSurvival, Social Cohesion and Rock Art: The Painted Hands of Western Arnhem Land, Australia
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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