The Significance of Kimberley Rock Art

The Significance of Kimberley Rock Art

Rock art has been an important means of expression and understanding for cultures all around the world, and this is especially true for Aboriginal people in Australia. Rock art in the Kimberly region has long been an important educational and expressionistic tool for Aboriginal people, and in this article, we take a look at why this is.

Kimberly rock art basics

Although there are many examples of Aboriginal rock art throughout Australia, the significant number of examples found in Western Australia’s Kimberley have made it a rock art hotspot. These impressive works of art have been made over the course of thousands of years by the traditional owners of the land, with individual groups creating unique examples of rock art throughout Kimberly. For the traditional owners, these examples of rock art represent an important piece of their culture. Because the ancestors of Aboriginal groups living in Kimberly would have conducted ceremonies at the rock art sites, they are considered sacred and as such outsiders often require permission to visit them.

An in-depth look at Kimberly rock art

There are a variety of ways that rock art has traditionally been made. As well as the basic approach of applying paint to the surface of the rock, rock art has also been found as engravings and cuttings and there are also examples of art being made using beeswax and spinifex resin. In addition to this manipulation of the rock itself, examples have also been discovered of stones being arranged to demonstrate a variety of symbols. Despite these artworks seeming fragile on paper, they are quite the opposite – the ochre that makes up Kimberley rock art forms an extraordinarily strong bond with sandstone that can survive millennia – there has even been an example of Kimberly rock art that has been found to be 41,000 years old in south-west Kimberley’s Carpenter’s Gap. So far, thousands of examples of rock art have been found throughout the region, although experts believe this is just a fraction of what is likely out there and undiscovered.

Understand Kimberly rock art for yourself

Taking the time to study Kimberley rock art can help give you a much better insight about many different aspects of Aboriginal culture. It not only gives us an idea about how plant and animal life evolved, but gives a meaningful indication of how Aboriginal belief systems developed, helping us better understand how Aboriginal art relates to their fascinating culture.