Burrup Rock Art

About this book

ANCIENT ABORIGINAL ROCK ART OF BURRUP PENINSULA AND DAMPIER ARCHIPELAGO Burrup Peninsula and Dampier Archipelago in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, some 1500 km north of Perth, is one of the richest concentrations of Aboriginal rock art in Australia. The rock art precinct was added to Australia’s National Heritage list in 2007. This lavish large-format book has over 600 photographs of the diverse imagery which includes marine fauna, land animals such as goannas, kangaroos and the now-extinct thylacine (Tasmanian tiger), and motifs with spiritual meanings associated with ‘dreamtime’ or earth creation stories. Haunting ‘archaic faces’ are believed to have been produced in the last ice age more than 20 000 years ago when the Burrup hills were elevated places in a flat, arid landscape more than 100 kilometres from the coast. The text and Appendices contain enough archaeological, geological, and historical information to provide the requisite context for these wonderful images of Aboriginal art at its best. View the sample content pages by clicking on the buttons below.