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

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    Author(s)
    May, Sally K
    Taylor, Luke
    Frieman, Catherine
    Tacon, Paul SC
    Wesley, Daryl
    Jones, Tristen
    Goldhahn, Joakim
    Mungulda, Charlie
    Griffith University Author(s)
    Tacon, Paul S.
    Goldhahn, Joakim
    Year published
    2020
    Metadata
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    Abstract
    This 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 ...
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    This 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.
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    Journal Title
    Cambridge Archaeological Journal
    DOI
    https://doi.org/10.1017/s0959774320000104
    Copyright Statement
    © 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.
    Subject
    Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander archaeology
    Publication URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10072/393578
    Collection
    • Journal articles

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    Tagline

    • Gold Coast
    • Logan
    • Brisbane - Queensland, Australia
    First Peoples of Australia
    • Aboriginal
    • Torres Strait Islander