Tracking Change in Rock Art Vocabularies and Styles at Marapikurrinya (Port Hedland, Northwest Australia)
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Track engravings dominate the rock art assemblage across Marapikurrinya (Port Hedland) in Northwest Australia, with social change through time linked to changes in how and when this graphic vocabulary is employed. Discrete styles have been identified within the broader engraving body, which is argued to have been produced semi-continuously over the last 7000 years, from the point of sea-level stabilisation in this region. It is proposed that changes in these styles reflect and negotiate environmental, demographic, and social changes. In the most recent stylistic phases, track motifs dominate, and it is argued to reflect change in marking strategy, from localised territorial bounded art to regional social harmonisation. This paper explores the potential functions of track motifs as a vocabulary distinct from other figurative art, using Marapikurrinya as a case study.
Source: Arts
DOI: 10.3390/arts14050123
Author: Sam Harper
Institution: The University of Western Australia
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,689
OpenAlex ID: W4415101601