Murujuga desert, tide, and dreaming: Understanding early rock art production and lifeways in northwest Australia

A robust corpus of late Pleistocene and early Holocene rock art has been identified on Murujuga (Dampier Archipelago), revealing how early cultural practices were adapted to extreme environmental pressures. Stylistic, spatial, and archaeological analyses demonstrate that rock art production was strategically mobilized within the natural and social landscape, serving as a means to map and mitigate shifting geographies during periods of significant environmental change. This finding challenges previous assumptions about the resilience and adaptability of early human societies in northwest Australia.

Berry, M. (2018). Murujuga desert, tide, and dreaming: Understanding early rock art production and lifeways in northwest Australia. The University of Western Australia. https://doi.org/10.4225/23/5B34651CDD591