FIRST RELIABLE DATES FOR PIGMENT ART IN THE AUSTRALIAN DESERTS REPORTED ON IN AFRICA CONFERENCE

peter.veth@anu.edu.au

In the recently convened 3rd Southern Deserts Conference, Kalahari, Dr Jo McDonald and Professor Peter Veth presented a paper entitled "Dating the Dreaming through Rock Art: First AMS dates on pigment art in the Australian Western Desert". The authors reported on the first radiocarbon dates for pigment art from the Australian arid zone - in the vicinity of the Canning Stock Route. Mythological narratives from Martu custodians combining the engraved and pigment art provide insights into how Aboriginal people use rock art from the deep and recent pasts to interpret their Dreaming. By tracing mythological sagas in the dated art of the recent past - across this vast arid landscape - they explore the way that art has been used by people of the Western Desert to define themselves and their social connections through time.