Tuesday, 19 June 2012

Rather Old

At the risk of duplication for some of my readers, I'm writing in connection with some recent dating of Aboriginal artefacts - the subject of my recent posting to Facebook. 
              
Australians travel widely in search antiquities, but tend to ignore our own. The pyramids, Parthenon and the Great Wall of China are incredibly recent compared with the 28,000 y.o. artwork in the cave pictured here. It's the Narwhal Gabarnmang Rock Shelter near Katherine in the Northern Territory.





Because the artists used charcoal for at least part of their work, the paintings and drawings could be dated accurately by radio-carbon means. There's evidence that the cave itself has been occupied for 45,000 years and other artefacts have been estimated at up to 35,000 years old.


Now for the sleazy bit! According to Britain's masterpiece of journalistic integrity, the Daily Mail, "these Australian cave paintings show [that] it's certainly not a modern thing for an artist to use his skills to portray sex and pornography"! Look closely, according to that Tabloid, and you'll see a couple in the act. Moreover, "Other sections of the wide-ranging artwork in white and red shows (sic) other figures engaged in some form of prehistoric porn”.
Read more at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2161118/Aboriginal-erotic-rock-art-proves--28-000-years-ago--men-ONE-thing-minds.html#ixzz1yDmK1co4


And here's roughly where the artwork was found: near Katherine Gorge in the Nitmiluk Nation Park. Very remote!




AS


No comments: