In 2007, a rockshelter was rediscovered in southwestern Arnhem Land, Australia, by Ray Whear and Chris Morgan, members of the Jawoyn Association survey team. What they found there amazed them, as well it might: ancient cave paintings in an open-air rockshelter called Nawarla Gabarnmang.
This vivid swirl of white, orange, red, and black is a tiny part of the cave paintings of Nawarla Gabarnmang, Australia. Photo © Jean-Jacques Delannoy and the Jawoyn Association; published in Antiquity, 2013 and reprinted with permission
Nawarla Gabarnmang's paintings are only part of the story of this fascinating cave, as told in the handful of papers published over the past two years, the latest in Antiquity this month. The excavations are ongoing, and researchers tell me there is plenty more to come. Antiquity and Dr. Bruno David were kind enough to send along some photos of the cave, which I (of course) put into a photo essay to share with you.
- Nawarla Gabarnmang Photo Essay
- Connecting Country: The Jawoyn Homeland Project, webpage for the project, including a video of the ongoing investigations.
Delannoy JJ, David B, Geneste J-M, Katherine M, Barker B, Whear RL, and Gunn RG. 2013. The social construction of caves and rockshelters: Chauvet Cave (France) and Nawarla Gabarnmang (Australia). Antiquity 87(335):12-29.
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