STYLE, SPACE AND SOCIAL
INTERACTION:
An Archaeological Investigation of Rock Art in Inland North
Queensland, Australia
Victoria Wade 1, Lynley A. Wallis 2,1 and Woolgar Valley Aboriginal Corporation 3
Abstract
The rock art of the north Queensland highlands has previously
been argued to be the northern limit of the Central Queensland
Province, based on a similarity of techniques and motifs. In
this paper we test this hypothesis through an archaeological
study of the rock art of Middle Park Station in the Gregory
Range. Motifs from 88 rock art sites were analysed, revealing
a predominance of stencilling of a limited range of motifs,
with rare paintings of mostly geometric motifs and similarly
rare occurrences of geometric motifs executed in a variety of
engraving techniques. We argue these results, coupled with
other considerations of distance and biogeography, suggest
the north Queensland highlands should be regarded as a
distinct rock art province, separate from the Central Queensland
Province. Evidence is also presented to suggest that open
social networks with limited territoriality were operating in the
study area through at least the late Holocene.
In Queensland several distinct art ‘provinces’ have been
identified (Morwood 2002; see Figure 1) and arguments have
been presented as to what the various provincial styles might
reveal about territorial boundaries, intergroup interaction
and changing social networks through time (e.g. David and
Lourandos 1998; Franklin 2004; Morwood 1979). For example,
in Cape York Peninsula, rock art of the late Holocene is highly
regionalised with territorial boundaries argued to be identifiable
through spatial stylistic variability (see David and Chant 1995).
This has been interpreted as suggesting that closed social
networks operated regionally, as high resource availability in
this fertile region meant that strong social relationships with
neighbouring groups were not critical for survival (David and
Cole 1990:802-804).
The study reported here characterises the rock art of Middle
Park Station in the Gregory Range in order to explore past
patterns of regional social organisation. Until this study, the north
Queensland highlands had been subjected to a comparatively
small amount of archaeological research (e.g. Gorecki et al. 1992,
1996; Morwood 1990, 1992; Smith and Rowland 1991; Walsh
1985). Though limited in extent and rarely focused on rock art,
such studies led to the area being described as an extension of the
Central Queensland Province whose core is some 2000km to the
south (Gorecki et al. 1996:223; Morwood and Godwin 1982:51;
Quinnell 1976:242).
Department of Archaeology, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100,
Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia [email protected]
Aboriginal Environments Research Centre, School of Architecture,
The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia lynley.
[email protected]
3
C/-11 Harris Street, Richmond, QLD 4822, Australia
2
Cape York Peninsula Province
Georgetown
Croydon
North Queensland Highland Province
Esmeralda
Middle Park
Mt Isa Cloncurry
Townsville
Torrens Creek
Richmond Hughenden
Mt Isa Province
Central Queensland Province
Carnarvon
National Park
N
Introduction
1
Laura
0
National Park
Town
Station
Rock art province
100 200
Brisbane
300 400 km
Figure 1 Queensland showing the location of places mentioned in the
text and rock art provinces after Morwood (2002).
The Middle Park Station Study Area
Middle Park Station is a pastoral property located 120km north of
the small township of Richmond in the semi-arid sclerophyllous
tropics (Figure 1). The more northerly part of the property is
dominated by the Gregory Range, characterised by broken
sandstone tablelands dissected by the Norman River (Figure 2).
In contrast, the more southerly and westerly parts of the station
belong to the Strathpark Land System (Perry et al. 1964), a lowlying plain with restricted opportunities for rock art production;
here the Woolgar River is the main water source. Vegetation is
predominantly sparse to moderately dense woodland, with a
grass understorey. It is home to a wide variety of native animals
that would have been hunted by the local Aboriginal population
(Wright 1988). Introduced species, which have developed sizable
feral populations, include pigs, cats, goats, rabbits and cane
toads, while cattle are also grazed on the station; some of these
represent challenges for effective cultural heritage management.
The broader region was opened up for pastoral development
in the early 1860s and in the following decade gold was
discovered along the upper Woolgar River, resulting in a
dramatic influx of miners and increasing levels of conflict
between Indigenous people and settlers (Litster and Wallis in
press; Loos 1993; Morwood 1990). The 1881 fatal spearing of
Number 72, June 2011
23
Style, Space and Social Interaction
143°30’
Methods and Limitations
Enlarged
area
19°30’
No
m
an
Survey Area 3
Owing to the rugged terrain, coupled with the WVAC desire
to record as many sites as possible, pedestrian survey targeted
four areas of sandstone outcrops in close proximity to water
and which were relatively accessible via existing station tracks
(Figure 2). A hand-held GPS was used to record site locations
and all sites were photographed and sketched. Attributes
documented for each site included:
•
•
•
•
ver
Ri
r
Strathpark
•
l
oo
g
Survey
Area 4
Station
homestead
Archaeological
site
Middle Park
Station boundary
Land above
450m
Survey
Area 2
Middle
Park
Mount
Norman
0
2
4
6
8
ar River
W
N
Survey Area 1
•
•
•
•
10 km
Figure 2 Middle Park Station, showing survey areas and distribution of
recorded archaeological sites.
a white Native Mounted Police Sub-Inspector on the goldfield
prompted the ‘dispersal’ of Indigenous groups in the Middle
Park area; only a few people survived these massacres (Wallis et
al. 2005). Such events, together with the effects of disease, alcohol,
opium and dislocation, are argued to have halved regional
population numbers during the mid-to-late 1800s (Wright
1988:8), resulting in changes to aspects of culture including rock
art production, territorial boundaries and social organisation.
Historical descriptions of which group occupied Middle Park are
inconsistent (e.g. MacGillivray 1886; Roth 1897; Tindale 1974),
though the southern portion lies within the contemporary Native
Title claim of the Ngawun Mbara people, while the northern part
of the property is outside any current claim.
Systematic research on Middle Park began in 2002
through a collaborative partnership between Wallis and the
Woolgar Valley Aboriginal Corporation (WVAC), resulting
in the documentation of hundreds of sites, dominated in the
sandstone country by rockshelters containing stencilled art
(Wallis et al. 2004). To date, four such rockshelters have been
excavated, allowing a preliminary occupation sequence to be
established. Two of the excavated rockshelters (MP76 and
MP83) date to the mid-Holocene (4820±70 BP and 2280±220
BP respectively), while another (MP102) is dated to the late
Pleistocene (14,080±210 BP) (Wallis et al. 2004:47). Recent
excavations at Gledswood Shelter 1 have yielded a non-basal
age of 28,419±320 BP (Wk-24199), thus indicating activity in
the area before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (Wallis et
al. 2009). Although detailed analyses are yet to be carried out,
initial evidence indicates probable abandonment or minimal
use through the LGM, with major shifts in land-use strategies
during the mid-Holocene (cf. Morwood 1992).
24
Shelter dimensions (length, height and depth to drip-line);
Shelter orientation;
Presence and type of non-art archaeological remains;
Rock art production techniques present (stencilling,
engraving [abraded or pecked], painting or a combination
thereof);
Motif types present (categorised as either adult hand, child
hand, hand variation, boomerang, hand-plus-forearm,
human foot, spear thrower, stone axe, digging stick, spearhead,
shield, animal feature, circle, goanna);
Numbers of each motif type present;
Pigment colour (red, orange, red-purple, red-brown, redorange, white, grey, black, yellow or purple);
Composition presence; and
General site and art condition, including evidence for animal
activity, such as sleeping hollows and mud wasp, termite or
bird nests.
Hand stencils were noted, where possible, as being of left or
right hands (assuming that during their production the artist
placed their palm flat against the rock surface) and whether they
included any ‘variations’ (e.g. missing digits). Measurements
were recorded for hand and boomerang stencils present at a
small random sample of sites, and the latter assigned to one
of two categories – hunting/fighting or toy/comeback – based
primarily on their size and ethnographic descriptions (Roth
1897:142-146, 1909:202-203; see Figure 3). Boomerangs of the
toy/comeback type were typically significantly smaller than the
hunting type, with the bend centrally located, while hunting/
fighting boomerangs were more variable in shape, with a
typically off-centre bend indicating obvious distal and proximal
portions. It is recognised that measurements of hand stencils are
inevitably crude and that they provide only a general age-range
of the stencil producer, however, they often allow distinctions
between adult and children’s hands to be drawn (Gunn 2006:110;
McDonald 1995). Although studies have attempted to discern
gender from hand stencils (e.g. Damhuis 2005), most have
concluded that typically this cannot be ascribed (Flood 1987:104;
Henneberg and Mathers 1994) and thus such interpretation
was not attempted in this study. Circles were recorded as either
‘simple’ (comprising solely an outline) or ‘complex’ (those with
some form of infill). For the purpose of clarifying the nature of
deteriorated motifs, basic digital enhancement of photographs
using Adobe Photoshop was utilised (cf. Brady 2006, 2007). This
involved adjusting the brightness and contrast of the images and
then using the Colour Range Select tool to isolate faded pigment
colours from the rock surface.
The Middle Park rock art was analysed in a manner similar
to that used for any other category of material culture. Thus
an archaeological approach was adopted, taking into account
Number 72, June 2011
Victoria Wade, Lynley A. Wallis and Woolgar Valley Aboriginal Corporation
the art’s physical context, and focusing on distributional
and statistical analyses of techniques and motifs. Technique
frequencies, motif type frequencies, frequency of association
with other archaeological remains, left- versus right-hand
stencil numbers, pigment colours and rock art assemblage
size (i.e. the number of stencilled motifs in each shelter) were
examined to enable a general characterisation of the assemblage
to be made. ArcGIS software was used to conduct basic spatial
analyses (such as plotting the locations of all sites containing
paintings, engravings, hand variations, material culture and
children’s hands) in order to identify clustering or patterns.
The relationship between assemblage size and location was also
investigated, as was the distribution of pigment colours.
Unlike portable material culture items that can be exchanged
and traded, rock art is unique in its immovability, being fixed
in its intended location by its producer(s) (Chippindale and
Nash 2004). Mapping its physical distribution thus enables
the examination of issues of territorial boundaries and social
interactions among neighbouring groups (e.g. Domingo Sanz
et al. 2008; McDonald 2008; Ross 2003). In order to address
such issues using a spatial-stylistic approach, comparisons were
made between the rock art styles of Middle Park and those in
adjacent provinces. The results of these comparative analyses are
combined with spatial data, at both local and state-wide levels,
to develop an understanding of how the rock art reflects social
behaviour across the landscape.
Preservation is a major limitation in any study of the spatial
distribution of rock art (Chippindale and Nash 2004:9; Morwood
1979:293), and this certainly affects the current study. In
considering site distribution, we acknowledge that what survives
is but a sample of the original assemblage. Differential rates of
deterioration result from several factors, including pigment type
(and presumably preparation), site type, engraving depth, rock
surface and exposure to the elements (Bednarik 1994), meaning
that rock art survival is not consistent across space, time or
contexts. However, all archaeological site types are similarly
subject to taphonomic processes which influence perceptions
regarding their distribution and composition.
Results: Characterising the Rock Art Assemblage
A total of 88 rock art sites was recorded on Middle Park.
Stencilled art is found in all art sites, while engraved and painted
motifs are found in only 6.8% (n=6) and 3.4% (n=3) of art
sites, respectively.
Stencilled Art
In the 88 sites, 1348 stencilled motifs were recorded, with the
majority comprising hand stencils, including adult, child,
variation and hand-plus-forearm types (94%; n=1274). Where
the handedness of stencils could be determined, the majority
were left adult hands (61%; n=417). Other stencils recorded,
in decreasing order of occurrence, include indeterminate,
boomerangs, animal-related motifs (e.g. dingo paws, bird feet,
snake), human feet, spear throwers, stone axes, digging sticks,
spearheads and shields (see Table 1).
Nineteen hand variation stencils of seven types were
recorded in seven different sites. These were examined using
pigment splatter analysis, in order to determine whether they
had been created by bending over digits or as a result of actual
C
B
A
C
B
A
Figure 3 Schematic diagram showing measurements taken on hand
and boomerang stencils.
amputation (see Walsh 1979). Twelve of the 19 variation stencils
are of the ‘crooked finger’ type (see Figure 4), which were clearly
created by manipulating the hand position; these are omitted
from the following discussion. In two of the remaining seven
motifs it appears that fingers were deliberately bent over during
production, on the basis of the presence of underspray which
suggests the hand was not positioned flat against the rock wall
during stencilling. Digital amputation is suggested to have been
present in three other motifs based on the lack of underspray
and clear outlines of the hands, including areas of the missing
fingers, which indicates that the whole hand was pressed against
the rock during production. All three of these motifs represent
the absence of the little finger. It is known ethnographically that
amputation of this digit was common among women in many
coastal Queensland regions, and was also practised amongst the
Kalkadoon women of Mt Isa (Roth 1910:42-43). The remaining
two variation motifs were too deteriorated to determine if they
represented genuine amputations or bent digits.
Nineteen boomerangs were recorded, falling into eight major
forms (Figure 5) including ones used for fighting/hunting, as
well as toy boomerangs (Roth 1897:142-146, 1909:202-203). Two
spear throwers were identified, as were two hafted stone axes, one
shield and one digging stick/club. No objects of European origin
were identified in the stencilled art.
The most common pigment colour used for stencilling is
red, which occurs in 78% of sites, followed by orange and redpurple in 57% and 49% of sites, respectively (see Table 2). Also
present, although in considerably fewer sites, are red-orange,
Number 72, June 2011
25
Style, Space and Social Interaction
1000 mm
500 mm
0 mm
Figure 4. ‘Crooked finger’ hand variation stencils at MP108A
(Photograph: Lynley Wallis).
Figure 5 The variety of boomerang forms identified in the stencilled
rock art on Middle Park station.
Figure 6 Engraved lizard at MP107, with Darby Smith in view
(Photograph: Lynley Wallis).
Table 1 Summary of stencilled motif types and numbers recorded in
rock art sites on Middle Park Station.
Motif
Adult hands
Frequency
% of Total
Stencils
1099
82
139
10
Indeterminate hands
32
2 Boomerangs
19
1
Hand variations
19
1
Hands-plus-forearms
17
1
Children’s hands
Animal features
9
<1
Human feet
7
<1
Spear throwers
2
<1
Stone axes
2
<1
Digging sticks
1
<1
Shields
1
<1
Spearheads
1
<1
1348
100
Total
26
Figure 7 Possible engraved anthropomorphic figure at MP84
(Photograph: Victoria Wade).
Number 72, June 2011
Victoria Wade, Lynley A. Wallis and Woolgar Valley Aboriginal Corporation
yellow, red-brown, purple, white, grey and black pigments. The
white pigment used was almost certainly pipeclay and the black
is assumed to be charcoal-based. No ochre quarries were located
during surveys of Middle Park, although considerable quantities
of ochre have been recovered from the Gledswood Shelter 1
excavations (Wallis et al. 2009).
Engraved Art
Engravings are comparatively rare, with just 86 such motifs
occurring in six rockshelters; no open engraving sites were found
despite an abundance of suitable surfaces. Two different engraving
techniques are present, with pecking occurring in all six sites,
and abrasion in one. Peckings were created by removing only
the topmost layer of the rock surface, resulting in almost ‘white’
images with very little depth to them, sometimes resembling the
effects of natural surface exfoliation but for the particular form
taken. Regardless of technique used, the overwhelming majority
of engravings are circular motifs, comprising 94% (n=81) of
the total. Some of these circles include interior cross-hatching,
though the majority are simple outlines.
A single figurative motif has been recorded: a possible lizard
in MP107 (Figure 6). Additionally, at MP84 a deteriorated pecked
image has been tentatively classified as an anthropomorph, as the
figure appears to have a recognisable ‘head’ and ‘arms’, although
owing to erosion the ‘legs’ are no longer visible (Figure 7).
Paintings/Positive Hand Prints
Paintings represent the smallest category of art styles at Middle
Park and are present in only three sites. One site contains two
red-purple positive hand prints while another contains three
simple outlined circles (one white and two red-purple). The
third site contains several unusual motifs, including a yellow
vertical stripe painted down the centre of a stencilled shield
(Figure 8), two large red geometric shapes, one yellow positive
hand print, a cluster of yellow solid infilled circles and a single
orange solid infilled circle.
Assemblage Size, Compositions and Locations
Sixty one percent of the rock art sites on Middle Park contain
fewer than 10 stencils, while 85% contain fewer than 30; sites
with more than 30 motifs are rare (15%; see Figure 9). Two sites
Figure 8 Stencilled shield at MP84, depicted with a yellow painted strip
down the centre and linear pecked infill (Photograph: Victoria Wade).
Table 2 Summary of stencil pigment colours. * Note that the total number of sites is 88, and that a single site typically contains more than one
pigment colour.
Colour
Number of Sites
% of Sites
Number of Motifs
% of Motifs
Red
69
78
472
40
Orange
50
57
234
20
Red-Purple
43
49
293
25
Red-Orange
18
20
77
6
Yellow
14
16
43
4
White
8
9
7
<1
Purple
6
7
23
2
Red-Brown
4
5
25
2
Grey
4
5
5
<1
Black
1
<1
1
<1
Total
88*
na
1180
100
Number 72, June 2011
27
Number of sites
Style, Space and Social Interaction
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 60 61 to 70
150+
Number of stencilled motifs
143°30’
Figure 9 Number of stencilled motifs per site.
Enlarged
area
19°30’
No
m
an
Survey Area 3
ver
Ri
r
(n=26) of sites containing rock art have no other evidence
for cultural activity, the remainder do, principally in the form
of grinding surfaces which occur in c.50% (n=43) of art sites.
Surface stone artefacts occur in 48% (n=42) of sites, and 22%
(n=19) have axe grinding grooves.
Figure 2 shows the location of recorded sites across Middle
Park. GIS analysis revealed very few statistically significant
clusters or patterns, though depictions of boomerangs are more
common in the eastern section of Survey Area 3 (see Figure 10).
Here there is a cluster of sites near the junction of a major creek
feeding into the Norman River known as ‘Black Springs’.
In summary, the Middle Park rock art assemblage is
dominated by stencilled adult hands and other motifs,
infrequently occurring pecked and abraded geometric motifs,
and a small number of painted images. Sites typically contain
fewer than 30 motifs, although two were recorded with more
than 150 stencils. Most sites face south, and shelters range in size
from very small (2m) to very large (40m) in length. Grinding
surfaces and stone artefacts are commonly associated with rock
art, although sediment accumulation in almost all rockshelters
is absent and hence excavation potential is typically low. In the
discussion to follow we compare the data presented above with
surrounding rock art provinces to explore broader themes of
regionalisation, territoriality and intergroup interaction.
Comparison with Surrounding Provinces
Strathpark
gar River
W
oo
l
Survey
Area 4
Station
homestead
Archaeological
site
Middle Park
Station boundary
Land above
450m
Survey
Area 2
Middle
Park
Mount
Norman
0
2
4
6
8
N
Survey Area 1
10 km
Figure 10 Map showing the distribution of boomerang stencils in the
surveyed areas on Middle Park Station.
(~2%) contain more than 150 stencils, the richest containing 176
(MP130). It may be noteworthy that MP130 is the most easterly
site recorded along the Norman River, and it is therefore possible
that even larger rock art assemblages might occur further
upstream as one moves further into the heart of the range; this
area could be not be surveyed because of a lack of vehicle access
and logistical difficulties.
Occasional compositions are present, most commonly
comprising arrangements of stencilled adult hands including
rows, pairs, hand variations, and hands with decorative pecked
infill. Material culture stencils also appear in compositions, such as
boomerangs depicted touching back-to-back (MP83). At MP84 a
hand stencil has been depicted inside a stencilled shield (Figure 8),
and three hands are positioned over the top of a boomerang with
pecked infill. Three examples of stencils with decorative pecked
infill were recorded, including linear designs inside a shield and
boomerang, and pecked dots inside hand stencils.
Art occurs most commonly in south-oriented shelters (40 of
the 72 sites for which this variable was recorded). While 30%
28
The sample of rock art on Middle Park examined so far does
not generally demonstrate any internal spatial patterning across
the landscape. Rather, it comprises a relatively homogenous art
body without internal stylistic boundaries or motif clusters that
might indicate territorial confines or areas of overlap. This may
be due to limitations of the relatively small size of the study area,
however, it is more likely to be the result of the surveyed areas
belonging to a single cultural group. While a cluster of unusual
motifs, rare techniques and large sites was identified around
the confluence with Black Springs, the motivation for intensive
activity in this specific area cannot be easily interpreted. To assess
how social interaction, ideas exchange and cultural influence
between groups might be reflected in art, Middle Park must be
considered in the context of the broader region.
The stylistically diverse rock art of the limestone-dominated
southeast Cape York Peninsula Province (CYPP) has been
intensively studied (e.g. Cole 1988, 1995, 2006; Cole and David
1992; Cole et al. 1995; David 1987, 1991; David and Cole 1990;
David and Lourandos 1998; Flood 1987; Morwood 1989a,
1995; Rosenfeld 1982; Rosenfeld et al. 1981; Trezise 1969, 1971;
Watchman and Cole 1993). Three central themes dominate the
literature on this province: regionalisation, chronology, and
the link between the two. Based on absolute dating at sites
including Early Man Rockshelter and Possum Rockshelter, it
has been proposed that a widespread, homogeneous engraving
tradition existed in CYPP prior to the development of the
elaborate, regionally diverse painted method (including
colourful anthropomorphic Quinkan figures) for which the area
is best-known today (Cole and Watchman 2005; Rosenfeld et
al. 1981). This stylistic evolution has been the subject of much
consideration, with the focus often being on how it is associated
with other changes apparent in the mid-Holocene archaeological
record (e.g. David and Cole 1990; David and Lourandos
Number 72, June 2011
Victoria Wade, Lynley A. Wallis and Woolgar Valley Aboriginal Corporation
1998; Morwood 1989a). As such, CYPP’s rock art has been
interpreted as widely indicating shifts in settlement patterns and
interaction networks.
The rock art of Middle Park and that of CYPP differ greatly,
with the primary disparity being the presence of highly stylised
painted figurative art in CYPP, which is entirely lacking in the
Middle Park repertoire. A greater range of stencilled and engraved
motifs is also present in CYPP, with Middle Park lacking contact
art and other unusual stencilled motifs such as ‘dolls’ or ‘human
heads and shoulders’. We argue that this divergence suggests
CYPP groups had little contact with those in the Middle Park
area, a phenomenon which may be attributable to the closed
social networks operating in the fertile CYPP (David and Cole
1990:802-803; see Lewis 1988 for similar arguments about
Arnhem Land). Such environments allow larger populations
to be accommodated, therefore increasing competition for
resources, and subsequently necessitating stylistic variability in
order to reinforce territorial boundaries.
To the west of Middle Park is the Mt Isa Province (MIP), an area
not as well-studied as CYPP, but known to contain vast engraved
assemblages and painted panels with rare stencils (Franklin 1996,
2004; Morwood 1979, 1985; Ridges 2003; Ross 1997). Here Ridges
et al. (2000) have directly dated charcoal from a single painted
motif, obtaining an age estimate of c.870 BP. Visual analyses of
differential weathering and patination led Morwood et al. (1978)
to suggest a substantial age for the engravings. The art of the MIP
most resembles engraving-dominated assemblages to the north at
Chillagoe and in the central desert (Edwards 1966; Franklin 2004),
owing to the predominance of pecked circles; this latter similarity is
unsurprising given the proximity of the arid zone and the familial
relationships between groups in the MIP and those of the desert.
Although pecked circles do occur at Middle Park, including complex
types common to the MIP, they are rare, present in <6% of sites.
Conversely, stencils are generally rare in the MIP. This stark technical
contrast suggests that people in the Middle Park and Mt Isa areas
did not exchange ideas regarding rock art, perhaps indicating a lack
of social ties between them, or chose not to incorporate the styles of
the respective group into their own artistic traditions; ethnographic
evidence pertaining to this is discussed below.
The Central Queensland Province (CQP) has been argued
to extend from the central Queensland highlands some 2000km
north to Croydon (Morwood 1984:361), thus encompassing
Middle Park and Esmeralda Stations (the latter investigated
by Gorecki et al. 1996). While there was some early interest in
CQP rock art (e.g. McCarthy 1960; Mulvaney and Joyce 1965),
Quinnell’s (1976, 1977) and Morwood’s (1976, 1978, 1979,
1982, 1984, 1989b, 1992, 2002:204-230) more recent studies
are the most authoritative. Largely descriptive and focused
on style and technique, discussions of CQP regional diversity
and chronology have not been as extensive as those in CYPP
(cf. Morwood 1992). Generally, the rock art of CQP sandstone
rockshelters is characterised by stencilled motifs, including
hands, hand variations and items of material culture, with
engravings also common. Paintings, prints and drawings are
known to occur as well, although less frequently. Taking into
account absolute dating, spatial, technical, superimposition
and differential weathering information, Morwood (1984:363365) suggested there had been three phases of art production
in the CQP. The earliest phase (Phase 1) comprises pecked
engravings including tracks, circles, pits, arcs and connecting
lines, and was at least 9000 years old, possibly more (Morwood
1992). Phase 2 is characterised by the appearance of stencils,
paintings, drawings and prints, along with a change in
engraving techniques, such as the emergence of abraded
and pecked-then-abraded methods, and the appearance of
the distinctive ‘vulva’ motif. The more regional character of
the rock art of this phase is also noted. Phase 2 is thought
to commence c.4200 years ago based on excavated pigment
fragments, although no actual motifs have been directly dated
as yet. Phase 3 is the contact period, during which Phase 2
techniques continue along with an increased use of white
pigment and contact motifs.
Border (1992) carried out research into rock art sites in the
central Mitchell Grass Downs area to the north of the CQP
and south of Middle Park. Though based on limited data, all
rock art sites were located in areas of exposed sandstone near
water sources and were dominated by non-figurative paintings
(usually crosses and sets of lines), engravings (including
macropod tracks) and hand stencils. On this basis, Border
(1992:13) argued that the Mitchell Grass Downs art showed
affinities with the CQP and what was then known of the
north Queensland highlands, based primarily on the shared
predominance of stencilling.
The results of the Middle Park study demonstrate that
although superficially comparable in content and style, the
range and proportions of motifs are distinctly different from
those found in the CQP. The diverse range of motifs depicted
using all techniques in the CQP contrasts to the highly
restricted range present at Middle Park, where there are low
numbers of engravings and paintings which are common to
the CQP. It is these fundamental disparities that indicate that
the two might be better considered as separate provinces rather
than comprising a single artistic cultural bloc. Further, while
we recognise there are precedents for cultural style covering
large expanses, such as in the Australian arid zone where the
same style of engraved motifs spans some 2.5 million km2 (cf.
Layton 1992), we do note that there are extensive differences
in both the biogeography and language groups between the
north Queensland highlands and CQP, quite dissimilar to
the situation in the arid zone. We argue that while there may
have been some contact between the groups of the north and
central Queensland highlands, this was of a limited nature
and social ties between the people of these two regions were
not critical for survival in times of resource stress. However,
within each region respectively, the relative degree of technical
and stylistic homogeneity suggests that environmental and
social conditions were such that open social networks were
required to facilitate access to the resources of neighbouring
groups in times of scarcity. In the north Queensland highlands
the more limited range of motifs, restricted typically to hands,
suggests that a lesser degree of artistic variability was required
for territorial delineation than in the CQP, possibly owing to
greater unreliability of resources. In light of this, it appears that
a broad function of the art of the north Queensland highlands,
including that of Middle Park, was to create cohesion among
groups, with only minor variations, such as painted stick
figures found at Esmeralda (Gorecki et al. 1996), indicating the
presence of culturally distinguishable groups.
Number 72, June 2011
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Style, Space and Social Interaction
The Relevance of Ethnography
While working predominantly to the southwest of Middle Park,
the ethnographic reports of Walter Roth provide further insight
into the nature of regional social relationships. Roth (1897, 1910)
included more than 100 references to trade between regions
sometimes over 200km distant, thus enhancing our ability to
infer social meaning from rock art, although he rarely mentions
rock art or people from Middle Park specifically. Roth noted
that trade occurred more or less continuously between different
groups throughout the Boulia, Upper Georgina, LeichhardtSelwyn and Cloncurry districts:
comparatively large numbers of people of both sexes may be
congregated sometimes at these large markets. Thus it happens
that ideas are interchanged, superstitions and traditions handed
from district to district, and more or less modified and altered
in transit, that new words and terms are picked up, and that
corrobborees [sic] are learnt and exchanged, just like any other
commodities (Roth 1897:136).
This comment highlights the importance of trade, not only for
exchanging goods, but also as a means of transferring intangible
aspects of culture, potentially including methods of rock art
production and styles. Roth (1897:132) also noted that trade
routes invariably ran along water courses, many were ‘laid down
since time immemorial’ and they were ‘of greater or less extent
rigidly adhered to’. As noted above, two major rivers run across
Middle Park, the Norman and Woolgar, though their importance
was probably overshadowed in terms of human movement by the
much larger east-flowing Flinders River located c.120km south
though arguably still within the home range of people occupying
Middle Park. Roth (1897:136) indicated that the ‘Woonamurra’
(Wanamara) traded fishing nets, woomeras, spears and forehead
nets with groups from the Cloncurry district to the east, though
it is not stated what they received in return; however, the
extensive array of axe grinding grooves on Middle Park Station,
and absence of local sources of volcanic raw materials suitable
for axe production, suggests a strong likelihood that axe blanks
were a desired commodity. Nevertheless, in light of this absence
of information, direct intergroup influences on rock art in the
Middle Park area are largely unknown.
Nonetheless, Roth’s ethnographic data do provide support
for conclusions regarding social interaction drawn solely from
the rock art evidence, including the notion that the Indigenous
groups of CYPP did not interact directly with groups further south
or west such as those in the Middle Park area. When considered
exclusively in terms of style and techniques, the lack of stylistic
influence or overlap between the regions indicates the absence of
social relationships. This evidence is complemented by the fact
that CYPP trade routes are known to have been geographically
restricted (Roth 1897). Together with the proposition that Cape
York was comprised of closed social networks, the ethnographic
evidence potentially explains the lack of stylistic similarity
between the CYPP and adjacent provinces. Further, interviews
with several non-Indigenous settlers in Chillagoe indicated that
Indigenous groups from the area had no significant contact
with outsiders (David and Cole 1990:794); two informants
independently noted that the Palmer (northern) people were
hostile towards the Chillagoe people. This information further
30
supports the notion that groups in CYPP had little or no contact
with those beyond the peninsula, with the hostile northern and
southern CYPP relationship possibly acting as a barrier.
The stark stylistic differences between Middle Park and
the Mt Isa region may also be explored from an ethnographic
perspective. Pearson (1949:197) and MacGillivray (1886:342)
recorded that the Kalkadoon people had a hostile relationship
with adjacent, weaker groups, such as the Wanamara, from
whom they captured women and stole food. Roth (1897:135) also
indicated the Kalkadoon were ‘the most savage of the aboriginals
[sic] under consideration’ and only travelled short distances from
their own country. The negative nature of any interaction and
the distinctly antagonistic relationship between the Kalkadoon
and adjacent groups may have resulted in the maintenance of
stylistic dissimilarity for territorial delineation purposes.
In the north Queensland highlands, the relatively
homogeneous nature of the art has been interpreted above
as indicating the presence of open social networks in a harsh
environment. Under such circumstances, it is often thought
that groups keep population levels below maximum carrying
capacity to allow for fluctuating and unreliable resource
availability. Support for this interpretation is further provided
by MacGillivray (1886:340), who stated that ‘when the Whites
first entered on the extensive territory of the Oonoomurra
[Wanamara] in 1865 the tribe is estimated to have numbered
only two hundred souls’. The low population levels observed
during the immediate post-contact period (i.e. even before the
effects of ‘dispersals’ were felt) further indicate the probable
operation of open social networks, which are in turn reflected
in the rock art.
Social Contexts of Rock Art, including Gender
While this study has used spatial and comparative rock art data
to explore intergroup relationships, analysis of site context on a
finer scale also has the potential to reveal elements of the social
context of the art. Rock art is often thought to have served a
spiritual or ceremonial function, although the available evidence
suggests that Middle Park rock art was more secular in purpose.
The probable presence of women, evidenced by women-specific
hand mutilation, digging sticks and infants’ hand stencils,
supports this notion. In the past, it has been assumed that rock art
production was carried out predominately by men (e.g. Crawford
1968:37; Roth 1904; Spencer and Gillen 1899[1968]:614). Such
assumptions arose largely through the androcentric nature of
early anthropological studies (Smith and O’Donnell 2007:105)
in which women’s roles and activities often went unrecorded.
Also, the long-established link between men and power within
Western societies influenced the perceived ability of women to
create spiritual rock paintings, and such notions were either
not considered or ignored (Smith and O’Donnell 2007:105).
Since the emergence of feminist theory, several investigations
have revealed that women were indeed likely to have been
involved in rock art production (e.g. McDonald 1992, 1995;
Smith 1991). The context of women’s hand stencils at Middle
Park, always placed alongside those probably created by men or
children, suggests that the art did not have a restricted audience,
and thus was more likely to have served an open social context.
Following this argument, the rock art assemblage is ideal for
demonstrating local group identifying behaviour (following
Number 72, June 2011
Victoria Wade, Lynley A. Wallis and Woolgar Valley Aboriginal Corporation
McDonald 2008), further reinforcing the notion that the stylistic
homogeneity is probably indicative of a single social group in
the Middle Park area. Child-sized hand stencils are found evenly
distributed throughout the Middle Park sites. This, combined
with the presence of women, and perhaps production of art by
them, supports the notion that viewing of these art sites was not
restricted. Although child stencils alone do not prove a secular
interpretation for the art, as it is highly likely that children may
have been involved in rock art production in ceremonial contexts,
the combined evidence of women’s, men’s and children’s
stencils appearing together argues against a ceremonial context.
Additionally, the presence of associated cultural remains in the
majority of art sites, including axe grinding grooves, grinding
surfaces and stone artefacts, indicates that the sites were used
for everyday activities, as opposed to being visited only for ritual
or ceremonial events. At Esmeralda, Gorecki and Grant (1994)
argued that grinding surfaces in rockshelters were indicative of
grass seed-grinding. However, the relative abundance of grinding
patches in Middle Park rockshelters that also contain art suggests
that here grinding surfaces were multipurpose and/or used for
pigment production. It would be useful to conduct residue
analysis of grinding surfaces at Middle Park, as the results would
have implications for the above argument regarding the function
of these surfaces and perhaps, by implication, of the art.
Chronology of Art Production
In the absence of direct dating of the Middle Park rock art, a basic
chronological sequence is tentatively proposed herein based on
superimpositioning. On the basis of the morphological similarity
of deeply abraded circular motifs at some of the Middle Park
sites with those to the east, these motifs may be of considerable
age (at least 9000 years based on absolute dating of sediments
which cover such motifs at Mickey Springs; see Morwood 1990,
1992, 2002), and potentially comprise the earliest art in the
Middle Park study area. As noted earlier, four rockshelters have
been excavated at Middle Park, two of which contain pecked
engravings (MP102 and Gledswood Shelter 1), and all of which
contain stencilled art (Wallis 2003:151-156; Wallis et al. 2009).
Three of these sites (MP76, MP83, MP102) yielded primarily
Holocene ages for occupation, while Gledswood Shelter 1 has
been dated to >28,000 BP (Wallis et al. 2009). Although no
directly applicable evidence for the age of rock art production
has been found in any of these excavations, the contemporaneity
of rock art production with other forms of occupation behaviour
seems likely (as demonstrated, for example, by McDonald 2008;
Morwood 1992, 2002).
We propose that the initial engraving period was replaced by
a stencilled art phase utilising a variety of pigment colours in
shades of red, purple, orange and yellow. This style of production
continued in the area in the post-contact period, with the
occasional use of pigment to produce paintings. Preservation
conditions and a limited amount of superimpositioning suggest
that material culture stencils were added to the repertoire more
recently. The heavily weathered condition of hand stencils in
many sites suggests that, during the initial stages of stencilled
art production, this technique was restricted to hands alone.
Ochre fragments in the excavated deposits of Gledswood Shelter
1 offers an avenue for further investigating the antiquity of
pigment art in the area.
The most recent phase of art production involves the addition
of lightly pecked engravings (sometimes as an embellishment to
stencilled art) and the use of white pigment. Owing to the shallow
nature of the pecked motifs, and their subsequently unlikely
long-term preservation potential, it appears that this technique
was practised into the latest period of rock art production. In
the case of white motifs, the pigment used to create them
is widely accepted as having deteriorated at a faster rate than
other colours (Bednarik 1994:70-71; Chippindale and Taçon
1998), which, when combined with their frequent occurrence
in recent superimposition layers, suggests their relatively recent
production, a proposition in line with Morwood’s (1992, 2002)
suggestions for the wider region (see also Taçon 2008).
Conclusion
The elaborate figurative art of Cape York Peninsula and the
engraving-dominated assemblages of Mt Isa provide a distinct
contrast to the primarily stencilled art of the central and
north Queensland highlands. Owing to stylistic and technical
similarities, it had originally been suggested that the Central
Queensland Province extended as far north as Croydon,
encompassing the Middle Park study area (e.g. Morwood
1984:361). However, the results of this study show that while
the assemblages are superficially similar, there is a significantly
more limited range of stencilled motifs present at Middle Park,
and substantially less emphasis on painted and engraved motifs.
The stylistic homogeneity of the North Queensland Highland
Province (including Esmeralda and Middle Park) suggests
that there was no use of style here for territorial delineation.
Stylistic similarity across the region is interpreted as having
functioned to create cohesion amongst groups, with only
minor regional variations indicating the presence of culturally
distinguishable groups.
By employing information exchange theory, which
emphasises the notion that stylistic homo- or heterogeneity
develops according to resource availability, population density
and the subsequent need to facilitate social interaction or
delineate territory (Gamble 1982; Smith 1989), it is argued that
the people occupying the Middle Park area had no direct contact
with the people of Cape York and rarely interacted directly with
groups from the Mt Isa region. This is indicated primarily by
the extreme differences in motif types and techniques employed
in these provinces. In contrast, some contact between the
Middle Park people and those of Central Queensland appears
to have occurred, and was possibly facilitated through stylistic
similarities in stencilling. However, dissimilarities between the
two assemblages, the greater degree of heterogeneity exhibited
in the latter, the different language groups and biogeographic
zones involved and the extensive distances could indicate
bounding or territorial activity between the central and north
Queensland highlands.
Further regional rock art studies will allow the relative
homogeneity of the North Queensland Highland Province to be
determined, thus testing the conclusions reached in this study.
Based on the assumption that similar styles and motifs reflect
open social networks, the nature of social interaction among
groups in the North Queensland Highland Province may thus be
further elucidated. More comprehensive surveys on Middle Park
in a wider variety of landscape units would assist in establishing
Number 72, June 2011
31
Style, Space and Social Interaction
whether or not there is a difference between art located in close
proximity to water sources, and those in less habitable parts of
the social group’s territory. Finally, in order to test the viability
of the proposed Middle Park rock art chronology it would be
valuable to also carry out a programme of absolute dating using
mud wasp nests covering motifs (cf. Roberts et al. 1997).
Acknowledgements
Wade and Wallis would like to thank members of the Woolgar
Valley Aboriginal Corporation for permission to work with
them on Middle Park, particularly Helen Smith whose initial
enthusiasm initiated the subsequent collaboration. John Richter
and Andrew Border are thanked for arranging the original
meetings between Wallis and Smith, and for sharing their
extensive knowledge. The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Studies has kindly supported several field
seasons on Middle Park. Students from James Cook University,
The Australian National University and Flinders University, and
WVAC members assisted with the project. This paper was greatly
improved by feedback from reviewers Liam Brady, Jo McDonald
and Paul Taçon; any remaining errors of interpretation are our
own. Dick Cribb, Scott Hintz and Stuart Maclean are thanked for
their generous provision of logistical support during fieldwork,
and for the many instances of vehicle recovery when the going
was a ‘bit rough’.
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