Example Of Essay On Rock Painting Of Australia

A field of interest to historians and archeologists, rock painting has been discovered by the scientists to appear in more than 75,000 years ago, during the Stone Age. In several cultures from different parts of the world such tradition had place and the carvings possessed even deeper spiritual sense for the people who created and worshiped them. One of such cultures was the one of Aboriginals who were Australia’s indigenous people who lived in north-western part of the country. Until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Australia had existed as a separate part of the world and was believed to have no relation to the people from the other continents. But several rock paintings found in the territory of Australia have almost the same features as the European findings. The Aborigines have always been divided into tribes and each of them has had its own beliefs, myths and customs.
The art of the Aborigines is tightly connected to their beliefs and traditions which was manifested through images of animals with man’s heads or hunting scenes; also, the Aborigines used to fix the moments of their everyday life and their activities as well. Each of the symbols of the Aboriginal rock painting has been significant to the indigenous Australians; the paintings have always been the object of worshipping for the Aborigines and such heritage has been treated with a great importance by the following generations as the paintings have been considered to bring a certain religious sense. Since Australian rock painting is a single ritual in the world which has preserved till the present days, there are some art objects which are famous among the local population and archeologists and are painted and worshipped even by the contemporary Aborigines.
One of such art objects is called Wandjinas usually presents people with cloud forms; the pictures are painted in red, black and yellow and there are feathers on the contours of their heads. The picture of Wandjina is believed to be sacred because it is painted in the “Dreamtime”, the Aboriginal understanding of the world and its creators. According to the Aboriginal belief, universe and human race has been created by Wandjinas.
The most interesting work from all described as the Aboriginal rock painting presents hunting as one of the casual activities of the Aborigines’ everyday life. The painting depicts the scene of men and women hunting kangaroo. These animals proceed from Australia and have always been source of food for the local population. First, the painting draws the attention of the contemporary generations and me as well due to the difference in usual social roles for women: the author shows females hunting together with males, which is morally unacceptable in the present day society. The kangaroos are pictured bigger than they are in reality as compared to people; women and men are presented in the painting running with hunting tools and the animals try to run away from people. The size of the kangaroos imaged by the author may be explained in such a way that the Aborigines regarded the animals as the source of their existence and something that means to them. The author in this painting combined two painting styles using the natural one for depicting the animals which is characterized by the round forms and naturally looking parts of the body, and the schematic style for imaging people which doesn’t quite correspond to a real human appearance. Probably, through such combination, the author of the painting meant to render the difference between animals and people, specifying flashy structure of an animal and skinny body of a human; herewith, he again underlined the necessity and importance of the animals for a human to be able to continue his life. With the progress reached by the mankind and emergence of new essential things, people ceased to notice their need in simple things, like food, air, water, etc. The first Aborigines were one of the peoples who started their living from the need to break through their way for a simple existence, not even thinking about social status or material benefits; and this idea of importance of the primary sources of existence was underlined by the author in this painting.
Having examined the Aboriginal art of rock painting, it can be concluded that the paintings pictured by the authors generally render understanding of life by the Aborigines which finds its manifestation in the religious content of the works depicting the images of the creatures that has been holy for the indigenous Australians; and also in the actions of their everyday life which, as it can be seen from the forms of the painting and visual correlation of different objects depicted, have an essential meaning to the people who created such kind of art.