107-122 Australian Rock Art

Subject offered as an intensive one-month course in July. Includes 12 lectures and 12 tutorials (over two weeks) and a two-week field trip to selected rock art places in Australia.

see Prerequisites.

The subject explores various theoretical and methodological approaches to understanding the development of regional rock art styles across the world. It also studies the way rock art encodes symbolic meanings and provides insight into the world of the artists. The role of rock art in religious rites, historical and mythological narratives, territorial marking and landscape construction, will be explored. Students should develop a firm grasp of how rock art is produced; regional and chronological variations of rock art; of the various approaches to the study of rock art; of techniques of dating rock art; and appreciate that rock art comprises complex symbolic and mythological meanings. Subject offered as an intensive one-month course in July. Includes lectures/tutorials (over two weeks) and a two-week field trip to selected rock art places in Australia.

Tutorial participation, an essay and a report totalling 4000 words.

A subject reader will be available.