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<< Our Photo Pages >> Burrup Peninsula - Rock Art in Australia

Submitted by coldrum on Wednesday, 30 July 2014  Page Views: 18444

Rock ArtSite Name: Burrup Peninsula
Country: Australia
NOTE: This site is 302.421 km away from the location you searched for.

Type: Rock Art
Nearest Town: Burrup
Latitude: 20.62078S  Longitude: 116.785860E
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
no data Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
no data Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
no data Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
3
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Burrup Peninsula
Burrup Peninsula submitted by DrewParsons : Example of rock art from the Burrup Peninsula now housed in the Western Australia Museum, Perth. June 2013. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Rock Art in Australia. An area of Aboriginal Rock art under threat from development. The Burrup Peninsula is home to the world's biggest collection of Aboriginal rock art and gained national heritage listing in 2007. The estimated two million carvings on the Burrup Peninsula and in the Dampier Archipelago are considered of global value.

The photo opposite is an example of rock art from the Burrup Peninsula now housed in the Western Australia Museum, Perth. June 2013..

In 2013 the Murujuga National Park was declared a national park in an effort to conserve the area, but the move was criticised by the Friends of Rock Art group who said it fell far short of protecting the Burrup's significant cultural heritage. They said the park would only cover 44 per cent of the peninsula, leaving the rest open to future industrial expansion.

Links: Stand up for the Burrup. Australia Travel.

Note: Ancient rock art being defaced in Pilbara, Burrup Peninsula. See the latest comment on our page.
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Burrup Peninsula
Burrup Peninsula submitted by Flickr : More rock carvings from the Burrup Site in Australia Ancient Rock Carvings: Burrup Peninsula in the Pilbara region of WA This particular form of art is known as petroglyphs. They are produced on basaltic rock by an extractive process, making them more like a carving than a painting. This 'carving' is of the feared 'medicine man' - he is recognisable because his arms are raised above his head... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Burrup Peninsula
Burrup Peninsula submitted by Flickr : The Jaburara Heritage Trail (near Karratha), Deep Gorge and Burrup Peninsula on the West Pilbara Coast region of WA are great places to view Aboriginal art and gain an understanding of Aboriginal culture and traditions. Over 40,000 rock engravings (petrog Site in Australia Image copyright: sam_rx (Samantha Wood), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Burrup Peninsula
Burrup Peninsula submitted by Flickr : Burrup Peninsular Petroglyphs Site in Australia These petroglyphs are culturally significant and sensitive as the traditional owners are still present and ceremonies are still performed here. The petroglyphs have yet to be dated but it is known that they are thousands of years old. The Burrup Peninsular is the largest known petroglyph gallery in the world with over 1,000,000 documented glyph... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Burrup Peninsula
Burrup Peninsula submitted by Flickr : People mountain, people sea Site in Australia We entered these areas with permission of Aboriginal elders. They have agreed to have these images photographed for surveying purposes. However, there are some images that we were asked not to take photos of as they are central to certain Aboriginal stories. Burrup Peninsula, Pilbara District, Western Australia. Image copyright: Roberto Castillo (@ca... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Burrup Peninsula
Burrup Peninsula submitted by Flickr : Ancient Aboriginal rock art Site in Australia Image copyright: Marc Russo (Australia) (Marc Russo), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Burrup Peninsula
Burrup Peninsula submitted by Flickr

Burrup Peninsula
Burrup Peninsula submitted by Flickr

Burrup Peninsula
Burrup Peninsula submitted by Flickr

Burrup Peninsula
Burrup Peninsula submitted by DrewParsons : Example of rock art from the Burrup Peninsula now housed in the Western Australia Museum, Perth. June 2013.

Burrup Peninsula
Burrup Peninsula submitted by Flickr : Ancient Aboriginal rock art Site in Australia Image copyright: Marc Russo (Australia) (Marc Russo), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

Burrup Peninsula
Burrup Peninsula submitted by DrewParsons : Example of rock art from the Burrup Peninsula now housed in the Western Australia Museum, Perth. June 2013.

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 148.5km SE 126° Nunyerry Creek* Rock Art
 252.9km SSE 156° Pibara Petroglyphs* Rock Art
 355.6km SE 138° Hope Downs Cave or Rock Shelter
 1122.2km S 188° The Pinnacles* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
 1162.0km E 84° Wolf Creek Crater Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
 1218.5km ENE 62° Drysdale River National Park Rock Art
 1253.3km NNE 13° Waikabubak East Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 1253.8km NNE 13° Waikabubak Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 1260.1km ENE 57° Kalumburu Cave or Rock Shelter
 1262.6km NNE 14° Anakalang Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 1263.1km S 184° Western Australia Museum* Museum
 1278.4km NNE 19° Rindi Umalulu Burial Chamber or Dolmen
 1318.2km S 171° Mulka's Cave* Rock Art
 1320.6km N 352° Pura Batu Pageh* Ancient Temple
 1331.2km S 171° Wave Rock* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
 1353.8km N 353° Yeh Pulu* Carving
 1355.2km N 353° Archaelogical Museum Gedong Arca* Museum
 1355.2km N 353° Goa Garba* Cave or Rock Shelter
 1365.5km N 353° Gunung Kawi* Ancient Temple
 1369.4km N 354° Pura Besakih Ancient Temple
 1381.4km NNE 20° Bena Village Megaliths* Ancient Village or Settlement
 1400.6km NNE 17° Liang Bua Cave Cave or Rock Shelter
 1406.8km N 349° Museum Manusia Purba Gilimanuk* Museum
 1504.3km S 186° Mammoth Cave Margaret River* Cave or Rock Shelter
 1549.3km ESE 113° Ayers Rock* Rock Art
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"Burrup Peninsula" | Login/Create an Account | 6 News and Comments
  
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Lots more photos of Rock art in Western Australia by Andy B on Thursday, 11 June 2020
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Lots more photos of Rock art in Western Australia here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/90500500@N08/albums
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Ancient rock art being defaced in Pilbara, Burrup Peninsula by bat400 on Wednesday, 30 July 2014
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Fresh reports of vandalism to ancient rock art have shocked Greens MP Robin Chapple.

Ancient rock art in Murujuga National Park on the Burrup Peninsula has been defaced by vandals.

Rock art in Western Australia's Pilbara region believed to be up to 60,000 years old has been attacked by vandals.

Tourist guide and Ngarluma man Clinton Walker said he had discovered a defaced piece of rock art on the Burrup Peninsula in Murujuga National Park. "Someone has actually etched into a rock right above where some of the rock art is and wrote: 'go and work for a living'," he said.

The Burrup Peninsula is home to the world's biggest collection of Aboriginal rock art and gained national heritage listing in 2007.

Mr Walker said textas and spray paints had also been used to deface the art. "There's people spray painting their names on rocks around the Burrup," he said.

Greens MP Robin Chapple said he was shocked and disappointed to learn of the fresh vandalism reports. He said vandalism and graffiti on the rocks was unacceptable and more needed to be done to educate people about just how precious the art is.

"Vandalism is probably the most detrimental thing that can happen in the short-term," he said.

"Those scratches aren't going to go away because exactly the same way that the carvings remain, those scratches remain. So, whoever's done the vandalism out there has left their signature there for a very, very long time."

Mr Chapple said he was also aware of vandalism in other areas.

"We know that also on the Yabura Trail, just behind Karratha, there's also rock art that's being defaced," he said.

"It seems to be a hobby or fun for some people to go around literally desecrating what is the world's most important Mona Lisa."

He said the estimated two million carvings on the Burrup Peninsula and in the Dampier Archipelago are of global value.

"What we have here is the largest gallery of rock art anywhere in the world, the oldest gallery of rock art anywhere in the world and the only gallery of rock art anywhere in the world that actually shows the continuing inhabitation of an area and the changes to society over the last 30,000 years," he said.

"It is the only area of the world that has anything like this."

Mr Walker said the graffiti was upsetting and more needed to be more done to educate tourists about just how sacred the sites were to traditional owners.

"It's not just Aboriginal rock art, it's now Australian art," he said.

"We all live in the same place, share the same place, we need to all protect it to make sure it's there for future generations."

Last year the Murujuga National Park was declared a national park in an effort to conserve the area, but the move was criticised by the Friends of Rock Art group who said it fell far short of protecting the Burrup's significant cultural heritage.

They said the park would only cover 44 per cent of the peninsula, leaving the rest open to future industrial expansion.

Researchers from the Australian National University believe the art could be up to 60,000 years old.

There is maximum fine of $20,000 under WA law if a person is found to have defaced rock art.

Thanks to coldrum. For more, see http://www.abc.net.au
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Burrup Peninsula rock art among world's oldest by bat400 on Monday, 02 December 2013
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RESEARCH INTO THE rate of erosion of Pilbara rocks has put an upper limit on the possible age of up to a million ancient Aboriginal engravings in the Burrup Peninsula of Western Australia.

The peninsula and surrounding Dampier Archipelago have the highest concentration of rock art in the world. The carvings, called petroglyphs, include depictions of human-like figures, human faces and animals that no longer inhabited the region, including the Tasmanian tiger.

Archaeologists haven't been able to date engravings directly, but have previously estimated some of them to be up to 30,000 years old based on the style of the art and weathering patterns. One group of petroglyphs showing land-based animals, is thought to date from a time during the last ice age, when sea levels were lower and the area was far inland.

The new study, led by Professor Brad Pillans, a geologist at the Australian National University, shows that rocks here have some of the lowest recorded rates of erosion in the world.

"The combination of hard rock and low rainfall means low erosion, so we have the potential for preserving rock art for much longer periods of time than in many other places," he told Australian Geographic.

The study published last week in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews shows that the deepest engravings could theoretically survive on these rock surfaces for up to 60,000 years, although the researchers do not claim they are this old.

Brad and his co-author Professor L. Keith Fifield came to that conclusion by measuring levels of Berylllium 10. This is a radioactive isotope that accumulates in the surfaces of rocks because of radiation from space and indicates how long they have been exposed to the elements.

These findings support the idea that some of the rock art predates the last ice age, which occurred around 22,000 years ago, says Dr Ken Mulvaney, an archaeologist with Rio Tinto who produced the most recent age estimates based on the style of the art and weathering patterns.

The erosion "is such a slow process that the petroglyphs could remain visible for 60,000 years," says Ken, who adds that neither he nor Brad think the rock art actually is that old. Based on current evidence people only arrived in this part of Australia sometime between 35,000 and 42,000 years ago, he says.

Commenting on the findings, Professor Paul Tacon, a rock art specialist at Griffith University on the Gold Coast in Queensland, said the finding was an interesting one, but agrees that it doesn't bring researchers any closer to working out an age for the Burrup rock art.

"It opens up the possibility that some of this rock art is tens of thousands of years of age. But a lot of other different forms of research need to be done to see how old some of the oldest art is," he says.

Brad adds that the petroglyphs are a wonder of Aboriginal Australian heritage.
"When I first visited the Burrup Peninsula, I was absolutely amazed by the sheer number and variety of Aboriginal rock art engravings," he says. "It's estimated that there are up to one million images there, many of which are spectacular works of art. Given the extraordinary amount and diversity of the rock art and its potential antiquity, I rather hope the area will soon be nominated for World Heritage listing."

Thanks to coldrum for the link. For more, see http://www.australiangeographic.com.au
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Petition to protect rock art and other indigenous heritage sites in Western Australia by Andy B on Sunday, 23 September 2012
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Many ancient Aboriginal heritage sites contain rock art, relics, dinasaur footprints and skeletal remains, which are thousands of years old. These areas are of vital importance to the original inhabitants of our country in terms of the continuation of their cultural practice. Ancient stories are recorded in beautiful pictographs in many sacred sites and have been handed down for countless generations.

Our precious heritage areas should be shown the appropriate respect and protected at all costs. However, mining and development interests seems to take precedence over all else in Australia, and a large amount of rock art and a huge number of sacred sites have been vandalised or totally obliterated by mining companies, owing to the weaknesses of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 (WA).

Recently, the Western Australian government has introduced a document proposing changes to the Act which will see a further weakening of Indigenous rights and will give open slather to Mining companies.

Please help us fight the rampant greed of big business and stop the wanton desecration and destruction of our precious Indigenous culture. Sign this petition, get others to do the same and send a personal letter to the ministers this petition is addressing.

The petition is here
http://www.change.org/petitions/tony-burke-protect-indigenous-heritage-sites-in-western-australia
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Half of all ancient Aboriginal rock art at risk of being lost by bat400 on Monday, 03 October 2011
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Archaeologists launch campaign to save Australia's indigenous paintings

Aboriginal elders call the ancient paintings and engravings that dot the landscape their history books. But while Australia has some of the world's most outstanding and abundant rock art, experts say half of it could disappear over the next 50 years unless it is better protected.

Urban development, mining and vandalism – as well as natural processes – are among threats to the art found in rock shelters, often in remote areas. Some sites have already been bulldozed, or had paintings defaced or carved out. Many Aboriginal communities have lost their connection with the art, which their ancestors looked after and retouched over generations.

One obstacle facing conservationists is that knowledge is fragmented; no one is even sure how many sites there are, although estimates suggest up to 100,000. Academics are calling for a national database to be set up, which would enable them to document the images properly and identify those most at risk. But they need to raise A$6m (£3.9m), which has not yet been forthcoming –although the Art Gallery of New South Wales spent a similar sum last year on one painting by the Australian artist Sir Sidney Nolan.

The oldest surviving Aboriginal art dates back 15,000 years, compared with the estimated 34,000-year-old cave paintings at Chauvet, in southern France. However, archaeologists have found evidence – including pieces of ochre, used for pigment – that Aboriginal people began producing art soon after arriving in Australia more than 45,000 years ago.

While sites are still being discovered, some of the most significant include ... the Burrup Peninsula, home to the world's largest concentration of petroglyphs. Many sites were destroyed in the 1960s and 1970s. More recently, carvings have been cut out and relocated – to the chagrin of archaeologists, who say that context is all-important.

Rock art specialists want to pinpoint Australia's top 100 sites, and then use advanced technology such as laser scanning to produce 3D digital replicas. "The art is disappearing at an alarming rate, so we need to get good records of it before it's lost," says Wayne Brennan, an archaeologist with part-indigenous heritage.

Until now, archives have been kept by state and territory governments, museums, universities, national parks bodies, Aboriginal communities and individual researchers. Professor Tacon says: "It's extremely important to bring these diverse records together, because at the moment rock art research, conservation and management happen on an ad hoc basis. Some sites have been lost because people haven't realised their importance."

Professor Tacon says: "A lot of people are simply not aware that this is part of our national heritage and identity; it's not just something indigenous. We want to raise awareness that these are important, special places; they are part of the Australian identity."

Alistair Paterson, an archaeology professor at the University of Western Australia, says: "The art is globally significant because Australia was colonised by modern humans [Aboriginal people] earlier than they got to Europe. It tells the incredible story of how over time all these people have dealt with the Australian country and landscape."

Unlike the European cave art, the rock shelter images are relatively exposed. Over the years, rocks have cracked and crumbled, water has seeped through walls and wind has caused erosion. Paintings have also been lost as a result of pigs rubbing themselves against them. Bushfires represent another threat.

A national database will enable researchers to "focus on areas where the rock art is most vulnerable" says Mr Brennan. Aboriginal communities will decide how the digital images are stored, recorded and accessed – cultural laws dictate that some paintings can be seen only by men, or women, or people who have undergone initiation.

Thanks to an anonymous memb

Read the rest of this post...
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World’s oldest portrait in peril by coldrum on Monday, 02 February 2009
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World’s oldest portrait in peril

The world’s oldest depiction of a human face could be threatened if Australian mining companies are permitted to build an explosives factory on the remote Burrup peninsula in the northwest of the country.

A bulbous image of indiscernible sex, with huge eyes and sunken cheeks, the 10,000 year-old carving is chipped out of hard rock. Thousands of other carvings, mostly of plants and animals, which date back to beyond the last Ice Age, are scattered about the peninsula.

Archeologists believe that aboriginal tribes made the distinctive carvings up to 30,000 years ago. They could be nearly twice as old as the Lascaux cave paintings in the Dordogne, France.

Last year the mining company Woodside Energy won permission to move 170 pieces of rock art to a new site to make way for a liquefied natural gas plant. Next year Burrup Nitrates is planning to build an explosives plant on the site.

Opposition to the development is led by Robin Chapple, a British-born Green MP, whose seat in the Western Australian parliament is the world’s largest at 860,00 square miles.

“The Burrup has the highest density of carvings of rock art in the world,” he said. He attacked Woodside’s decision to move some examples. “What Woodside has done is like taking a couple of pillars out of Stonehenge and putting them somewhere else. If you do that, you lose the integrity of the site.”

The value of the carvings lies in their unbroken depiction of ancient tribes’ adaptation to thousands of years of climate change. “This rock art represents the longest art tradition anywhere in the world,” said Ken Mulvaney, who is writing a doctoral thesis on them.

The site is sacred to the local Yaburara aborigines, whose ancestors’ carvings tell how the tribes changed their hunting and gathering methods to survive. Some carvings from 25,000 years ago show they hunted mammals and flat-tailed wallabies; in more recent times, as the ice melted, they turned their attention to turtles and the Tasmanian tiger.

Chapple, 62, hopes that Colin Barnett, the new premier of Western Australia, may “stand up” to the developers but it appears to be a forlorn hope.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5337657.ece
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