Native Arts of Oceania

From earliest times, the natives of Australia, often known as Aborigines, have been creating distinctive patterns of art. Much of Aboriginal art is transitory, drawn in sand or on the human body to illustrate a place, an animal totem, or a tribal story. Early surviving artworks of the Aborigines are mostly rock paintings. Many are called X-ray paintings because they show the bones and organs of the animals they depict. Some Aboriginal art seems abstract to modern viewers; Aboriginal art often employs geometrical figures and lines to represent landscape, which is often shown from a birds-eye view. For instance, in Aboriginal symbolism, a swirl stands for a watering hole. The Bradshaws are a unique form of rock art found in Western Australia. They are predominantly human figures drawn in fine detail with accurate anatomical proportioning. They have been dated at over 17,000 years old and debate rages as to who actually created them.