Abstract
This PhD thesis focuses on the rock art found along the Chillagoe-Mungana limestone belt, 170 kilometres west of Cairns, in the semi-arid interior of Queensland. The Chillagoe-Mungana limestone belt borders the traditional estates of three Aboriginal groups, the Wakaman, the Wakara, and the Kuku Djungan. This project investigates the rock art found along the common boundaries of these territories, specifically examining what social and economic information the rock art encodes about the Aboriginal groups of north Queensland prior to European contact. The Chillagoe-Mungana district is ideally placed for an investigation into junction zone rock art. Not only does the limestone belt intersect the territory of multiple local Aboriginal groups in the late Holocene, it also serves as the transitional boundary zone between two of the major rock art provinces in Queensland, the intersection between the North/Central Queensland Highlands region and Cape York Peninsula. Analysis of temporal and geographical changes in the distribution of the motifs of the Chillagoe rock art assemblage provide insight into the nature of rock art junctions, not only in Queensland, but also across Australia. This PhD project has two components: first, to record rock art sites in the Chillagoe-Mungana region in order to illuminate the socio-cultural context of north-eastern Australia; and second, to examine the cultural heritage management challenges faced by Aboriginal groups in the current Australian social, economic and legislative context.
Published Version
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