MORE STRIPED DESIGNS IN ARNHEM LAND ROCK PAINTINGS

Abstract

ARNHEM Land Aboriginal rock paintings of a striped animal were first described by Brandi in 1972. Brandi claimed that the paintings represented the thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) but his evidence was not conclusive and doubts still remain as to the species depicted (Clegg, in press; Marlow, quoted in E.Z. Review no. 1, 1975). In September and October 1972, the writer located five more striped paintings and an unstriped design similar in form to one of the striped paintings, at four closely grouped rock shelters near Nabarlek, on the edge of the western Arnhem Land plateau (see map). More recently, in September 1974, the writer located another three striped designs at two other sites in western Arnhem Land. One of these designs shows a female animal with four young. Tracings, photographs and descriptions of these paintings were taken and the data are given below. In attempting to identify the animals described in this paper, various features of the paintings have been taken into account. These include the stripes, overall shape and any physical features shown which may be unique to a particular species. The animals to be considered are the dingo {Canis familiaris) and the native striped marsupials the numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus), the banded hare-wallaby (Logostrophus fasciatus) and the thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus). The barred bandicoot (Fer ameles bougainville) has been omitted because it bears little resemblance to any of the designs discussed.