Sydney rock engravings
Encyclopedia
Sydney rock engravings are a form of Australian Aboriginal Rock Art
consisting of carefully drawn images of people, animals, or symbols, in the sandstone around Sydney
, New South Wales
, Australia
. Many thousands of such engravings are known to exist in the Sydney
region, although the locations of most are not publicised to prevent damage by vandalism, and to retain their sanctity, as they are still regarded as sacred sites by Indigenous Australians
.
They are comparable with the petroglyphs of Native Americans
and the Rock Art
found elsewhere in Australia, but have their own distinctive style which is quite unlike Rock Art
found anywhere else in Australia.
The Aboriginal Australians arrived in the North of Australia
around 50000 years ago, but the earliest evidence of occupation in the Sydney
region is dated to about 10000 BC, in the Bidjigal Reserve
in the Hills District of North-West Sydney
. However, dates of over 20000 years have been found in the Blue Mountains, and so it is reasonable to suppose that Aboriginal people may have been in the Sydney
region around then, although their settlements have not yet been discovered.
The Sydney
engravings are of a style known as "simple figurative", which conventional archaeology dates to the last 5000 years. Other engravings show Europe
an sailing ships, and so cannot be more than about 200 years old. The dates therefore range from 5000 to 200 years ago. It is likely that some of the freshest engravings represent the later part of that time range, whilst the most worn represent the earliest part. However, the situation is complicated by the fact that the engravings were sometimes "re-grooved" during ceremonies.
It has been claimed that some engravings appear to show Thylacine
s and other mammals which have been extinct in the Sydney
region for many thousands of years, and so are presumably that old. In support of this, it is certainly true that rock art elsewhere (e.g. Kakadu National Park
) does show extinct animals, and so must be tens of thousands of years old. However, at the moment there is no hard evidence to support these claims for Sydney
rock art.
This results in a U-shaped groove which is typically about 2 centimetres deep and 2 centimetres wide. It is easily distinguished from natural grooves in the sandstone, which are usually V-shaped, modern grooves made with steel tools, which are usually narrower and deeper, or those made by bulldozers, which usually have a square section.
The grooves were often maintained by "re-grooving" during ceremonies, which complicates attempts at dating them.
Some sites may have been "increase sites", where a ceremony would be held to increase the availability of a food source such as kangaroos or fish. It is thought that most of the sites depicting animals are of this type.
Another group of sites may have been where initiation ceremonies were held, to celebrate and facilitate the transition of a young boy into manhood. In other parts of Australia
, we know that an initiation ceremony often involves a ceremonial path from childhood into manhood, and so the lines of steps, or mundoes, may indicate initiation sites.
Other sites show "Culture Heroes" or "Ancestral Beings" such as Baiame
, who has a striped head-dress and often a striped body, and Daramulan who has a large club foot and may have been part-emu.
Some sites also show evidence of Aboriginal Astronomy
.
It should also be recognised that increase sites, initiation sites, culture-hero sites, and astronomical sites are not necessarily distinct, and one site may fall into any or all of these categories.
Rock art
Rock art is a term used in archaeology for any human-made markings made on natural stone. They can be divided into:*Petroglyphs - carvings into stone surfaces*Pictographs - rock and cave paintings...
consisting of carefully drawn images of people, animals, or symbols, in the sandstone around Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Many thousands of such engravings are known to exist in the Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
region, although the locations of most are not publicised to prevent damage by vandalism, and to retain their sanctity, as they are still regarded as sacred sites by Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
.
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
and the Rock Art
Rock art
Rock art is a term used in archaeology for any human-made markings made on natural stone. They can be divided into:*Petroglyphs - carvings into stone surfaces*Pictographs - rock and cave paintings...
found elsewhere in Australia, but have their own distinctive style which is quite unlike Rock Art
Rock art
Rock art is a term used in archaeology for any human-made markings made on natural stone. They can be divided into:*Petroglyphs - carvings into stone surfaces*Pictographs - rock and cave paintings...
found anywhere else in Australia.
Who made them?
The engravings were made by the Aboriginal Australians who have lived in the Sydney region from about 25000 years ago until the present day.How old are they?
The engravings cannot be dated directly with current archaeological techniques, necessitating the use of indirect dating techniques.The Aboriginal Australians arrived in the North of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
around 50000 years ago, but the earliest evidence of occupation in the Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
region is dated to about 10000 BC, in the Bidjigal Reserve
Bidjigal Reserve
The Bidjigal Reserve is a reserve in the shire of Baulkham Hills, to the north-west of Sydney. The reserve lies in the suburbs of North Rocks, Northmead, Baulkham Hills, Castle Hill, West Pennant Hills, and Carlingford. The reserve lies south of Richard Webb Reserve in West Pennant Hills, and...
in the Hills District of North-West Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. However, dates of over 20000 years have been found in the Blue Mountains, and so it is reasonable to suppose that Aboriginal people may have been in the Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
region around then, although their settlements have not yet been discovered.
The Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
engravings are of a style known as "simple figurative", which conventional archaeology dates to the last 5000 years. Other engravings show Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an sailing ships, and so cannot be more than about 200 years old. The dates therefore range from 5000 to 200 years ago. It is likely that some of the freshest engravings represent the later part of that time range, whilst the most worn represent the earliest part. However, the situation is complicated by the fact that the engravings were sometimes "re-grooved" during ceremonies.
It has been claimed that some engravings appear to show Thylacine
Thylacine
The thylacine or ,also ;binomial name: Thylacinus cynocephalus, Greek for "dog-headed pouched one") was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. It is commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger or the Tasmanian wolf...
s and other mammals which have been extinct in the Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
region for many thousands of years, and so are presumably that old. In support of this, it is certainly true that rock art elsewhere (e.g. Kakadu National Park
Kakadu National Park
Kakadu National Park is in the Northern Territory of Australia, 171 km southeast of Darwin.Kakadu National Park is located within the Alligator Rivers Region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It covers an area of , extending nearly 200 kilometres from north to south and over 100 kilometres...
) does show extinct animals, and so must be tens of thousands of years old. However, at the moment there is no hard evidence to support these claims for Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
rock art.
How were they made?
Examination of the grooves shows that they were made in several stages as follows:- Presumably, a sketched outline was scratched on to the surface of the rock.
- Then a series of holes was drilled along the line, using a pointed stone or shell, which is possible because the Sydney BasinSydney BasinThe Sydney Basin is a sedimentary basin on the east coast of New South Wales, Australia consisting of Permian and Triassic sedimentary rocks...
sandstoneSandstoneSandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
is relatively soft.
- Finally, the holes were joined by rubbing a sharp stone along the line.
This results in a U-shaped groove which is typically about 2 centimetres deep and 2 centimetres wide. It is easily distinguished from natural grooves in the sandstone, which are usually V-shaped, modern grooves made with steel tools, which are usually narrower and deeper, or those made by bulldozers, which usually have a square section.
The grooves were often maintained by "re-grooving" during ceremonies, which complicates attempts at dating them.
Why were they made?
While their purpose is not known definitively, some educated guesses may be made by analogy with the culture of other indigenous groups who survived into modern times, as follows.Some sites may have been "increase sites", where a ceremony would be held to increase the availability of a food source such as kangaroos or fish. It is thought that most of the sites depicting animals are of this type.
Another group of sites may have been where initiation ceremonies were held, to celebrate and facilitate the transition of a young boy into manhood. In other parts of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, we know that an initiation ceremony often involves a ceremonial path from childhood into manhood, and so the lines of steps, or mundoes, may indicate initiation sites.
Other sites show "Culture Heroes" or "Ancestral Beings" such as Baiame
Baiame
In Australian Aboriginal mythology Baiame was the Creator God and Sky Father in the dreaming of several language groups , of Indigenous Australians of South-East Australia....
, who has a striped head-dress and often a striped body, and Daramulan who has a large club foot and may have been part-emu.
Some sites also show evidence of Aboriginal Astronomy
Australian Aboriginal astronomy
Australian Aboriginal astronomy is a name given to indigenous Australian culture relating to astronomical subjects — such as the Sun and Moon, the stars, planets, and the Milky Way, and their motions on the sky...
.
It should also be recognised that increase sites, initiation sites, culture-hero sites, and astronomical sites are not necessarily distinct, and one site may fall into any or all of these categories.
Further reading
- Sydney Rock Engravings
- Stanbury & Clegg, 1990, 'A Field Guide to Aboriginal Rock Engravings', Oxford University Press.
- Melinda Hinkson & Alana Harris, 2001, 'Aboriginal Sydney', ISBN 0 85575 370 6
- Ray Norris & Cilla Norris, 2009, 'Emu Dreaming', ISBN 978-0-9806570-0-5