Today,in the journal Australian Archaeology, we and colleagues introduce an important previously undescribed rock art style.
A Maliwawa macropod found in the Namunidjbuk clan estate of the Wellington Range.
Maliwawa Figures consist of red to mulberry naturalistic human and animal forms shaded with stroked lines.
Occasionally they are in outline with just a few strokes within.
Almost all were painted but there is one drawing.
Various lines of evidence suggest the figures most likely date to between 6,000 to 9,400 years of age.
Infographic summarising some of the main features of Maliwawa rock art .
In some instances, animals almost appear to be participating in or watching some human activity.
Such scenes are rare in early rock art, not just in Australia but worldwide.
They provide a remarkable glimpse into past Aboriginal life and cultural beliefs.
An indeterminate human figure with a cone and feather headdress is above.
Photo: P Tacon
Maliwawa animals are usually in profile.
Depictions of animal tracks (footprints) and geometric designs are rare.
Macropods, birds, snakes andlongtomfish are the most frequent animal subjects, comprising three quarters of total fauna.
But, more generally, mammals are most common.
At one Namunidjbuk site there is a rare depiction of a dugong.
Digital tracing of panel of three bilby-like animals, Awunbarna.
Females, identified because breasts were shown, are rare, comprising only 5% of human depictions.
Human figures generally have round-shaped or oval-shaped heads; some have lines on the head suggestive of hair.
30% of human figures are shown with headdresses, of which there are ten different forms.
The most common is a ball headdress, followed by oval, cone and feather.
Large male Maliwawa human figures from an Awunbarna site.
The largest male is 1.15 metres wide by 1.95 metres high.
Photo: P Tacon.
Maliwawa males are usually in profile and often have a bulging stomach above a penis.
A few Maliwawa females are also shown with an extended abdomen.
This suggests they were meant to be seen, possibly from some distance.
Often, Maliwawa Figures dominate shelter walls with rows of figures in various arrangements.
Back-to-back Maliwawa macropods in the piano player pose, Namuidjbuk.
There are as many as 100,000 sites here, representing tens of thousands of years of artistic activity.
But even in 2020, new styles are being identified for the first time.
What if the Maliwawa Figures were in France?
The Maliwawa Figures demonstrate how much more we have to learn from Australias early artists.
And who knows what else is out there waiting to be found.
