Australian Scientists discover the oldest known Aboriginal rock art painting, dating 17,3000 years old

A montage of photographs of the 17,300-year-old kangaroo rock painting (left) and an illustration of the artwork (right) by geochronologist Damien Finch.

A montage of photographs of the 17,300-year-old kangaroo rock painting (left) and an illustration of the artwork (right) by geochronologist Damien Finch. Courtesy of BBC, 2021.

Last February, the BBC announced that Australian scientists have discovered Australia’s oldest known intact Aboriginal rock art, which is a painting of a kangaroo, dated at 17,300 years old! The incredible rock painting of the kangaroo, measuring an incredible 2m, was painted in red ochre on the ceiling of a low, well-protected rock shelter on Balanggarra Country in WA’s Kimberley region (BBC, 2021).  

Geochronologist Dr Damien Finch, from the University of Melbourne, told the BBC News that the researchers were able to determine the minimum and maximum ages of the rock art painting through the radiocarbon dating of three mud wasp nests above and below it (BBC, 2021).

"We radiocarbon dated three wasp nests underlying the painting and three nests built over it to determine, confidently, that the painting is between 17,500 and 17,100 years old; most likely 17,300 years old," said Dr Finch (2021), the pioneer of this mud wasp dating technique.

Australian scientists analysing the mud wasp nests in the ancient rock shelter in the Kimberley, WA.

Australian scientists analysing the mud wasp nests in the ancient rock shelter in the Kimberley, WA. Courtesy of BBC News (Stan Samantzis), 2021.

Dr Finch informed the BBC News that radiocarbon dating rock art is extremely difficult. This is because Aboriginal artists use iron oxide pigments (ochre), which contain no organic material, deeming them resistant to any radiocarbon analysis. Finch has gotten around this difficulty thanks to multiple factors: one being that wasp nests are made from the organic material of mud, which hardens and mineralises over time; and two, female wasps gather mud supplies and fragments of charcoal from the Kimberley’s fire-prone landscape to build their nests. Since the discovered fragments of the mud wasp nests contain charcoal, Finch and his team were able to radiocarbon date the charcoal.

On Dr Finch’s return home from his three-week expedition in the Kimberley, he conducted some research about these enigmatic aboriginal rock paintings and engravings. Shocked at his findings, he told BBC News’ Science Correspondent (2020):

"I couldn't believe how little was known about them; we didn't even know how old they were.

It seemed disrespectful that scientists hadn't studied this stuff more; it was downplaying the importance of the culture." 

This ancient kangaroo rock painting that Dr Finch and his team worked on, is only one of the many culturally significant sites on Balanggarra Country. Due to the delicate nature of the situation, all of the sampling was guided and approved by the Balanggarra Aboriginal Corporation and the traditional owners of the artwork, following cultural protocol. 

This rock shelter is home to the 17,300 year-old kangaroo rock painting in northeast Kimberley, WA.

This rock shelter is home to the 17,300 year-old kangaroo rock painting in northeast Kimberley, WA. Courtesy of BBC News (Damien Finch), 2021.

Chair of the Balanggarra Aboriginal Corporation, Cissy Gore-Birch, noted the significance of this ancient discovery for Aboriginal Australians where she said, "It's important that Indigenous knowledge and stories are not lost and continue to be shared for generations to come.”

 

As we can see, there is so much to learn about Aboriginal Australian culture as an ancient culture of this world. There is over 60,000 years of history and culture etched into this country, and that is pretty incredible! It is so important that we both acknowledge this from an educational point of view and also work hard to protect the sacred sites, tools and artefacts that are discovered.

You can read more about Dr Damien Finch and his team’s published findings in the Science Advances Journal here. Stay tuned for more stories of recent discoveries of ancient Aboriginal art and culture.

If you want to read our article about the discovery of some of the oldest bone tools that have been dug up in WA, click here.