Rock Art Styles Provinces of Northern Australia (2016-2022). ARC LP150100490
Kimberley Visions is a 5-year multidisciplinary and collaborative archaeological project investigating 50,000 years of human life through the many rock art traditions of the East Kimberley.
This project helps us understand two things. Firstly, how people lived in this landscape over the last 50,000 or more years. Secondly, how Kimberley peoples connected with groups living in what is today Arnhem Land to the east, desert areas to the south, and Island South East Asia to the north – including the ~400,000 km2 of ancient plains that are now underwater. We need to imagine a much larger, northern cultural ‘bloc’ of people in the past, using rock art to map and understand it. Kimberley Visions is at a mature phase with another 18 months to run. Research and recording outputs are being directed towards community engagement and cultural heritage management. This includes establishing site visitation protocols for the public, using ‘right way’ fire to protect sites, advising on impacts of mining and development, and developing rock art sites and resources for use in local communities (schools, tourism) – and nationally/internationally.