Visions from the Past

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The continent of Australia houses the world's largest gallery of rock art. These anticent artworks tell of the birth of the world, of the creatures who made the landscape and gave humans their laws, of contact with seafaring races from the north, and of fateful meetings with European arrivals. How do archaeologists read and interpret these artworks in order to better understand the people and societies that created them?Visions from the Past is a clear and comprehensive examination of Aboriginal rock art. It also provides a practical overview of precisely how and why archaeologists study prehistoric art. M.J. Morwood reviews the techniques, methodologies, and technologies that scientists employ and explains why their insights often cannot be gained through other types of archaeological evidence. The symbolic evidence found in rock art is virtually the only window into understanding the ideology, territoriality, resource use, and social organization of an ancient society.