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School of Culture History and Language · ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
2025 intensive dates: Mon 13 - Fri 24 January. Please note that students are required to cover the cost of the compulsory field trip. The course will focus broadly on the rock art of the Indo-Pacific region (including near and remote Oceania and Australia). It aims to give students a glimpse into the extraordinary diversity of art across this vast region, from the earliest Pleistocene expressions through to the more recent past. It will examine the questions that archaeologists grapple with and their theoretical underpinnings, such as ‘in what context was this art produced?’ and ‘who made the art?’ It will also consider how we explore more pragmatic questions such as ‘how was this art made?’, ‘what materials were used to make it?’ and ‘how old is it?’. The course will provide students with an understanding of the methods that archaeologists use to establish the composition of pigments and the age of rock art. Finally, the course will look at how archaeologists partner with local communities and Indigenous groups to ensure that cultural values are respected and that rock art research meets the highest ethical standards. Threats to rock art and how these might be managed or mitigated will also be discussed. In addition to the review of rock art, theory and methods the course will provide students with practical skills in rock art recording, an understanding of issues pertaining to the management and conservation of rock art, and a grounding in current techniques used to better ‘see’ and reproduce rock art for publication when the pigment is faded or otherwise deteriorated.
Workbook
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Quiz 1
Learning outcomes 1, 2
Quiz 2
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Critique and Discussion of Three Scholarly Articles (1500 words)
Learning outcomes 1, 6
Essay (3000 words)
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
This course requires 130 hours, including class time and self-study. 5 hours of in class work each day for 10 days as well as 10-15 hours reading and class preparation each week in preparation for the lectures and practicals (pdfs to be posted on Wattle). Essay development and writing will be done after the in-class (intensive) portion of the course. Other Information This intensive 6 unit course will be taught over two weeks (eleven working days) and will include lectures, practical classes, a day trip to rock art in the Royal National Park and 2 half day excursions to Gubur Dhaura Heritage Park & the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra. Students with an Education Access Plan (EAP) will be accommodated with alternative activities and/or assessments where required. Required additional student contribution: approximately $100 per student to cover bus fare to Royal National Park. This is an assessable component of the intensive course. Final costs may vary slightly depending on final enrollment numbers & bus charter costs. Reading materials will be released one week prior to the beginning of the intensive course.
Pdfs of scholarly articles for each day’s sessions will be posted on Wattle in advance. Preliminary Reading David, B. and I. McNiven (eds) 2018. The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Rock Art. Oxford University Press, USA [available online via ANU Library] McDonald, J. and P. Veth (eds) 2012. A Companion to Rock Art. Wiley Blackwell. [available online via ANU Library] Morwood, M.J. 2002. Visions from the Past: The Archaeology of Australian Aboriginal Art. Allen and Unwin, Sydney, NSW. [on course reserve at the ANU Library - Menzies] Taçon, P.S.C. and Chippindale, C. 1998. The Archaeology of Rock-Art. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. [available online via ANU Library]