Sydney rock engravings, or Sydney rock art, are a form of Australian Aboriginal rock art in the sandstone around Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that consist of carefully drawn images of people, animals, or symbols.[1] Many thousands of such engravings are known to exist in the Sydney region, although the locations of most are not publicised to prevent damage by vandalism, and to retain their sanctity, as they are still regarded as sacred sites by Indigenous Australians. There are two art environments in Sydney Basin, rock shelters and engraving sites.[2]
There are 1,500 pieces of Aboriginal art in Sydney, more than half of which contain rock art, and around 1,500 caves or shelters which contain cultural deposit. They are comparable[clarification needed] with the petroglyphs of Native Americans and the rock art found elsewhere in Australia, but have their own distinctive style which is quite unlike rock art found anywhere else in Australia. Dating to around 5,000 years,[3] with some possibly as old as 7,000 years,[4] Sydney rock art is predominantly found in Ku-ring-gai Council, Sydney Harbour and the Blue Mountains.[5]
- ^ McDonald, J. 1999. Bedrock notions and isochrestic choice: evidence for localised stylistic patterning in the engravings of the Sydney region. Archaeology in Oceania 34(3): 145–160.
- ^ Basedow, H. 1914. Aboriginal rock carvings of great antiquity in S.A. J. R. Anthropol. Inst., 44, 195–211.
- ^ Australia's top 7 Aboriginal rock art sites by Australian Geographic
- ^ Hidden in plain sight: Indigenous Australian rock art on Sydney's doorstep by The Guardian (Author: Brigid Delaney)
- ^ Bowdler, Sandra. "Balls Head: the excavation of a Port Jackson rock shelter. Records of the Australian Museum 28(7): 117–128, plates 17–21. [4 October 1971]" (PDF). AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS. Australian Museum. Retrieved 28 April 2012.