The Gwion Gwion rock paintings, Gwion figures, Kiro Kiro or Kujon (also known as the Bradshaw rock paintings, Bradshaw rock art, Bradshaw figures and the Bradshaws) are one of the two major regional traditions of rock art found in the north-west Kimberley region of Western Australia.[1][2] Key traditional owners have published their own account of the meaning of the images.[3] However the identity of the artists and the age of the art are contended within archaeology and amongst Australian rock art researchers.[4] A 2020 study estimates that most of the anthropomorphic figures were created 12,000 years ago, based on analysis of painted-over wasps' nests.[5][6] These aspects have been debated since the works were seen, and recorded, in 1891 by pastoralist Joseph Bradshaw, after whom they were named until recent decades.[7] As the Kimberley is home to many traditional owners, the rock art is referred to and known by many different names in the local languages, the most common of which are Gwion Gwion[8] or Kiro Kiro/Giro Giro.[9] The art consists primarily of human figures ornamented with accessories such as bags, tassels and headdresses.[10]
- ^ Finch, Damien; Gleadow, Andrew; Hergt, Janet; Levchenko, Vladimir A.; Heaney, Pauline; Veth, Peter; Harper, Sam; Ouzman, Sven; Myers, Cecilia; Green, Helen (1 February 2020). "12,000-Year-old Aboriginal rock art from the Kimberley region, Western Australia". Science Advances. 6 (6): eaay3922. Bibcode:2020SciA....6.3922F. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aay3922. PMC 7002160. PMID 32076647.
- ^ McNiven, Ian and Russell, Lynette Appropriated Pasts: Indigenous Peoples and the Colonial Culture of Archaeology Rowman Altamira 2005 ISBN 9780759109070 p. 147
- ^ Mangolamara, Sylvester; Lily Karadada; Janet Oobagooma; Donny Woolagoodja; Jack Karadada (2018). Nyara pari kala niragu (Gaambera), gadawara ngyaran-gada (Wunambal), inganinja gubadjoongana (Woddordda) = we are coming to see you. compiled by Kim Doohan. Derby, Western Australia: Dambimangari Aboriginal Corporation and Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporation. ISBN 9780648424703.
- ^ Smith, Claire (November 2006). "The appropriation of Indigenous images: a review essay". Rock Art Research. 23 (2): 275.
- ^ Finkel, Elizabeth (February 2020). "Mysterious Australian rock art may depict the chaos following rising seas". Science. doi:10.1126/science.abb1842. S2CID 213266262.
- ^ Weule, Genelle (6 February 2020). "Australian rock art dated using wasp nests". ABC News (ABC Science). Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
- ^ Davidson, Daniel Sutherland Aboriginal Australian and Tasmanian Rock Carvings and Paintings Hesperian Press (American Philosophical Society) 2011 [1936] ISBN 9780859053754 pp. 132–133.
- ^ Doring, Jeff Gwion Gwion: Chemins Secrets Et Sacrés Des Ngarinyin, Aborigènes D'Australie (Gwion Gwion: Secret and Sacred Pathways of the Ngarinyin Aboriginal People of Australia), Könemann 2000 ISBN 9783829040600 p. 55
- ^ Worms, Ernest Ailred (1955). Contemporary and prehistoric rock paintings in Central and Northern North Kimberley. Fribourg: Anthropos. p. 555. OCLC 604542031.
- ^ Donaldson, Mike (September 2010). Clottes, J. (ed.). The Gwion or Bradshaw art style of Australia's Kimberley region is undoubtedly among the earliest rock art in the country – but is it Pleistocene? (PDF). L'art pléistocène en Australie (Pré-Actes). IFRAO (published 2012). p. 4. Retrieved 2 April 2021.