© Wildlight Photo Agency / Caroline Johns
Traditional ways can harmonize with the modern world.
Bark paintings like this one are now highly prized in the art world.

Paintings in ochre on sheets of bark were indigenous to Arnhem Land, although examples could be found in the Kimberleys and in South Eastern Australia. They were used mostly on the initiation ground for the instruction of novices.

A sample of Aboriginal Art found in one of the many caves
at the bottom of Ayers Rock, Uluru, Northern Territory.

In Western Arnhem Land, naturalistic patterns showing figures against an open background were made and there was also a unique kind of art that depicted the internal organs of animals and human beings. Also widespread were cave and rock paintings or engravings, and sand paintings associated with desert rituals.

© David Hancock / Skyscans
Some Aboriginal Rock Carvings may be 45,000 years old. Many depict animals,
while others like these at Ewaninga in the Norther Territory, are more abstract.

All images and text on this page © Readers Digest Publishing

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