Spear and spearthrower evolution in the Kimberley region, N.W. Australia: evidence from rock art

Abstract

Abstract This paper illustrates the potential of rock art for understanding the past. It uses the visual specificity of rock paintings in the Kimberley, N.W. Australia, to monitor the development of spear and spearthrower technology over time. For instance, only simple, hand‐thrown spears are depicted in the earliest Kimberley rock painting styles, with spearthrowers and composite spears first appearing during the late Bradshaw and Clothes Peg Figure Periods, respectively. The rock painting sequence also depicts changes in spearthrower morphology and size, the appearance of stone spear points, and post‐European use of metal spear heads. We conclude that rock art can provide evidence at a level of resolution normally absent from archaeology.