Archaeologists have discovered what they believe to be the oldest known piece of rock art in Australia.
The discovery, made by University of Southern Queensland’s Professor Bryce Barker and Dr. Lara Lamb, was made in the remote Northern Territory rock shelter known as Nawarla Gabarnmang, and is believed to be 28,000 years old.
Material excavated from the site last year by was returned to the University of Southern Queensland for analysis. During this process, Professor Barker turned over a fragment of granite stone and was stunned to find a piece of a charcoal drawing. “When I turned over that little piece of rock and saw that art I couldn’t believe it”, he said, “There I was sitting in the lab at USQ in Toowoomba with a piece of art that I knew had to be more than 20,000 years old.”
