Depicting cross‐cultural interaction

Figurative designs in wood, earth and stone from south‐east Australia

Bibliographic Data

ID6038406
AuthorsPaul S C Taçon (0000-0002-0280-4366, People and Place Research Centre Australian Museum 6 College St. Sydney 2010), Barrina South (People and Place Research Centre Australian Museum 6 College St. Sydney 2010), Shaun Boree Hooper (People and Place Research Centre Australian Museum 6 College St. Sydney 2010), Hooper, S Hooper (Australian Museum)
Year2003
Volume38
Issue2
Pages89-101
Publication date2003-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueArchaeology in Oceania/Archæology & physical anthropology in Oceania (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0728-4896 • E-ISSN: 1834-4453
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/j.1834-4453.2003.tb00532.x
OpenAlexW2054352079
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited26

We examine Aboriginal wooden artefacts traded between European and Aboriginal Australians in south‐east Australia in order to gain insight into the impact of cross‐cultural interaction on Aboriginal art traditions. Although we focus on wooden objects with figurative designs made and exchanged over the past 150 or more years, as well as their links to earlier ground, tree and rock‐art traditions, the study contributes to a larger understanding of cultural change not well documented with ethnography. Information from 469 individual pieces in 90 private and public collections, is summarised, along with the development of individual, community and regional styles. A theory about the role of such material culture during changing times in south‐east Australia is outlined. More generally, it is argued that material culture both mediates and expresses change, with figurative motifs and storytelling through pictures particularly effective when communicating to diverse groups of people of varying cultural and linguistic backgrounds

Archaeology · Art · Cross-cultural · Ethnography · Linguistics · Literal and figurative language · Literature · Narrative · Sociology · Storytelling · Visual arts · Anthropology · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · History · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies

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Open DOISci-HubOpen Access