More than artefacts: contemporary Indigenous relationships to rock art

Archaeological investigations typically rely on objects, images and places as evidence of past human activity. But can these "artefacts" also tell us about present-day relationships between people and their archaeological heritage? The project addresses this problem by examining the contemporary engagements Aboriginal people from the SW Gulf of Carpentaria have with one of the most visual aspects of the archaeological record - rock art - in the context of unfolding archaeological knowledge. By focussing on the processes tied to the cultural re-working of relationships to rock art this project aims to generate new knowledge and understandings into the roles and meanings of archaeological heritage in the lives of Indigenous people today.