Murujuga Marni: rock art of the macropod hunters and mollusc harvesters

Ken Mulvaney

The genesis for this study came out of the industrial development of the Burrup, once one of the forty-two islands of the Dampier Archipelago, located on the Pilbara region’s coast of Western Australia.

One of the major rock art provinces in Australia, the Dampier Archipelago arguably comprises the highest concentration of petroglyphs in the world. Ownership of the rock art lies with the local Aboriginal people, its custodianship is held by Yaburara descendants and Ngarluma people. 

This monograph presents a model of the artistic traditions and associated petroglyph production, suggesting five major phases for the Dampier Archipelago, and providing insights into a world that existed for Indigenous Australians over many thousands of years. 

For over thirty years Dr Ken Mulvaney has been engaged in the field of archaeology and anthropology, with a particular interest in Australian rock art. He has been a member of the Australian Rock Art Research Association almost from when it started in 1984 and its President from 2000 to 2009. Research has focused on the Aboriginal association of images, sacred sites and ethnologies. He is Principal Cultural Heritage Advisor at Rio Tinto Iron Ore in the Pilbara, with specific responsibilities for the Burrup. He has worked extensively throughout the Northern Territory and Western Australia, and has participated in or managed archaeological excavations for over forty years in countries as diverse as Australia, Africa, England and Papua New Guinea.

Book details

PUBLICATION DATE: June 2015
FORMAT: Flexi-bound paperback
EXTENT: 410 pages
SIZE: 234 x 156 mm
ISBN: 9781742586007
RIGHTS: World
CATEGORY: Aboriginal, Ken Mulvaney, UWAP Scholarly,