Dreamtime Superhighway: An analysis of Sydney Basin rock art and prehistoric information exchange

The research examines prehistoric rock art which occurs in the Sydney region in coastal south-eastern Australia. The rock art is located in two distinct contexts provided by the sandstone bedrock which defines this region. Engravings, or petroglyph, sites occur in open locations. In rockshelter locations the art consists of drawings, stencils, paintings and engravings. The principal aim of this thesis is to define a model for cultural interaction which can describe a prehistoric art system. The basis for this proposed model is information exchange theory. By perceiving art and ‘style’ from a functional perspective it is possible to view the region’s art as a conduit for the expression of social affiliations. Depending in the level of interaction- individual, local, regional – different types of information about social interaction might be expected. Patterns in stylistic variability are examined, with three possible sources of variability being investigated. The effects of medium, diachronic change and synchronic variability are all considered. The contemporaneity of art and occupation evidence is also investigated across the region. Four rock shelter art sites were excavated for this purpose. Using information exchange theory, as has been developed ethnographically, it is argued that varying levels of stylistic heterogeneity reveal different types of social information. Higher levels of stylistic homogeneity demonstrated by prehistoric art can be interpreted in terms of larger-group cohesion. In the Sydney region, complex patterns in the levels of variability in both contexts demonstrate the nature of the contacts between language groups, as well as areas where the stresses resulting from these contacts may have been the greatest. It is argued that the rock art in the Sydney region functioned as a prehistoric information superhighway. Through stylistic behaviour, groups around the region who are not in constant verbal contact with each other were able to communicate important social messages and demonstrate both broad-scale group cohesion and within-group distinctiveness.