The Prehistoric Aboriginal cave art of the Grampians, Australia
(Photos taken by me)
Here’s the write up of my trip to the Grampian Mountains in Victoria, Australia. I wrote it earlier this year, but as it was posted to my recently deleted personal blog, I thought i’d re-upload here seeing as it does primarily focus on the Prehistoric cave art there.
19th Jan, 2013
“The Grampians” is a national park, about 235 kilometres west of Melbourne, which features some of the richest and oldest indigenous rock art in Australia and the world, as well as huge sandstone mountain ranges. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Australian state of Victoria, I think you’d be astounded how quickly (and dramatically) the environment changes. Driving from the huge, beautiful city of Melbourne (one of my personal favourite cities in the world), to the outback-like conditions of the Grampians and neighbouring areas, you would hardly believe that you were in the same country, let alone only a few hours west. In this account, I will be detailing my experience of travelling through the Grampians, information about the ancient art itself, and my personal tips/ suggestions for what to see there -it was certainly a very eventful experience indeed!
Source: ancientart
The famous tattooed and preserved head of a Maori warrior.
The Rouen Museum of Natural History in France formally returned this artifact to the delegation of elders, New Zealand Embassy officials and representatives from Te Papa Tongarewa, New Zealand’s national museum.
This is the culmination of years of legal wrangling in France. The head, a sacred cultural object to the Maori, was originally preserved as a reminder of a victory in battle. The tattoos indicate high rank and the heads of elaborately-tattooed warriors would be kept as prized objects by the winners.
You can read more about this artifact here
Source: thehistoryblog.com
Moai at Rano Raraku, Easter Island.
Photo courtesy Aurbina
Source: commons.wikimedia.org
Tongan necklace, the figurative composition of this adornment is extremely rare, it carries eight figures and nine other pendants, all pierced for suspension and bound by sennit cord.
This Oceanic work of art, crafted from bone for a person of high standing. Believed to be female goddess effigies, these sacred figurines have at times been accorded to high ranking Tongan women such as the Mehekitanga, an important family relation in Tongan culture, or the Tamaha, the niece to the King of Tonga through his sister.
Source: webbs.co.nz
