Browsing by Author "Huntley, J"

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    The effects of climate change on the Pleistocene rock art of Sulawesi
    (Springer Nature, 2021-05-13) Huntley, J; Aubert, M; Oktaviana, AA; Lebe, R; Hakim, B; Burhan, B; Muhammed Aksa, L; Made Geria, I; Ramli, M; Siagian, L; Brand, HEA; Brumm, A
    The equatorial tropics house some of the earliest rock art yet known, and it is weathering at an alarming rate. Here we present evidence for haloclasty (salt crystallisation) from Pleistocene-aged rock art panels at 11 sites in the Maros-Pangkep limestone karsts of southern Sulawesi. We show how quickly rock art panels have degraded in recent decades, contending that climate-catalysed salt efflorescence is responsible for increasing exfoliation of the limestone cave surfaces that house the ~ 45 to 20-thousand-year-old paintings. These artworks are located in the world’s most atmospherically dynamic region, the Australasian monsoon domain. The rising frequency and severity of El Niño-induced droughts from anthropogenic climate change (that is, higher ambient temperatures and more consecutive dry days), combined with seasonal moisture injected via monsoonal rains retained as standing water in the rice fields and aquaculture ponds of the region, increasingly provide ideal conditions for evaporation and haloclasty, accelerating rock art deterioration. © 2021 The Authors. Open Access: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
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    The first Australian Synchrotron powder diffraction analysis of pigment from a Wandjina motif in the Kimberley, Western Australia
    (Taylor & Francis, 2016-03-17) Huntley, J; Brand, HEA; Aubert, M; Morwood, M
    We report the identification of minerals in stratified paint layers from a Wandjina motif in the central Kimberley region, Western Australia, via synchrotron powder diffraction. Interpreting our findings with reference to previous pigment characterisations of Wandjina motifs, we outline the potential of this method for rock art investigations. We particularly highlight the implications of successful major and minor phase identification in very small (~3 µg) pigment samples. The results of this pilot study show that crystallographic data is critical in helping to separate environmental/cultural signatures from post-depositional processes within anthropogenically applied pigments. In Wandjina rock art, crystallography facilitates the examination of the cultural context of rock art production within an assemblage ethnographically known to have undergone regular, ritual repainting. © 2021 Informa UK Limited
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    Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago
    (Springer Nature, 2017-07-20) Clarkson, C; Jacobs, Z; Marwick, B; Fullager, R; Wallis, LA; Smith, MA; Roberts, RG; Hayes, E; Lowe, KM; Carah, X; Florin, SA; McNeil, J; Cox, D; Arnold, LJ; Hua, Q; Huntley, J; Brand, HEA; Manne, T; Fairbairn, AS; Shulmeister, J; Lyle, L; Salinas, M; Page, M; Connell, K; Park, GY; Norman, K; Murphy, T; Pardoe, C
    The time of arrival of people in Australia is an unresolved question. It is relevant to debates about when modern humans first dispersed out of Africa and when their descendants incorporated genetic material from Neanderthals, Denisovans and possibly other hominins. Humans have also been implicated in the extinction of Australia’s megafauna. Here we report the results of new excavations conducted at Madjedbebe, a rock shelter in northern Australia. Artefacts in primary depositional context are concentrated in three dense bands, with the stratigraphic integrity of the deposit demonstrated by artefact refits and by optical dating and other analyses of the sediments. Human occupation began around 65,000 years ago, with a distinctive stone tool assemblage including grinding stones, ground ochres, reflective additives and ground-edge hatchet heads. This evidence sets a new minimum age for the arrival of humans in Australia, the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa, and the subsequent interactions of modern humans with Neanderthals and Denisovans. © 2017 Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature.
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    One colour, (at least) two minerals: a study of mulberry rock art pigment and a mulberry pigment ‘quarry’ from the Kimberley, northern Australia
    (John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2013-01-12) Huntley, J; Aubert, M; Ross, J; Brand, HEA; Morwood, MJ
    Distinctive mulberry paintings found in northern Australia, particularly those of the Kimberley region, have been argued to represent some of the oldest surviving rock art on the continent. Significant research efforts continue to focus on resolving the age of these motifs, but comparatively little attention has been given to understanding their physical composition and potential source(s). In a pilot investigation, we conclude that (at least) two mineralogically distinct mulberry pigments occur in Gwion motifs and demonstrate that their major components can be indicatively chemically differentiated, non-invasively. Characterization of a 'quarried' mulberry ochre source demonstrates that these pigments occur locally as natural minerals. Copyright © 2015 University of Oxford.
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    Palaeolithic cave art in Borneo
    (Springer Nature, 2018-11-11) Aubert, M; Setiawan, P; Oktaviana, AA; Brumm, A; Sulistyarto, PH; Saptomo, EW; Istiawan, B; Ma'rifat, TA; Wahyuono, VN; Atmoko, FT; Zhao, JX; Huntley, J; Taçon, PSC; Howard, DL; Brand, HEA
    Figurative cave paintings from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi date to at least 35,000 years ago (ka) and hand-stencil art from the same region has a minimum date of 40 ka1. Here we show that similar rock art was created during essentially the same time period on the adjacent island of Borneo. Uranium-series analysis of calcium carbonate deposits that overlie a large reddish-orange figurative painting of an animal at Lubang Jeriji Saléh—a limestone cave in East Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo—yielded a minimum date of 40 ka, which to our knowledge is currently the oldest date for figurative artwork from anywhere in the world. In addition, two reddish-orange-coloured hand stencils from the same site each yielded a minimum uranium-series date of 37.2 ka, and a third hand stencil of the same hue has a maximum date of 51.8 ka. We also obtained uranium-series determinations for cave art motifs from Lubang Jeriji Saléh and three other East Kalimantan karst caves, which enable us to constrain the chronology of a distinct younger phase of Pleistocene rock art production in this region. Dark-purple hand stencils, some of which are decorated with intricate motifs, date to about 21–20 ka and a rare Pleistocene depiction of a human figure—also coloured dark purple—has a minimum date of 13.6 ka. Our findings show that cave painting appeared in eastern Borneo between 52 and 40 ka and that a new style of parietal art arose during the Last Glacial Maximum. It is now evident that a major Palaeolithic cave art province existed in the eastern extremity of continental Eurasia and in adjacent Wallacea from at least 40 ka until the Last Glacial Maximum, which has implications for understanding how early rock art traditions emerged, developed and spread in Pleistocene Southeast Asia and further afield. © 2018 Springer Nature Limited
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    Research in art and archaeology: capabilities and investigations at the Australian Synchrotron
    (Taylor & Francis, 2019-11-26) Brand, HEA; Howard, DL; Huntley, J; Kappen, P; Masimenko, A; Paterson, DJ; Puskar, L; Tobin, MJ
    In the Australian Synchrotron's short history, we have made some important advances in instruments and capabilities that can be employed to study art and archaeology. In this article, we describe the capabilities at the Australian Synchrotron that are well-suited to investigating art, archaeology, and cultural heritage. We also present some case studies that demonstrate the breadth and impact of science that has been performed by researchers using these capabilities. Synchrotron radiation has many advantages that make it ideally suited to investigating art, archaeology and cultural heritage. The broad spectrum of radiation that can be employed and, in particular, the penetrating nature of the radiation at hard X-ray energies give the ability to conduct 3D reconstruction with tomography. In many cases, the techniques can be non-destructive and performed in situ. The intense infrared radiation allows infrared microscopy at diffraction-limited resolution and the recently developed attenuated total internal reflection mode can probe the surface of very delicate samples. In the following, we describe the relevant beamlines, their capabilities, and then illustrate with some key examples of research, from paleobotany to the investigation of paintings. © 2019 Informa UK Limited