The depiction of species in macropod track engravings at an Aboriginal art site in western New South Wales. In F.D. McCarthy, Commemorative Papers (Archaeology, Anthropology, Rock Art), ed. Jim Specht

Abstract

The research reported in this paper investigates variability in a motif type. The material used consisted of engraved macropod tracks from a Panaramitee style Aboriginal engraving site in western New South Wales. The analysis consisted of two experiments one on zoological specimens and the other on an archaeological assemblage. The zoological experiment investigated macropodid taxonomy on the basis of pes morphology, while the archaeological experiment searched for patterning within the engraved macropod track assemblage. Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis were the statistical methods employed. A major proportion of the variability observed within the track engravings was explained in terms of macropod species differentiation. McDoNALD, J., 1993. The depiction of species in macropod track engravings at an Aboriginal art site in western New South Wales. Records of the Australian Museum, Supplement 17: 105-115. 105 This paper is a summary of research (McDonald, 1982) undertaken at an extensive Panaramitee style site with well over 20,000 individual engraved motifs (Clegg, 1981, 1987). The main aim of this research was to identify variability within a motif class (the macropod track) and to investigate possible causes for that