title: The Ethnoarchaeology of Fibre Objects in Western Arnhem Land
Creators: name: Miller, Emily M
Publisher: name: Griffith University
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: fibre art
subject: Arnhem Land
subject: ethnoarchaeology

description: This thesis explores the connections between depictions of fibre objects in the rock art of western Arnhem Land, early museum collections, ethnographic photographs and contemporary art practice. Fibre is a much-forgotten aspect of rock art in western Arnhem Land as it has often been overlooked as secondary to things that have been assumed to be ‘men’s’ material culture such as spears, spearthrowers and boomerangs (e.g. Lewis, 1988). Depictions of fibre objects have not been included in stylistic or chronological analyses in the past in any meaningful way, despite appearing frequently in rock art assemblages. By examining results of a detailed survey of rock art from Djok Country in Kakadu National Park and comparing rock art images of fibre objects to old photographs and ethnographic collections, as well as discussing them with senior weavers who still make fibre objects, a complex picture of the significance of fibre in Aboriginal life at different points in time is developed. It was found that fibre objects have always played an important role in Aboriginal life but the way they are depicted and the types of fibre objects painted varies at different points within the rock art sequence. This most likely relates to the different types of fibre object in use at any given time. It also relates to the style of the art associated with the history of the apprenticeship system in art making, which sets the rules around how things are depicted, who can paint them and which things can be painted. Therefore, the depictions in the rock art also vary because of the ways in which artists decided to make fibre objects part of the scene. This includes the depictions of headdresses and pubic skirts in Dynamic Figure style art, where they play a role in signalling ritual identity. In the more recent rock art of the 1960s, the fibre objects highlight the continuation of depicting ceremony in rock art during the ongoing colonisation of Arnhem Land. Other depictions also demonstrate the role of fibre objects in the inside/outside knowledge (Taylor, 1996) system of western Arnhem Land art. An important aspect of this thesis is the discussion around fibre and gender roles. There is an assumption that fibre is ‘women’s business’; however, this is challenged on multiple fronts. Not only do assumptions around gender roles in pre-colonial Indigenous life need to be reassessed, but this thesis shows that the entanglement of fibre objects and all aspects of life for all people needs to be recognised by future researchers if they desire a comprehensive understanding of lifeways and cultural beliefs in western Arnhem Land. Overall, this study reveals that painting of a fibre object is not just a painting, but the meeting point of a complex set of cultural practices, apprenticeship systems and layers of knowledge. As outsiders—or people with limited amounts of knowledge—researchers often underestimate the importance of fibre objects, but this research shows that they are central to understanding all aspects of Indigenous life and belief.