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THE THYLACINE IN ART:
- ABORIGINAL ROCK ART -
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It is generally accepted that the first indigenous people reached the continent of Australia around 40,000 to 50,000 years ago.  The thylacine is a species that was well known to the Aboriginal people of Australia, as they co-existed with it for many thousands of years before it disappeared from the mainland.  Exactly when the mainland thylacine population died out has been a topic of considerable debate, with estimates ranging from a few thousand years, to the mid-1800s.  According to some observers, the thylacine may have persisted in certain areas of the mainland even in recent decades, and may possibly, improbable as it may seem, still be living there to this day.

This section of the museum is a gallery which displays many of the known examples of Aboriginal rock art (pictographs) depicting the thylacine, most of which are believed to date from before the change that took place in Aboriginal culture several thousand years ago.  Afterward, Aboriginal art reached a new complexity of design, and depictions of animals or human figures were frequently drawn in the distinctive "X-ray" style, with the internal organs and bone structures clearly visible.

While some of the animals in these pictographs are undoubtedly meant to represent the thylacine, this may not be the case with all.  Some may possibly illustrate other species of striped marsupials, such as the Banded hare wallaby (Lagostrophus fasciatus) or numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus).

Click on the thumbnails below to view the complete images with information.
go to: Image one - Gabarnmung Cave, Arnhem Land, NT go to: Image two - Ubirr, Kakadu National Park, NT go to: Image three - Angel Island, Dampier Archipelago, WA go to: Image four - Angel Island, Dampier Archipelago, WA
Gabarnmung Cave, Arnhem Land, NT Ubirr, Kakadu National Park, NT Angel Island, Dampier Archipelago, WA Angel Island, Dampier Archipelago, WA
go to: Image five - Arnhem Land, NT go to: Image six - Upper East Alligator River, Arnhem Land, NT go to: Image seven - Malgawo, Arnhem Land, NT go to: Image eight - Mt. Gilruth, Arnhem Land, NT
Arnhem Land, NT Upper East Alligator River, Arnhem Land, NT Malgawo, Arnhem Land, NT Mt. Gilruth, Arnhem Land, NT
go to: Image nine - Northern Territory go to: Image ten - Kakadu National Park, NT go to: Image eleven - Magarni, near Nabarlek, Arnhem Land, NT go to: Image twelve - unknown locality
Northern Territory Kakadu National Park, NT Magarni, near Nabarlek, Arnhem Land, NT unknown locality
go to: Image thirteen - Injalak Hill, Arnhem Land, NT go to: Image fourteen - Burrup Peninsula, WA go to: Image fifteen - Kimberley, WA go to: Image sixteen - Ubirr, Kakadu National Park, NT
Injalak Hill, Arnhem Land, NT Burrup Peninsula, WA Kimberley, WA Ubirr, Kakadu National Park, NT
go to: Image seventeen - Arnhem Land, NT go to: Image eighteen - Injalak Hill, Arnhem Land, NT go to: Image nineeen - Kakadu National Park, NT go to: Image twenty - Kakadu National Park, NT
Arnhem Land, NT Injalak Hill, Arnhem Land, NT Kakadu National Park, NT Kakadu National Park, NT
go to: Image twenty-one - Kakadu National Park, NT go to: Image twenty-two - Kakadu National Park, NT go to: Image twenty-three - unknown locality go to: Image twenty-four - Drysdale River, Kimberley, WA
Kakadu National Park, NT Kakadu National Park, NT unknown locality Drysdale River, Kimberley, WA
go to: Image twenty-five - Arnhem Land, NT go to: Image twenty-six - West Arnhem Land, NT go to: Image twenty-seven - Kakadu National Park, NT go to: Image twenty-eight - Kakadu National Park, NT
Arnhem Land, NT West Arnhem Land, NT Kakadu National Park, NT Kakadu National Park, NT
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return to the section's introduction forward to: Natural History Illustration

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Website copyright © C. Campbell's NATURAL WORLDS.
Photographs and other illustrations (where indicated) are © C. Campbell's NATURAL WORLDS.
Other photos and images are © their respective owners.
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