The archaeology of art: excavations at Maidenwell and Gatton Shelters, southeast Queensland

Abstract

This paper presents the results of excavations at Maidenwell and Gatton Shelters, two rock art sites in S.E. Queensland. The work was undertaken as part of a research project concerned with a major theme in Australian prehistory - the development of social and economic complexity in Aboriginal society (e.g. Lourandos 1983, 1985; Morwood 1984). As foci for a range of symbolic activities, Maidenwell and Gatton Shelters have the potential to yield evidence for changes in the nature and intensity of social interaction, particularly in the context of evidence for economic, technological and demographic change (cf. Conkey 1978, 1980; Gamble 1982, 1983).