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| Stenciled crab, Photo Brady et. al., 2020, p. 7, Fig. 4-9 |
The creation of rock art images with pigment and stenciling is fairly common in panels of handprints. There are also instances in Australian rock art of images made by holding an object against the rock face and spraying paint around it. These are often images of boomerangs or throwing clubs. Now, a new type of stenciled image has been discovered in Australia. Small images of animals, boomerangs, and humans have been discovered at a rock shelter named Yilbilinji 1, in Limmen National Park in the southwest Gulf of Carpentaria region in northern Australia. "Traditionally owned by the Marra Aboriginal people, the site was documented by the research team in 2017 and instantly stood out as unique, according to the researchers from Flinders University and the Monash Indigenous Centre." (phys.org 2020)
The authors of the study described it in their published report. "In 2017, as part of an ongoing rock art recording project in northern Australia's south-west Gulf of Carpentaria, a unique and distinctive assemblage of miniature and small-scale stenciled motifs consisting of anthropomorphs, boomerangs, macropod tracks, and geometric and linear designs was recorded from the Yilbilnji rockshelter, traditionally owned by the Marra Aboriginal people, in Limmen National Park." (Brady et al. 2020:2)
Stenciled long-necked turtle, Photo Brady et. al., 2020, p. 7, Fig. 4-10.
The real question is what material and techniques were used to make the stencil. We traditionally think of stencils as particular shaped openings in a sheet of some material that paint can be applied through. This sort of stencil used on a rock face would show considerable edge bleed at rough spots on the edges of the image, yet these particular small motifs show generally sharp and clear edges. The assumption has to be that they used a flexible material that somehow adhered to the surface while paint was being applied.
As the authors described it - "Morphologically, most of the assemblage comprises motifs with well-rounded or curved edges. These attributes suggest that a malleable substance, such as wax, resin or clay, was used to sculpt the templates, and also to allow the creation of curved but also sharper edges and points, where required. . . . Additionally, with a malleable raw material, a shaped object can be placed flush against an uneven rock wall surface resulting in a more complete reproduction through stenciling. In addition, an adhesive, malleable material would not require support to hold it against the rock wall." (Brady et al. 2020:8-9)
The authors concluded that the malleable material in question was probably beeswax, commonly used by Aboriginal peoples for a large number of purposes. Procuring an actual sample of the native beeswax from Aboriginal sources they tested its efficacy. Small (miniature) shapes were replicated and used as stencils on a sandstone surface using kaolin mixed with water to a paint consistency and then flicked onto the surface from a brush. The beeswax was then removed leaving the negative images.
"In each case, the sculpted beeswax templates allowed for a direct or close replication of the original motifs. Both the sharply defined edges and the curving and angular shapes were easily reproduced in our experiment. The heating and shaping of the beeswax required minimal time or effort, and was an effective and expedient way to create miniature or small-scale stencil motifs on a sandstone rock surface. In addition, the variable rock surface, both smooth and rough, played no role in the model's ability to adhere, suggesting that this technique would be suitable in a variety of different contexts." (Brady et al. 2020:12)
Although no analysis of the rock surface for wax residue was attempted the authors hope to be able to conduct that study in the future. This interesting paper provides useful information Australian Aboriginal rock art as well as introducing a relatively unknown technique they used to create stenciled rock art. Perhaps other parts of the world should also be examined for traces of such techniques.
NOTE: Images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.
REFERENCES:
Brady, Liam M., John J. Bradley, Amanda Kearney and Daryl Wesley,
2020 A Rare Miniature and Small-Scale Stencil Assemblage from the Gulf of Carpentaria: Replication and Meaning in Australian Rock Art, Antiquity, https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2020.48
phys.org,
2020 Miniature
rock art expands horizons,
https://phys.org/news/2020-05-miniature-art-horizons.html
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