The Gwion Gwion rock paintings, also called Kiro Kiro, Kujon, or Bradshaw rock art, are one of the two major types of rock art found in the north-west Kimberley region of Western Australia. Some traditional owners have shared their own explanations for the meaning of the images. However, experts disagree about who created the art and how old it is. A study from 2020 suggests that most of the human-like figures were painted about 12,000 years ago. This conclusion was based on the analysis of wasps' nests that were painted over. These questions have been discussed since the art was first seen and recorded in 1891 by a farmer named Joseph Bradshaw, after whom the art was named until recent years. Because the Kimberley region is home to many different traditional owners, the rock art is known by many names in local languages. The most common names are Gwion Gwion or Kiro Kiro/Giro Giro. The art mainly shows human figures decorated with items such as bags, tassels, and headdresses.
Gwion Gwion art
Amateur archaeologist Grahame Walsh began work in 1977 and continued to record and locate new sites until his death in 2007. His work created a database containing 1.5 million rock art images and recordings of 1,500 new rock art sites. By studying how paintings overlap and their styles, Walsh developed a timeline showing that Gwion Gwion art appears early in the Kimberley rock art sequence. He suggested that this art dates to a time before the Pleistocene. Many ancient rock paintings have kept their bright colors because bacteria and fungi, such as the black fungus Chaetothyriales, have grown on them. The pigments used may have started a long-term relationship between these fungi and red bacteria.
Based on the style of the paintings, Walsh identified two main types of Gwion art, which he named "Tassel" and "Sash" after the clothing features. He also found two variations, called "Elegant Action figures" and "Clothes Peg figures."
The Gwion Gwion paintings are found in unique locations and differ from the Wandjina tradition. While they are more common in the west and central Kimberley, examples have also been found in scattered areas in the east, such as the Napier Ranges and near the eastern edge of the Kimberley. These paintings are usually found in rock shelters with vertical surfaces, not on ceilings. Unlike Wandjina art, which is limited to a few sites, Gwion Gwion art is often found in shallow shelters with uneven floors.
The Gwion Gwion paintings mostly show human figures that appear to be floating or moving, such as running, hunting, or dancing. Gender is rarely shown, but muscles in the arms, shoulders, and stomach are often clearly drawn. Recent discoveries suggest that figures are facing into the rock, a perspective that was previously overlooked. This view helps clarify that features once thought to be stomachs are actually on the back of the figures. The figures are also decorated with items like belts, headdresses, and bags, and sometimes show tools like boomerangs and wands. Most paintings are purple-red, mulberry, or red to yellow-brown, though some have rare yellow and white colors. The height of the figures varies, with most between 40 and 50 centimeters (16 to 20 inches) and some as tall as 2 meters (6 feet 7 inches).
The Gwion Gwion art is highly advanced in both technique and style. Studies show that artists often painted outlines first, then filled them in. Engraving on the rock sometimes followed these outlines, possibly as a sketch. Some faces are detailed enough to look like portraits. Fine details, such as hair strands as thin as 1–2 millimeters (0.039–0.079 inches), suggest the use of feather quills. No evidence of corrections or changes during painting has been found, but some images show signs of restoration. In a study of 66 panels, about 9% of the images were damaged, either by scratches, stones, or hammering.
Except for "Elegant Action figures," which remain undamaged, most Gwion Gwion paintings show signs of vandalism. This may indicate ritual damage or defacing. Overlapping images, another form of vandalism, are common in the Kimberley.
Dating
The Gwion Gwion paintings are not the oldest artworks in the region. Earlier art includes simple animal drawings that are estimated to be up to 40,000 years old. The Gwion Gwion paintings are different from these older artworks and appeared after the most recent Pleistocene glacial maximum, which occurred between 26,500 and 20,000 years ago.
Since the mid-1990s, scientists have used methods like accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) to determine the ages of the Gwion Gwion paintings. OSL was used when mud wasp nests were found over paintings, and it provides a minimum age rather than the exact age of the painting. These methods have shown some differences in the dates compared to earlier theories. For example, OSL results from a wasp nest covering a tassel Gwion Gwion figure suggest the painting is at least 17,500 ± 1,800 years old. Most scientists agree that the Gwion Gwion artistic style ended about 5,000 years ago. If these dates are correct, it suggests the Gwion Gwion tradition lasted for thousands of years. A scientist named Alan Watchman believes the red paint on a tasselled Gwion Gwion image near the Drysdale River is about 3,000 years old. AMS results from paint layers on another figure show it is 3,880 years old, placing the Gwion Gwion art at the same time as, but not older than, Wanjina art. Around 15,000 years ago, Aboriginal people in the Kimberleys began using stone points instead of multi-barbed spears, but this change is not shown in the Gwion Gwion paintings, which still depict multi-barbed spears.
In 2008, a rock painting of what is believed to be a Thylacoleo was found on the north-western coast of the Kimberley. This was only the second time Indigenous Australians painted a large extinct animal. The image has a "clothes peg" Gwion Gwion figure over the animal’s chest and a "tassel" Gwion Gwion figure across its arm. In 2009, another image was found showing a Thylacoleo interacting with an "elegant action" Gwion Gwion figure, who is shown using a multi-barbed spear. This second image is smaller and less detailed than the 2008 painting, but it likely depicts a Thylacoleo, as supported by scientists who studied it. Since the Thylacoleo is believed to have gone extinct 45,000–46,000 years ago, this suggests the Gwion Gwion art may be about the same age. However, a scientist named Kim Akerman believes the Thylacoleo might have survived longer in wetter areas of Australia and suggests the paintings could be 15,000 to 22,000 years old.
New dating methods may help scientists better understand the age of the Gwion Gwion paintings. A scientist named Jack Pettigrew has proposed using DNA sequencing from microorganisms that have replaced the pigment in some paintings to determine their age.
Indigenous knowledge
Research about Aboriginal knowledge has grown more in recent years. This is mainly seen in the use of Aboriginal names for paintings, which show the languages spoken in the areas where the paintings are found. For example, the Ngarinyin name for the art is Gwion Gwion. Other names include giro giro, used by Aboriginal people in the Napier, Broome Bay, and Prince Regent River areas. Australian rock art researcher David Welch explains that these words are likely different ways of saying Kujon, the name of a bird in a creation story first heard by Schultz in 1938. Aboriginal people are now more willing to share stories about the images with foreigners. These stories often describe spirits who created dances still performed today, and the clothing in the paintings, such as headdresses, boomerangs, and string, matches the dance outfits. Bradshaws (Gwion Gwion) are also shown in modern artworks sold in the Kimberley region. One well-known Gwion Gwion artist is Kevin Waina.
Colonial discovery and study
Rock art in the Kimberley region was first recorded by George Grey, a colonial explorer and future governor of South Australia, in 1838. This art is now called Wandjina style art.
In 1891, Joseph Bradshaw, a pastoralist searching for land in the remote Roe River area, discovered a unique type of rock art on a sandstone escarpment. Bradshaw noticed that this style was different from the Wandjina style. Later, he spoke about the art at a meeting of the Victorian branch of the Royal Geographical Society. He described the fine details, the colors like brown, yellow, and pale blue, and compared the art’s beauty to that of Ancient Egypt.
In 1936, American archaeologist Daniel Sutherland Davidson briefly mentioned the figures in a survey of Australian rock art he planned to publish. Davidson noted that Bradshaw’s encounter with the art was short and did not include Aboriginal interpretations. He also said Bradshaw’s sketches might be inaccurate due to a European perspective. At the time, few people believed the art was real, and books or articles about it were not published until the 1950s. Later, when the original mural was found again after more than 100 years, it showed Bradshaw’s sketches were accurate, and Davidson’s criticism was incorrect. As interest in Aboriginal culture grew, researchers began studying the coastal area of the Kimberley. However, attention to the Gwion Gwion art was not consistent. Some researchers who saw the Gwion-type paintings during the 1938 Frobenius Institute expedition noted that Aboriginal people did not show much interest in them, though they recognized the paintings as depictions of bush spirits or D’imi.
An Aboriginal guide explained the creation of the Gwion Gwion art:
"Long ago, a black bird named Kujon painted on the rocks. He struck his bill against the stones until they bled, and with the blood, he painted. He painted only human-shaped figures, which probably represent spirits."
Anthropologist Robert Layton reported that researchers like Ian Crawford (1969) and Patricia Vinnicombe (1980s) heard similar stories about the Gwion-type art. Since 1980, more organized efforts have been made to find more Gwion Gwion rock art sites in the Kimberley.
The fossil record from the last glacial maximum shows that the Kimberley region was first occupied about 40,000 years ago. At that time, the area had open tropical forests and woodlands. Around 10,000 years ago, temperatures dropped, and stronger winds began the ice-age. During the coldest time, 25,000 to 15,000 years ago, sea levels were 140 meters lower than today, and the coastline extended 400 kilometers north-west. Australia was connected to New Guinea, and the Kimberley was separated from southeast Asia by a strait about 90 kilometers wide. Rainfall dropped by 40% to 50%, and lower carbon dioxide levels meant plants needed twice as much water to grow. The Kimberley and nearby Sahul Shelf were covered by grasslands, while woodlands and semi-arid scrub covered the area connecting New Guinea to Australia. Southeast of the Kimberley, from the Gulf of Carpentaria to northern Tasmania, the land was covered by deserts and sand dunes. Less than 15% of Australia had trees, and most vegetation in coastal areas was semi-arid savannah. Tasmania had cold steppe and alpine grasslands, with snow pines at lower altitudes. Evidence suggests Aboriginal populations may have declined during this time, but some areas, called "refugia," supported both vegetation and people. When the ice-age ended, the Kimberley had a tropical monsoon climate until a major El Niño–Southern Oscillation event in the mid-Holocene caused summer monsoon rains to weaken or stop for about 1,500 years.
The change in artistic styles from Gwion Gwion to Wandjina is linked to a severe drought after the wet season collapsed 5,500 years ago. Gwion Gwion art ended around this time, possibly within 500 years. Wandjina art, which shows cloud and rain spirits, began 3,800 to 4,000 years ago, coinciding with the end of the "mega-drought" and the return of rain. Hamish McGowan, the lead author of a research paper, suggested further study on the cultural changes and the possibility that another group replaced the Gwion Gwion artists. Peter Veth, a professor at the University of Western Australia, criticized the paper for claiming that climate and art style changes indicate a cultural collapse. He argued that the connection is a coincidence, as there is no evidence of a break in occupation in the Kimberley, and similar stylistic changes have occurred elsewhere in Australia. He also noted that no linguistic evidence supports the migration of a new ethnic group into the area.
Controversies
Research about Gwion Gwion art is controversial, and there is no agreement among experts. Much of the debate focuses on Walsh's ideas about when the art was made, who created it, and whether Aboriginal people are its descendants. His views caused criticism in the 1990s because they could weaken claims by Aboriginal people about land ownership in the Kimberley region. Disagreements about the art's age and whether non-Indigenous people made it have made Gwion Gwion rock art one of the most debated topics in Australian archaeology.
Walsh believed the art was created during a time he called the Erudite Epoch, which he said happened before Aboriginal people arrived in Australia. He thought the artists might have come from Indonesia and were later replaced by ancestors of modern Aboriginal people. He based this on the complexity of the Gwion Gwion art compared to later styles like the Wandjina paintings in the Kimberley region.
Some media reports have highlighted Walsh's claims about mysterious groups. Pettigrew suggested the Gwion Gwion paintings show people with "peppercorn curls" and small size, similar to the San people of Africa. He proposed that African people might have traveled to Australia around 70,000 years ago after a major volcanic eruption, using reed boats and baobab fruit for food. However, most Australian archaeologists disagree, believing the art was made by Aboriginal people. Dr. Andrée Rosenfeld argued that the art's style matches modern Aboriginal art, not foreign styles. The Australian Archaeological Association stated, "No evidence shows that Australia was first settled by anyone other than ancestors of today's Aboriginal people," and noted that such theories promote harmful stereotypes.
Aboriginal people criticized Walsh for not respecting their cultural explanations of the art. In 1969, an Aboriginal elder told Crawford that the Gwion Gwion paintings were "rubbish," a term Walsh later used to support his claim that Aboriginal people did not create them. In local Indigenous English, "rubbish" can describe someone too old or young to be active in their culture or refer to something harmless, like non-venomous snakes.
Most scholars believe Aboriginal people created the Gwion Gwion art. Michael Barry's analysis found no connection between the art's style and overseas prehistoric art. Instead, he noted similarities with art from other parts of Australia, like Arnhem Land. Some non-experts still suggest the art has foreign origins, but these ideas are not widely accepted.
Tassel and Sash figures in the art often appear to be dancing or acting in ways that may represent spiritual ceremonies or creation rituals. Michaelson et al. noted that eucalyptus leaves, which can be used as a hallucinogen, are often shown with these figures, suggesting they might have been used in rituals.
Michaelson et al. also referenced A. P. Elkin, who compared Aboriginal and Tibetan shamanism and suggested shamanism may have originated in North Africa 50,000 years ago. He noted that Aboriginal women have historically performed shamanistic roles, which men later took over. This is supported by similar words for female shamans in many languages. Michaelson pointed out that older Gwion Gwion art shows Tassel figures with visible breasts, unlike later art that shows men leading ceremonies. Pettigrew linked some Gwion Gwion symbols to those used by the Sandawe people to describe hallucinogenic experiences, suggesting both cultures may have used psilocybin.
However, few researchers believe shamanism was part of Aboriginal culture. George Chaloupka, an expert on Aboriginal rock art, dismissed the idea, saying it is an outdated belief. Walsh rejected the idea of female shamans in Gwion Gwion culture, suggesting the prominent breasts in female images might be decorations, not signs of shamanism.
Since 2009, fire prevention efforts by Western Australian government agencies, including aerial firebombing and back burning, have damaged Gwion Gwion art. Archaeologist Lee Scott-Virtue found that up to 30% of the art has been destroyed, with over 5,000 of the 8,742 known examples affected.