Archaeology of rock art at Dalakngalarr 1, central-west Arnhem Land

Introduction
In 2011, we began researching the subsurface archaeology, geomorphology and rock art of Dalakngalarr 1, a moderately sized rockshelter on top of the central-western Arnhem Land plateau in Jawoyn Country. Here, four lines of evidence give relative or absolute ages for rock art:
1. Archaeological excavations adjacent to a boulder that contains a painting of a red macropod reveal when that boulder attained its present position, so the red macropod must have been painted sometime afterwards.
2. Paintings of axe/hoes with metal heads indicate that they were painted during the European contact period. A nearby group of X-ray images are painted in comparable pigments, suggesting that they are contemporaneous with the axe/hoes.
3. Geomorphological evidence suggests that parts of the site’s ceiling collapsed at datable times in the past, indicating that the art on that roof must post-date the roof collapse.
4. Direct accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates on beeswax art.