From rock art to digital image: Archaeology and art in Aboriginal Australia

This paper describes an early example of using culture to inform digital education at a remote Aboriginal community. It describes the context for the production of a multimedia education kit as part of the Barunga-Wugularr Community Archaeology Project. The approach to Indigenous education taken in this study is consistent with recent research that has promoted the value of multimedia in the preservation and promotion of cultural values. Brett’s research extends previous educational studies, however, through the manner in which the project incorporated Indigenous voice and the extent to which it was shaped by local Indigenous people. The CD-ROM, in particular, promotes and draws upon the traditional strengths of Indigenous knowledge systems and ways of knowing. Like images at rock art sites, it stimulates knowledge by using visual cues to stimulate oral histories. This education kit is now being used in the Barunga, Bulman, and Wugularr schools to promote knowledge of and pride in local Aboriginal cultural heritage. It is providing a culturally appropriate mechanism for Indigenous children from this region to construct knowledge about their lands, their culture, and their histories.