Abstract
A DISCUSSION of the origin of certain alleged rock-engravings at Mersey Bluff, Devonport, Tasmania, appears in the Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania for 1931. In its general bearing the paper is of considerable interest to archæologists and students of primitive art. Mr. A. L. Meston, who argues for the authenticity of the carvings, has examined and describes a number of them. He claims that he has identified representations of fish, coiled snakes, a bird's head, Haliotis shells, cup-and-rings, and concentric circles. The carvings are on horizontal surfaces of a hard diabase, and are not scratched but are incised, as if by a hard implement, such as a quartzite tool, impelled by a hammer. The existence of Tasmanian aboriginal carvings and drawings has been doubted, notably by the late H. Ling Roth; but Mr. Meston states that these examples have been accepted by those acquainted with primitive rock-carvings elsewhere. The case against the authenticity of these carvings is taken up by Mr. E. O. G. Scott, of the Queen Victoria Museum, Launceston, who has made an extensive and detailed report on the subject to the Museum Committee. A brief outline of his arguments appears in the Proceedings, pending decision as to publication in full. His conclusion is that the 75 rock-markings claimed by Mr. Meston to be carvings are not of aboriginal origin, but are items in. an extensive series of natural erosions which have in general occurred along lines of inherent pneumatological weakness in the Mesozoic region. He also suggests that rook-lichens have played a not unimportant part in the process of erosion of the grooves, and in some instances may have initiated them.
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Tasmanian Rock Carvings. Nature 130, 840–841 (1932). https://doi.org/10.1038/130840d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/130840d0