Gwion Gwion rock paintings found in the north-west Kimberley region of Western Australia

An art gallery 60,000 years long

Aboriginal Australian rock art is the longest continuously practiced artistic tradition on Earth.

The World’s Longest Art Tradition: Aboriginal Rock Art

A yellow handprint painted on a textured rock surface, captured outdoors.

Why paint the rocks?

Paintings served in "magic", to boost animal numbers for hunting, and for amusement—across hundreds of thousands of sites.

The World’s Longest Art Tradition: Aboriginal Rock Art