Giant Rainbow Serpents Appeared in Aboriginal Rock Art During Colonial Upheaval

A six-meter Rainbow Serpent painted across the ceiling of an Australian rock shelter is among the striking examples of giant ancestral imagery documented in a new study of Aboriginal rock art. The painting, found at a site known as AW5 in Awunbarna—also called Mount Borradaile—in Arnhem Land, depicts a snake-like creature with a crocodile-style head, sharp teeth and a long tongue. Phys.org reported that it is one of the largest Rainbow Serpent paintings recorded in the region. The study, published in Australian Archaeology, examined rock art created during the 19th and 20th centuries, when European colonization was causing major disruption to Aboriginal communities. Researchers propose that artists responded by depicting powerful ancestral beings at an unusually large scale, reinforcing cultural traditions and ties to the land. Since 2018, archaeologist Paul Taçon and colleagues have worked with senior Amurdak Traditional Owner Charlie Mungulda to record 165 rock-art sites across Awunbarna. Their survey identified 29 Rainbow Serpent images at 21 locations—the largest concentration of such depictions reported anywhere, according to the study as described by Phys.org. The region also contains a giant human figure measuring more than two meters, the only known Australian depiction of a baleen whale, and paintings of large pythons, crocodiles and kangaroos. A stone arrangement stretching about 124 meters resembles the form of a Rainbow Serpent, with stones outlining a head, winding neck and body. Dating the paintings precisely is difficult. Many cannot be radiocarbon-dated, while the white pipe clay used for numerous serpent images can fade within a few centuries. However, the study’s authors say the evidence indicates that the works were made after European contact. Some powerful animals were painted over or beside images of European ships and firearms, a juxtaposition the study interprets as emphasizing the continuing importance of Aboriginal traditions. Phys.org reported that Awunbarna was an important meeting area for trade, ceremonies and social gatherings among different Aboriginal language groups. It was also among the first regions affected by the colonial buffalo-shooting industry in the late 1800s. The researchers interpret the giant paintings as part of a broader cultural response to upheaval, helping transmit knowledge and sustain Aboriginal living traditions.