Guía de Evaluación del Módulo Análisis derivativo de funciones

From a w estern p o in t of view, m ost V ictoria River rock paintings do n o t a p p e a r to be a rra n g e d into com posed scen es, b u t th e re are som e n o ta b le ex cep tio n s to th is . T here are, for exam ple, fishing a n d h u n tin g 'scen es' (Figures 45-47). M any p ain tin g s of b o th anim als and h u m a n s or hum an-like beings have a stiff pose; som e h u m a n figures express considerable m ovem ent, p articularly by th e positioning of th e ir lim bs (cf Plate 35 a n d Figure 48 w ith Plate 45 an d Figures 49, 50).

O th e r a s p e c ts of p ersp e ctiv e ca n v ary c o n sid erab ly from one figure to an o th er, or from one class of su b je ct m a tte r to another. B ecause th e re are c e rta in co n sisten cies in th e perspective u sed

to p o rtray p a rtic u la r types of anim als, and in th e way h u m a n or h u m a n -lik e fig u res are depicted, I will d is c u s s a n im a ls an d 'h u m an ' beings separately.

Animals

The p ersp ectiv e applied to V ictoria River p a in tin g s of an im als varies according to the p a rtic u la r su b ject m a tte r being portrayed. Some m otifs are highly conventionalised while o th e rs are su b je ct to g reater variability. For exam ple, crocodiles, tu rtle s an d lizards are in v ariab ly depicted a s th o u g h viewed from above (eg P lates 31, 44, F igures 17, 51) a s are alm ost all ec h id n a s (eg Plate 48, 51, Figure 51), th e exceptions being two exam ples from a gallery in th e W est B ain es River h e a d -w a te rs in N g arin m an c o u n try (Plate 30, Figure 14).

M am m als an d fish are always show n in profile (eg P lates 34, 37, 53 an d F igures 21, 28-31). Similarly, b ird s are u su a lly draw n in profile a s th o u g h ro o stin g or sta n d in g ra th e r th a n in flight (eg P lates 23, 51-52, F igures 2, 24, 32, 34, 36) although I have seen two exceptions (eg see Figure 10).

S n ak es are u su a lly depicted w ith the head show n as th o u g h seen from above an d th e body depicted am biguously in w h at could be sid e or p la n view (eg F ig u re s 27, 5 2 -5 4 ). A few s n a k e re p re se n ta tio n s are depicted as sp irals an d are therefore clearly in 'p la n ’ view perspective (eg Figure 55). A nim al-headed sn a k e s (R ainbow sn a k e s) m ay also be d ep icted in th is a m b ig u o u s perspective w here th e body could be viewed from eith er above or th e side w hile th e h e a d is in side view; som e have th e ir body depicted tightly coiled in 'concertina' fashion (eg F igures 56, 57). T here are re p o rts of R ainbow sn a k e d ep ictio n s in th e B ain es River h ea d -w a ters th a t are p ain ted as th o u g h the h ead is facing th e viewer (G raham e W alsh pers. comm.).

V ery few V ictoria R iver p a in tin g s show a n y k in d of in te rn a l an ato m ical feature. In W ardam an country, a t le a st two fish have th e ir b a c k b o n e d ep icted (Figure 58; see M ulvaney 1975: 273, plate 88). In th e V ictoria River valley proper, th e only p ain tin g s I

have seen w hich m ay have in tern al featu res indicated are a series of g o an n as a t a site in B ilinara country (see Plate 60, Figures 58, 59), an d two h u m a n figures, also in B ilinara country (Figure 49).

Humans

Of th e v ario u s m otifs in V ictoria River a rt, h u m a n figures exhibit th e g r e a te s t d iv e rsity in c o lo u r sc h e m e , d ra u g h tin g skill, p e rsp e c tiv e , e la b o ra tio n a n d form . H u m a n fig u res are m o st frequently depicted as th o u g h sta n d in g stiffly upright; som e seem to be depicted ru n n in g or dancing (eg Plate 45, F igures 22, 49, 50). D epictions of figures engaged in sex u al in te rc o u rse are also p re s e n t (eg Plate 61, Figures 60-62) a n d occasionally figures are depicted h u n tin g , fishing, or b ra n d ish in g w eapons (Plates 25, 36, 55, 62, Figures 45-47, 65).

The perspective applied to su c h figures ra n g e s from full frontal view to side view. Som e in c o rp o ra te b o th a s p e c ts to varying degrees, th a t is, th e y are p o rtray ed in ’tw isted ’ perspective (eg P lates 63, 64, F igures 44, 62-64). F igures m ay be very bulky or very th in (cf Figure 48 w ith Figure 26). The lim bs m ay be show n in alm ost every position norm ally attain ab le by h u m a n beings and so m etim es in p o sitio n s th a t are n o t (see Plate 45, Figure 25). H ands a n d feet, w here details of th e fingers or toes are provided, are tw isted tow ard th e viewer as th o u g h th e soles an d the palm s are visible (Plates 35, 36, 63, Figures 26, 41, 50). The n u m b e r of digits, w here show n, a n d th e p hysical p ro p o rtio n s of body an d lim bs, are variable.