The oldest rock paintings on Earth are in the Cape York peninsula of Australias tropical north Queensland. They were made by Ang-Gnarra Aborigines as long as 35,000 years ago, and were unknown to whites until the 1950s. The galleries are now part of the Jowalbinna Bush Camp, and in 2000 I explored them on a tour organized by The Adventure Company of Cairns.

Most of the pictures were blood red, finger-painted with hematite (powdered iron ore). The pigment had permanently bonded to the sandstone, to remain visible for millennia. ... (more)