Palau's Petroglyphs: Archaeology, Oral History, and Iconography
Liston, J.; Rieth, Timothy M. (2010). "Palau's Petroglyphs: Archaeology, Oral History, and Iconography". Journal of the Polynesian Society. 119 (4): 401. doi:10.2307/23044947. ISSN 0032-4000.
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Abstract: To infer the cultural significance of the newly documented Obakelderaol petroglyphs, the rock art was placed in its spatial and temporal context by examining associated site type, considering oral narratives and comparing the stylistic affinities of traditional Palauan iconography. The Obakelderaol motifs have no apparent relationship with the potentially early Rock Island pictographs but can be linked to the elaborate narratives painted on the chiefly meeting houses of the later Stonework Era. This link is found in the triangular design adopted from the likely long-standing tradition of tattoo. Identification of female status and wealth may have been transposed from body art to logukl and then petroglyphs via the inverted V-shaped tattoo design applied to the mons Veneris and female genitalia. This reading of the petroglyph motifs as symbolising headless anthropomorphic figures and a highly regarded female, and the setting on an interior hill near the boundary of two traditional village areas is in agreement with the oral narratives and traditions accompanying the rock art. Despite the petroglyphs’iconic and symbolic or narrative relationship with the Stonework Era, there remains the possibility that the motifs were pecked into the rock long before the middle of the last millennium. As with other enduring artwork, the pictograph’s cultural significance or meaning could have evolved with society’s changing historical context. The decay of Palau’s ancient wooden carvings, weavings and paintings leaves few art forms to compare for stylistic affinities. As additional pictographs and petroglyphs are found the interpretations suggested here can be re-examined and refined.
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MAG: 2200322396 CorpusID: 55437905 OpenAlex: W2200322396
