Murujuga: Dynamics of the Dreaming was an Australian Research
Council Linkage Project (LP140100393) administered by the Centre
for Rock Art Research and Management (CRAR+M) at the University
of Western Australia (UWA). This project involved Murujuga Aboriginal
Corporation (MAC) as collaborating organisation and Rio Tinto as the
partner organisation. Field-based research ran from 2014 to 2018. This
aimed to provide scientific evidence to protect and understand the
National Heritage-listed rock art and stone structures of Murujuga
(Burrup Peninsula) and Dampier Archipelago and provide new
evidence in support of the World Heritage nomination of this property.
Rio Tinto's involvement is founded on its conservation
agreement with the Commonwealth, which funds research into
the values of the National Heritage Listed Place. This support has
included the initial endowment of the Rio Tinto Chair of Rock Art
Studies at UWA as well as ongoing funding support through the
Rio Tinto UWA Memorandum of Understanding, which employs the
CRAR+M Database Manager, and funds the annual Murujuga rock
art field schools and capacity for research projects in the Pilbara
with other Pilbara communities.
In keeping with the goals of the CRAR+M monograph series, this
volume is data rich, with detailed information about the rock art,
stone structures and excavated sites researched by this project.
Throughout the project's fieldwork, the researchers met regularly
with the Murujuga Circle of Elders to update them on results and
to seek permissions for the next phase of fieldwork. All imagery
included in this monograph has been cleared for publication by
MAC. Additional imagery and educational content can be found
on the CRAR+M website (www.crarm.uwa.edu.au/m2), where
digital versions of individual chapters from this monograph can
also be accessed.
About the editors: Jo McDonald and Ken Mulvaney have
brought their considerable national experience and locally honed
expertise to combine their roles in the academy and industry,
to undertake the fieldwork and oversee the completion of the
documentation for this monograph.
