Rock Art Research

Arguing for a lineage extending from (1) real tracks to (2) those represented in sanddrawn stories (where for narrative purposes they are combined with gesture-derived iconic designs) to (3) the making of more enduring images on rock surfaces, this paper pursues a possible genealogy for ‘tracks-and-lines’ (or ‘Panaramitee Tradition’) sites in Australia. Pedal sequencing as a means of depicting events is identified as an alternative to the familiar figure-based ‘scene’, and the narrative capacity of petroglyph tracks trails is discussed from the perspectives of motif iconicity, directionality, sequencing, and real-world contexts. By examining homologies that exist between sand-drawn and petroglyph motifs, and appealing to contemporary gesture (Kendon, Streeck), multimodal sound-sign-inscription (Green), and neuro-gesture studies (Rizzolatti, Arbib), this paper outlines an argument pointing to a protoscript repertoire of gesturally-derived iconic forms common to sand stories and tracks-andlines assemblages. The highlighted association of trails with so-called ‘geometrics’ (described here as ‘trace- or map-view icons’) has bearing on our understanding of both footprints and apparent non-figuratives as they are found in rock art around the world.