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Australia

Significant early cave paintings, executed in ochre, have been found in Kimberley and Kakadu, Australia. Ochre is not an organic material, so carbon dating of these pictures is often impossible. The oldest so far dated at 17,300 years is an ochre painting of a kangaroo in the Kimberley region, which was dated by carbon dating wasp nest material underlying and overlying the painting. Sometimes the approximate date, or at least, an epoch, can be surmised from the painting content, contextual artifacts, or organic material intentionally or inadvertently mixed with the inorganic ochre paint, including torch soot.

A red ochre painting, discovered at the centre of the Arnhem Land Plateau, depicts two emu -like birds with their necks outstretched. They have been identified by a palaeontologist as depicting the megafauna species Genyornis, giant birds thought to have become extinct more than 40,000 years ago; however, this evidence is inconclusive for dating. It may suggest that Genyornis became extinct at a later date than previously determined.

Hook Island in the Whitsunday Islands is also home to a number of cave paintings created by the seafaring Ngaro people.