IELTS Listening · Cam 8

Test 4 Part 4

Good morning, everyone. I've been invited to talk about my research project into Australian Aboriginal rock paintings.

Level: B2 · 80 sentences

Transcript

  1. Good morning, everyone.
  2. I've been invited to talk about my research project into Australian Aboriginal rock paintings.
  3. The Australian Aborigines have recorded both real and symbolic images of their time
  4. On rock walls for many thousands of years.
  5. Throughout the long history of this tradition,
  6. New images have appeared and new painting styles have developed.
  7. And these characteristics can be used to categorise the different artistic styles.
  8. Among these are what we call the dynamic,
  9. Yam and modern styles of painting.
  10. One of the most significant characteristics of the different styles is the way
  11. That humans are depicted in the paintings.
  12. The more recent paintings show people in static poses,
  13. But the first human images to dominate rock art paintings over 8,000 8,000 years ago were full of movement.
  14. These paintings showed people hunting and cooking food, and
  15. So they were given the name dynamic to reflect this energy.
  16. It's quite amazing considering they were painted
  17. In such a simple stick-like form.
  18. In the Yam period, there was a movement away
  19. From stick figures to a more naturalistic shape.
  20. However, they didn't go as far as the modern style,
  21. Which is known as X-ray
  22. Because it actually makes a feature of the internal skeleton
  23. As well as the organs of animals and humans.
  24. The yam style of painting got its name from the fact
  25. That it featured much curvier figures
  26. That actually resemble the vegetable called the yam,
  27. Which is similar to a sweet potato.
  28. The modern paintings are interesting because they include paintings
  29. At the time of the first contact with European settlers.
  30. Aborigines managed to convey the idea of the settlers' clothing by simply painting the Europeans without any hands,
  31. Indicating the habit of standing with their hands in their pockets.
  32. Size is another characteristic.
  33. The more recent images tend to be life-size or even larger,
  34. But the dynamic figures are painted in miniature.
  35. Aboriginal rock art also records the environmental changes
  36. That occurred over thousands of years.
  37. For example, we know from the dynamic paintings
  38. That over 8,000 8,000 years ago,
  39. Aborigines would have rarely eaten fish and sea levels were much lower at this time.
  40. In fact...
  41. Fish didn't start to appear in paintings
  42. Until the Yam period, along with shells and other marine images.
  43. The paintings of the Yam tradition also suggest
  44. That, during this time, the Aborigines moved away from animals
  45. As their main food source and began including vegetables in their diet,
  46. As these feature prominently.
  47. Freshwater creatures didn't appear in the paintings
  48. Until the modern period from 4,000 4,000 years ago.
  49. So these paintings have already taught us a lot.
  50. But one image that has always intrigued us is known
  51. As the rainbow serpent.
  52. The rainbow serpent,
  53. Which is the focus of my most recent project,
  54. Gets its name from its snake or serpent-like body
  55. And it first appeared in the Yam period 4,000 4,000 to 6,000 6,000 years ago.
  56. Many believe it is a curious mixture of kangaroo, snake and crocodile.
  57. But we decided to study the rainbow serpent paintings to see
  58. If we could locate the animal
  59. That the very first painters based their image on.
  60. The Yam period coincided with the end of the last Ice Age.
  61. This brought about tremendous change in the environment,
  62. With the sea levels rising and creeping steadily inland.
  63. This flooded many familiar land features and also caused a great deal of disruption to traditional patterns of life,
  64. Hunting in particular.
  65. New shores were formed and totally different creatures would have washed up onto the shores.
  66. We studied 107 paintings of the rainbow serpent and found
  67. That the one creature
  68. That matches it most closely was the ribboned pipefish,
  69. Which is a type of seahorse.
  70. This sea creature would have been a totally unfamiliar sight
  71. In the inland regions where the image is found,
  72. And it may have been the inspiration behind the early paintings.
  73. So...
  74. At the end of the Ice Age there would have been enormous changes in animal and plant life.
  75. It's not surprising, then,
  76. That the Aborigines linked this abundance to the new creatures they witnessed.
  77. Even today, Aborigines see the rainbow serpent as a symbol of creation,
  78. Which is understandable given the increase
  79. In vegetation and the new life forms
  80. That featured when the image first appeared.