The Hidden Message
Today, we went to the Fowler Museum of Cultural History where we saw the “aboriginal people” from Australia’s “art”, as 
the museum called it, but what it really was was maps. Them painting extravagant paintings were their form of cartography for a new location. They drew many different swirls, lines and dots that meant many different things on the map.
Swirls, lines, dots, and many different shapes was a sort of understood key for the maps. If you saw a swirl it means it is either a place to camp or a watering hole. Little E shaped drawings showed the resemblance of footsteps. The shape you live and the sand after you sit there is sort of a U shaped thing so they chose a U shape to resemble someone sitting there. They picked a spear looking shape to show a spear man keeping watch there.
T
hey painted beautiful maps that are still used to day by the “aboriginal people” in Australia. The beautiful pictures sometimes take up an entire wall and are quite detailed about things where they placed such as watering holes or snake tracks. They are quite mesmerizing to look at their vibrant colors and dazzling patterns. They were quite clever at creating symbols to depict certain things in certain areas.
Unfortunately, It was part of their culture to never let children are women see these detailed maps. On initiated man could view the maps. It is part of their culture to use ceremonial boards during their sacred ceremonies which they depicted on the map to make the maps sacred.
The “aboriginal people” from Australia were very clever and quite skilled at making art which was actually maps depicting terrain. The maps are now held for our viewing pleasure at the Fowler Museum of Cultural History.
http://www.gippsland.monash.edu.au/groups/discovery/kids/webquests/aiodq/image/aboriginal_art.jpg
http://www.arts.ucla.edu/slideshow/images/slide03.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australian_art