A thylacine painting on canvas made in 2017 by Kunwinjku artist Nicodemus Nayilibidj. Credit: Artist Nicodemus Nayilibidj. Photo: Paul SC Tacon.

The striped dog-like marsupial we know as the Tasmanian tiger has long been surrounded by mystery, and the subject of scientific curiosity. 

Now, newly discovered rock art depicting Tasmanian tigers and Tasmanian devils in northern Australia is providing fresh insights into their cultural importance and when they may have last roamed mainland Australia. 

The project, led by Griffith University Chair in Rock Art Research, Professor Paul Taçon, in partnership with Traditional Owners, documented 14 new images of the Tasmanian tiger or thylacine, as it also known, and two of the Tasmanian devils from two locations in northwest Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. 

Tasmanian devils and thylacines are widely believed to have disappeared from mainland Australia about 3,000 years ago. 

The newly documented artworks – some of which may be less than 1,000 years old – raise the possibility that these species survived longer in northern regions than previously thought. 

Injalak Hill Large Naturalistic style thylacine with sharp teeth. Credit: photo: Craig Banggar.

Culturally important

The paintings recorded were in various Aboriginal art styles, made with red, sometimes yellow ochre since about 15,000 years ago.  

The artists also used white pipe clay, which does not last as long or stain the rock as red ochre does, so most paintings with white were thought to be less than 1,000 years old. 

Professor Taçon said thylacines were more widespread and more culturally important across mainland Australia than Tasmanian devils, as only 25 Tasmanian devil images had been documented versus more than 160 thylacine depictions. 

Taçon said: “The artists who made the more recent paintings may have seen actual living thylacines and some of these creatures may have survived longer in Arnhem Land. 

“Alternatively, artists may have been inspired by earlier paintings. 

“Regardless, the thylacine remains culturally important today and some contemporary artists make paintings of Tasmanian tigers on bark, paper and canvas.  

“It even has a name: Djankerrk.” 

The earliest European drawing of a Tasmanian devil and a thylacine. Credit: Harris 1808, Figure 1, between pages 174 and 175. Public Domain.

Meaningful place

Co-author, Dr Andrea Jalandoni, from the Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, added there were paintings in the area that had been retouched, which showed the significance of these animals across generations. 

She said: “Thylacine rock art offers rare insight into how people related to this animal in the past. 

“These depictions show that the thylacine held a meaningful place in everyday life and local knowledge long before it went extinct.”  

In oral histories of the region, thylacines were pets of the Rainbow Serpent and lived in rock pools. They were often associated with bodies of water and swimming. 

Joey Nganjmirra, a Djalama man from Western Arnhem Land and co-author of the study, said the creatures were very much a part of his ancestors’ lives: “They used to tell stories about going hunting with thylacines.” 

Taçon said the team’s collaborative research showed the thylacine had contemporary relevance in the region, not just for scientists but also for traditional community members: “The thylacine lives on in western Arnhem Land not as a ghost from the past but as a meaningful creature that still has present-day significance.”

The study is published in Archaeology in Oceania.