Art and megafauna in the Top End of the Northern Territory, Australia: illusion or reality

Across the world megafauna have long fascinated artists and scientists alike. Megafauna extinctions have been a source of argument for many years and the overlap between them and humans have been at the center of the debate of whether it was the human invasion of their territory caused their extinction. Artistic representation of megafauna species and the temporal overlap between the arrival of modern humans and ongoing survival of the species is important. Artistic representation of extinct species in art form, is, therefore, a key to understanding that overlap and the time it spans. Ancient rock art in the Northern Territory may provide a key for knowing mor about these issues in Australia. Here we present some evidence for that overlap and of the type of megafauna species that existed when human began artistic representation on rock panels in Australia's largest National Park.