ASDST Rock Art Pre1750 Model: Predictive Likelihood of Aboriginal Rock Art Sites in NSW

The ASDST Rock Art Pre1750 Model is a raster GIS layer predicting the likelihood of Aboriginal rock art sites across New South Wales prior to European colonization. It was produced by the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment in 2020 at 50-meter resolution. Cell values range from 0 to 1000, indicating low to high relative likelihood.

Use Cases

• Assess landscape-scale heritage sensitivity for development planning based on predicted site likelihood.
• Prioritize field survey areas for rock art conservation based on the model's likelihood scores.
• Analyze the impact of landscape change by comparing pre-colonisation (p1750) and current (curr_) model versions.
• Evaluate model reliability for specific regions using the derived 'drvd_rel' layer based on environmental distance algorithms.

Strengths

• Provides a 50-meter resolution predictive surface covering the entire state of New South Wales.
• Uses a clear, standardized likelihood scale from 0 to 1000 for relative comparison across cells.
• Is part of a structured suite of models covering 10 distinct Aboriginal site feature types.
• Includes both pre-colonisation and current landscape scenarios for impact analysis.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The model predicts relative likelihood, not probability, which requires careful interpretation.

Provenance

Source

NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE), extending the Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System (AHIMS).

Collection Method

Derived via predictive modelling of recorded site features from AHIMS.

Time Range

Models pre-European colonization (pre-1750) and the current landscape (circa 2020).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-12 22:28:44.795594; freshness should be verified.

Geography

State of New South Wales, Australia.