This three-part article explores the many different and often conflicting issues related to Aboriginal rock art sites in Australia -- their significance to the people who painted them, their value for scientific study and emjoyment by tourists, and the options available for their protection and preservation. The first part deals with the preservation of Aboriginal culture, the second part with the preservation of rock paintings and engraved sites, while the last part deals with Aboriginal culture being imprisoned and stifled by the political state. -- AATA