People are believed to have lived in the Uluru region for at least 30,000 years. The rock art is an important historical and scientific record of human occupation in this area. Carbon dating can only pick up the age of the rock and the materials used for the pigments, rather than the paintings themselves. Anangu rarely create new rock art now. However, they still use the old rock art and sand drawings (along with paintings on canvas) to teach creation stories and ensure the continuation of knowledge.