The IFRAO was formed in Darwin, Australia on 3 September 1988, during the first major international academic conference dedicated entirely to the study of prehistoric rock art.
As a result, the discipline experienced a great diversity of research approaches and terminology, reflected in a multitude of idiosyncratic constructs, sequences, chronologies, names and definitions.
IFRAO has been particularly effective in the area of rock art protection and preservation, achieving sometimes spectacular successes, such as the electoral defeat of recalcitrant Portuguese governments in 1995 and 2002.
Subsequently IFRAO secured the preservation and return to Aborigines of the reputedly largest rock art gallery in the world, in the Dampier Archipelago of Western Australia, against bitter opposition from the State Government and 18 multinational companies.
Another of its greatest achievements to date has been its successful campaign of empowering traditional indigenous societies to secure the return of rock art sites into their care and possession.