Aboriginal Heritage Identification Guide
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Aboriginal Heritage Identification Guide Authorised and published by Parks Victoria acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Parks Victoria Victoria, and pays respect to their Elders past, present and Level 10, 535 Bourke Street, future, and their ongoing connection and responsibilities in Melbourne VIC 3000 caring for Country. Parks Victoria thanks Aboriginal Victoria and the following Registered Aboriginal Parties for their knowledge and assistance in developing this guide: © Parks Victoria 2019 Barengi Gadjin Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, This work, the Aboriginal Heritage Identification Guide, is Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation, You are free to re use the work under that licence, on the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation, condition that you credit Parks Victoria as author, indicate Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, if changes were made and comply with the other licence Martang Pty Ltd, Taungurung Clans Aboriginal Corporation, terms. The licence does not apply to any branding including Wathaurung Aboriginal Corporation, the Parks Victoria logo, Victorian Coat of Arms and the Wurundjeri Tribe Land and Compensation Victorian Government logo. Cultural Heritage Council Inc. and This document is intended for the use of Parks Victoria Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation. employees and other agencies, contractors and groups This guide was developed by Parks Victoria’s culture and working on Parks Victoria managed land. Every effort has heritage branch which included Barry Coombes, been made to ensure that the information in this document Chrystle Carr, Damien Jackson, John Clarke, is accurate. Parks Victoria does not guarantee that the Katherine Mullett, Leah Sheppard, Luke Johnson, publication is without flaw of any kind and therefore Rebecca Phillips and Wendy Luke. disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence that may arise from you relying on any information Photos © Parks Victoria. in the publication. Thank you to the following people for contributing images: Barry Coombes, Chrystle Carr, Jake Goodes, Luke Johnson, Trent Nelson and Wendy Luke. Overview 2 Aboriginal cultural heritage Tangible and intangible cultural heritage 2 Aboriginal Burials 4 How to use this guide 3 Aboriginal earth features 7 What to do if you find something 3 Aboriginal middens 11 Axe-grinding grooves 15 Culturally modified trees 19 Flaked stone tools 23 Grinding stones 27 Ground edge axes 29 Historic places 33 Quarry 35 Rock art 39 Stone arrangements and features 43 Contents 1 Overview 2 Aboriginal people have lived across Tangible and intangible cultural heritage Victoria for thousands of generations. Tangible Aboriginal cultural heritage relates to the physical, material evidence of Aboriginal occupation that exists across Australia and Sites where tangible and/or intangible Victoria, including over much of the Parks Victoria managed estate. cultural heritage exist are generally Examples of tangible Aboriginal cultural heritage can range from referred to as Aboriginal cultural heritage small moveable objects (such as stone artefacts), to large built places. These places can have social, structures (including ancient eel traps and stone houses, or post- contact structures such as mission stations). Aboriginal cultural spiritual, and ceremonial significance. heritage and places have important and unique heritage values. Contemporary Traditional Owners view Aboriginal heritage places and objects as important links to their Ancestors and their Country. Intangible cultural heritage relates to spiritual connections to Country and the land, to cultural stories and to past and present activities of cultural and social significance to Aboriginal people. These intangible elements are connected and interrelated to specific places, and in turn to tangible heritage. An Aboriginal place can have intangible heritage values if, for example, there is a particular ceremonial, cultural or spiritual story or events connected to a particular landscape or place on Country. Parks Victoria has developed strong How to use this guide What to do if you find something partnerships with Traditional Owners in The Aboriginal Heritage Identification All Aboriginal cultural heritage is protected Victoria, learning, understanding and Guide has been developed to allow for under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 acknowledging the long and fundamental greater awareness and care of Aboriginal (Vic.) (the Act). If you come across any relationship they have with their lands and cultural heritage inherent to the lands and Aboriginal cultural heritage, Section 24 waterways, or Country. Country is a source waterways that we manage. It is intended to of the Act requires that the discovery of of pride, kinship and historical connection give park managers an idea of the different Aboriginal cultural heritage places or objects that enables a cultural and spiritual bond kinds of Aboriginal cultural heritage that be reported to Aboriginal Victoria as soon between generations. It is fundamental to they may come across when working in as practicable. It is an offence under Section identity, and strength as a people. In order parks and reserves on Country, in order to 27 of the Act, to harm Aboriginal cultural to respect and acknowledge the meaning ensure this heritage is not lost for future heritage and under Section 28 to do an act and significance of these lands to Traditional generations. that harms or is likely to harm Aboriginal Owners, it is vital that the interactions of all cultural heritage. park managers with Country are informed, This guide is here to help with the basic and aim to enhance this connection. Some identification of Aboriginal cultural heritage, places on the parks estate are women’s only and what to do if you find something. It sites and others are men’s only sites; it is is alphabetically-structured with different important to respect these cultural customs. sections that include both tangible and intangible cultural heritage, and provides visual and/or verbal descriptions to help you. 3 Aboriginal Burials 4 Important: Never touch or disturb human or suspected Aboriginal Ancestral Remains. If you come across anything you believe to be an Aboriginal burial site, stop all work in the surrounding area immediately and protect the remains from any kind of disturbance. Report them to the Coroner - Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (1300 309 519). A forensic anthropologist will assess the report and contact the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council (VAHC) if the human remains are believed to be Aboriginal Ancestral Remains. The VAHC will assist in determining the next steps and the relevant Traditional Owners to be notified. Aboriginal Burials occur in many places Protecting Aboriginal Ancestral Remains and Burials on Country is challenging given the effects of climate change, erosion, human and landforms. The most common interference, and animal disturbance from introduced species, and burial places are: burrowing pests such as rabbits. Ancient Aboriginal cemeteries may be small, or spread over vast landscapes, containing many thousands • Sandy lunettes and alongside water of burials. (including prior streams and waterways) Aboriginal people were also often buried with important social, • Sand dunes near beaches spiritual, ceremonial and cultural items, such as stone tools, ochre, • Aboriginal middens shells, or in recent history, with coins and clay pipes. It is important to • In bushland note that these sacred items are to be treated with the same respect • Marked by, or found in trees or rock shelters. as the Remains themselves. • Fragments of bones may also be found exposed Ancestral Remains that have been exposed in eroded landforms can from eroding riverbanks, or dry and sandy places. appear as a group of bone fragments and possibly teeth. Ancestral Remains may also be bones found intact, or a complete skeleton of an individual person. Aboriginal Burials What to look for 5 Aboriginal Burials 6 Did you know? Aboriginal people in Victoria and across Australia are working tirelessly with Aboriginal Ancestral Remains were often museums, universities and government stolen from their burial sites by people who organisations to ensure that the remains considered themselves to be ‘collectors’ of their Ancestors are returned to Country and researchers of antiquities. Disturbingly, for burial in a respectful and culturally- Aboriginal Ancestral Remains were seen appropriate manner. The process of as research specimens or ‘curiosities’. It is repatriation can be long and has a huge unknown how many Aboriginal Ancestral emotional toll for all involved. Parks Victoria Remains have been stolen from Victoria or works in partnership with Traditional the rest of Australia, and sent to museums, Owners to return Aboriginal Ancestral universities or private collections around the Remains to Country on Parks Victoria world; however, it is not unreasonable to managed land and ensures their ongoing assume that the number of stolen remains is management and protection. in the many thousands. Hearth including burnt clay heat retainers Aboriginal earth features 7 Aboriginal earth features 8 What to look for Aboriginal earth features are the result Earth rings of Aboriginal people living in particular Earth rings can be found in open places and grassy slopes. Several earth rings exist in Sunbury, in Melbourne’s