Understanding Choice: Aboriginal Law and Decision-Making in the Selection of Rocks for a Stone Arrangement Elena L. Piotto A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of a Bachelor of Arts with Honours Degree in the School of Social Science, The University of Queensland October 2012 Declaration This thesis represents my original work undertaken for a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree at The University of Queensland, completed during 2012. The interpretations expressed in this thesis are my own unless otherwise indicated. This material has not been submitted either in whole or part, for a degree at this or any other university. Elena L. Piotto 26 October 2012 Supervisor’s Certificate of Approval I certify that I have read the final draft of this thesis and it is ready for submission in accordance with the thesis requirements as set out in the School of Social Science policy documents. Dr Anne Ross 26 October 2012 i ii Table of Contents page Chapter 1: Introduction Introduction…….……...……………………………………………………………..1 Problem definition…...........………………………………………………………….1 Rationale................................................................................................................….2 Aims…….….....….……….……………………………………………………….....4 Research design………….....…………………………………………………….…..5 Case study…….…........………………………………………………………………6 Limitations…....…..…...………………………………….………………………..…6 Thesis outline………....….………………………………………………………..….8 Chapter 2: Gummingurru Stone Arrangement Site and surrounding cultural landscape Introduction…………........……………………….......………………………........10 Gummingurru: The dot on the map…....……...………...…………………....….....10 Pre-colonial history…….….…..……….….....…...…………………………….…..11 Contact history of the site….….…….…..….…………………………………...…..12 Gummingurru today……….…..………….….………………………………...……13 Gummingurru’s cultural landscape….....…………………....…………………...….16 Conclusion…………....…....…...………….…….……………………………….....17 Chapter 3: Literature review Introduction……….….…..…...…….…….………………………………………...18 Land, law and raw materials……..........….…………………………………….......18 Raw material selection……..…...........…….…………………………………….....20 Discussion: The meaning of things….……...…...………………………………….22 Conclusion……………………….….……………………………………….………24 iii Chapter 4. Methodology and methods Introduction……………….…..…...…...……………………………………………25 Methodology…......….……………..….………………………………………….…26 Methods…………….…..…...…...……….………………....………………………27 Data collection……………...................…………………………………….27 Analysis methods…..…..............…..............…......…………………..…….28 Organisation of Gummingurru data for statistical analysis...........................34 Conclusion................................................................................................................35 Chapter 5: Data and analysis Introduction……….…...….........…..……………………………………………….36 Analysis…………….…….…..….….….….………………………………………..36 Overview…………..…..…......…….……..…………………………………36 Analysis of the Whole Site….………………..…………………………..….36 Analysis of case study motifs in comparison to the Whole Site….....…..….38 a. Catfish motif and Whole Site…………….…….........…………38 b. Large Starburst motif and Whole Site..….....…...……………..38 c. Initiation Ring motif and Whole Site…..……........…….……..39 d. Carpet Snake motif and Whole site..……......…….….…….….39 Analysis of individual motifs……….…..........…….…….…………………40 a. Catfish motif…….…..………...………….……..……………...40 b. Large Starburst motif…………..………..………..…………….42 c. Initiation Ring motif……………..….……...…………………..44 d. Carpet Snake motif……………….…..……..…………………..46 Summary and Conclusion……........……..…….….....……………………………..48 iv Chapter 6: Discussion and conclusion Introduction…………..……….…..……..…..………………………………………53 Discussion…….….….....….…..….…..……………………………………………..54 Future Research….…………..………..…………………………………………….56 Conclusion…………..…………..…..………………………………………………57 Appendices……..…………………...………………………………………..………………58 References...…………………………………………………………………..……………...71 v List of figures page Figure 1a Catfish body................................................................................................................7 Figure 1b Catfish whiskers.........................................................................................................7 Figure 2 Large Starburst.............................................................................................................7 Figure 3 Aerial view of the Initiation Ring.................................................................................7 Figure 4 Carpet Snake.................................................................................................................7 Figure 5 Map of Southeast Queensland, showing the location of Gummingurru.......................9 Figure 6 Map showing Gummingurru and other sites within the close cultural landscape…..11 Figure 7: Ross and Ulm’s recording of Gummingurru.............................................................14 Figure 8 Original recording of Gummingurru by Bartholomai and Breedan (1961)..............15 Figure 9 Map of Gummingurru showing fields of classification..............................................29 Figure 10 Map of Gummingurru showing location of selected motifs.....................................30 Figure 11 ArcGIS map of the Catfish motif.............................................................................31 Figure 12 ArcGIS map of the Large Starburst motif................................................................31 Figure 13 ArcGIS map of the Initiation Ring motif..................................................................33 Figure 14ArcGIS map of the Carpet Snake..............................................................................33 Figure 15 Histogram of the length of rocks occurring across the whole site at Gummingurru.... .…………………………………………………………………………………………….….37 Figure 16 Histogram of length:width ratio of rocks occurring across the whole site at Gummingurru…..……………....……………………………………………..………..……..37 Figure 17 Histogram of the length of rocks used in the Catfish motif......................................41 Figure 18 Histogram of the length:width ratio of rocks used in the Catfish motif...................41 Figure 19 Histogram of the length of rock used in the Large Starburst motif..........................43 Figure 20 Histogram of length:width ratio of rocks used in the Large Starburst motif............43 Figure 21 Histogram of length of rock used in the Initiation Ring motif.................................45 Figure 22 Histogram of length:width of rock used in the Initiation Ring motif.......................45 vi Figure 23 Histogram of length of rock used in the Carpet Snake motif...................................47 Figure 24 Histogram of length:width of rock used in the Carpet Snake motif.........................47 Figure 25 Length histogram of Whole Site...............................................................................49 Figure 26 Length histogram of Catfish motif...........................................................................49 Figure 27 Length histogram of Large Starburst motif..............................................................49 Figure 28 Length histogram of Initiation Ring motif...............................................................49 Figure 29 Length histogram of Carpet Snake motif.................................................................49 Figure 30 Length:width ratio histogram of Whole Site............................................................50 Figure 31 Length:width ratio histogram of Catfish motif.........................................................50 Figure 32 Length:width ratio histogram of Large Starburst motif............................................50 Figure 33 Length:width ratio histogram of Initiation Ring motif.............................................50 Figure 34 Length:width ratio histogram of Carpet Snake motif...............................................50 List of tables page Table 1 Length and length:width ratio ranges of motifs…...................................................…48 Table 2 ANOVA results for Length……………………………..……………………………51 Table 3 ANOVA results for Length:Width Ratio…………………………………………….51 vii Abstract This thesis examines the decision-making processes used in the creation of stone arrangement sites through an investigation of the archaeological record at the Gummingurru Aboriginal Stone Arrangement site, southeast Queensland. The hypothesis of this research is that the creators of stone arrangements deliberately selected certain rocks based on size and shape for the production of motifs. The aim is to determine the decision-making processes that may have occurred during the creation of the motifs that make up stone arrangement sites. To test my hypothesis I conducted a preliminary analysis on four of the motifs at Gummingurru. The thesis is set in a social constructivist methodology. As Gummingurru is an Aboriginal site, the theoretical literature that frames my research concerns Aboriginal cultural Law and Aboriginal worldviews. However, because my data are archaeological measurements, I have also used quantitative methods in the form of the statistics computer program SPSS (the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) version 20. Using this combined methodology of a constructivist paradigm and quantitative methods, I investigate whether the case study motifs at Gummingurru were created from rocks deliberately selected for size and shape. My results demonstrate that