Between the Murray and the sea Between the Murray and the sea: Aboriginal archaeology in southeastern Australia explores the Indigenous archaeology of Victoria, focusing on areas south and east of the Murray River. Between the Murray Looking at multiple sites from the region, David Frankel considers what the archaeological evidence reveals about Indigenous society, migration, and hunting techniques. He looks at how an understanding of the changing environment, combined with information drawn from 19th- and the sea century ethnohistory, can inform our interpretation of the archaeological record. In the process, he investigates the nature of archaeological evidence and explanation, and Aboriginal archaeology proposes approaches for future research. in southeastern Australia ‘A carefully crafted and impressively illustrated depiction of the economic and social lives of past Aboriginal peoples who lived in the diverse landscapes that existed between the Murray and the sea. This book will be valuable to both specialists and non-specialists alike, as it provides a foundation for thinking about the remarkable variety of ways Aboriginal foragers adapted to the lands of southeastern Australia.’ Peter Hiscock, Tom Austen Brown Professor of Australian Archaeology, the University of Sydney David Frankel is emeritus professor of archaeology at La Trobe University, Melbourne. David Frankel David Frankel ISBN: 978-1-74332-552-0 TOM AUSTEN BROWN STUDIES IN 9 781743 325520 AUSTRALASIAN ARCHAEOLOGY Between the Murray and the sea.indd 1 20/11/17 1:10 pm Between the Murray and the sea Tom Austen Brown Studies in Australasian Archaeology Peter Hiscock, Series Editor The Tom Austen Brown Studies in Australasian Archaeology series publishes new research on the archaeology of Australia and the adjacent regions. It aims to develop our understanding of Australasia’s human past, with particular focus on the archaeology of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people during both prehistoric and contact periods. Animal bones in Australian archaeology: a field guide to common native and introduced species Melanie Fillios and Natalie Blake Between the Murray and the sea: Aboriginal archaeology in southeastern Australia David Frankel Between the Murray and the sea Aboriginal archaeology in southeastern Australia David Frankel First published by Sydney University Press © David Frankel 2017 © Sydney University Press 2017 Reproduction and Communication for other purposes Except as permitted under the Act, no part of this edition may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or communicated in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All requests for reproduction or communication should be made to Sydney University Press at the address below: Sydney University Press Fisher Library F03 University of Sydney NSW 2006 AUSTRALIA [email protected] sydney.edu.au/sup ISBN 9781743325520 paperback ISBN 9781743325537 ebook ‘The 41st year of 1968’ by Les Murray (from Taller when prone) is reproduced by permission of the author, care of Margaret Connolly & Associates Pty Ltd. ‘The shellfish gene’ by Peter Porter (from Collected poems, vol. 2) is reproduced by permission of the author’s estate, care of Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd, 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN. ‘Bora ring’ by Judith Wright (from Collected poems) is reproduced by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Australia. Cover image: ‘Murray River’ by Chris Fithall, 2014. Licensed under Creative Commons, CC BY 2.0. Sourced from Flickr. Cover design by Miguel Yamin. Contents List of figures vii Acknowledgements xv Preface xvii Introduction: Jigsaws and the past xix 1 The first three quarters 1 2 Time and place at Gariwerd 17 3 Along the Victorian coast 37 4 Either side of longitude 141°E 61 5 Lands of Ngurunderi 79 6 The central Murray 99 7 Dry country and wet 123 8 About Budj Bim 137 9 Into the high country 165 10 Chains of connection 181 11 Approaching the present 199 12 Changes 223 Dates and a timeline 227 Further reading 229 Works cited 231 Index 251 v List of figures Figure I.1 Tourism Victoria’s ‘jigsaw’ logo emphasises diversity and integration. xx Figure I.2 Earliest dates available to Australian archaeologists over the last 50 years. xxi Figure I.3 Southeastern Australia. xxi Figure I.4 Two views of the South Gippsland Hills. xxv Figure 1.1 The changing shape of Australia as sea levels rose and fell over the last 30,000 years. 2 Figure 1.2 Land and vegetation at the height of the last Ice Age (left), and as the climate improved and sea levels rose. 3 Figure 1.3 Locations of the few archaeological sites more than 15,000 years old. 3 Figure 1.4 Looking west from the eroding dunes across Lake Mungo. 4 Figure 1.5 Box Gully, Lake Tyrrell, 2011. 5 Figure 1.6 Early sites at Keilor and Brimbank Park in the Maribyrnong valley. 7 Figure 1.7 Exposed sediments cut by the Maribyrnong River at Keilor. 8 Figure 1.8 Excavations in progress at Keilor, 1979. 8 Figure 1.9 Excavations during construction of the Eastlink Freeway at Bend Road, Keysborough. 11 Figure 1.10 New Guinea II cave. 13 Figure 1.11 Looking up the Buchan River. 14 Figure 1.12 Stone tools from the lower layers at Cloggs Cave. 14 Figure 2.1 Looking northeast over Halls Gap. 18 Figure 2.2 Gariwerd today: rugged topography and thick vegetation. 18 Figure 2.3 Gariwerd and surrounding areas. 19 Figure 2.4 Ngamadjidj shelter. 20 vii Between the Murray and the sea Figure 2.5 Billimina shelter during Victoria Archaeological Survey excavations, 1975. 21 Figure 2.6 Paintings on the back wall of Billimina shelter. 21 Figure 2.7 Looking across the valley toward Drual, in the exposed rocks on the right of the centre of the picture. 23 Figure 2.8 Drual rockshelter. 24 Figure 2.9 Mugadgadjin shelter. 25 Figure 2.10 Stone tools from Billimina and Drual. 26 Figure 2.11 Rock art in Gariwerd: red paintings, dry-pigment drawings and white paintings. 28 Figure 2.12 Exposed shores of Lake Wartook. 30 Figure 2.13 Small stone tools from the shores of Lake Wartook. 31 Figure 2.14 Gariwerd today and as it might have been 18,000 years ago, looking similar to the red centre. 33 Figure 3.1 Central and eastern coasts of Victoria. 38 Figure 3.2 Numbers of middens recorded along the coast of Victoria. 39 Figure 3.3 Number of dated middens on the Victorian coast. 40 Figure 3.4 Cliffs, beaches and rock platforms of the Otway coast at Moonlight Head. 41 Figure 3.5 Excavations in progress at Moonlight Head midden. 42 Figure 3.6 Stratigraphic section through the Moonlight Head midden showing layers of accumulated shells. 43 Figure 3.7 Relative proportions of different types of shellfish deposited during four periods at Moonlight Head. 44 Figure 3.8 Looking east over the Aire basin. 48 Figure 3.9 Location of Glen Aire II shelter and other sites in the vicinity. 49 Figure 3.10 A bone fish hook from east Gippsland. 52 Figure 3.11 Great Glennie Island. 53 Figure 3.12 Rhys Jones during excavations at Great Glennie cave. 54 Figure 3.13 Four routes of movements on the Mornington Peninsula. 57 Figure 3.14 Excavations during construction of the EastLink freeway at Bend Road, Keysborough. 58 Figure 3.15 Layout of a campsite as drawn for Alfred Howitt by Berak (William Barak). 59 Figure 4.1 Location of sites in South Australia and Victoria. 62 Figure 4.2 Ken Mulvaney at Koongine cave, 1985. 62 Figure 4.3 Large Gambieran flint scraper from Koongine Cave. 63 viii List of figures Figure 4.4 Entrance to Gran Gran cave. 64 Figure 4.5 Marks made on the sloping roof of Gran Gran cave by very long wooden wedges during flint mining. 64 Figure 4.6 Mining and art at Karlie-Ngoinpool Cave. 65 Figure 4.7 Excavations in progress at Wyrie Swamp, 1973. 66 Figure 4.8 Wooden boomerang and spear from Wyrie Swamp. 66 Figure 4.9 Koongine Cave during excavations in 1986. 68 Figure 4.10 Stratigraphy at Koongine Cave. Most of the deposit accumulated soon after 11,000 years ago. 68 Figure 4.11 Markings on the soft limestone wall of Koongine Cave. 70 Figure 4.12 Schematic diagram illustrating the changing place of Koongine Cave in relation to the sea and adjacent wetlands. 71 Figure 4.13 Karremarter cave at the top of the ridge overlooking the Piccaninnie Ponds and the sea. 75 Figure 4.14 Wendy Beck excavating at Karremarter, 1985. 75 Figure 4.15 Bridgewater caves. 77 Figure 4.16 A small shell midden in Discovery Bay. 77 Figure 5.1 Looking across the Coorong to the Younghusband Peninsula. 80 Figure 5.2 The Coorong, Kangaroo Island and the lower Murray. 82 Figure 5.3 Large middens in the Coorong. 83 Figure 5.4 Looking across Tartanga Island from above Ngaut Ngaut. 86 Figure 5.5 Ngaut Ngaut shelter. 86 Figure 5.6 Stratigraphic section of the deep excavations at Ngaut Ngaut. 88 Figure 5.7 Norman Tindale and Ron Lampert, South Australia, 1980. 91 Figure 5.8 Cape du Coeudic shelter. 93 Figure 5.9 Quartzite tools from Cape du Coeudic. 93 Figure 5.10 Looking across the Murray to Roonka. 95 Figure 6.1 The central Murray region. 100 Figure 6.2 A scarred tree near the Wakool River. 102 Figure 6.3 Size of scars on river red gum and box trees in the Barmah Forest. 103 Figure 6.4 Relative sizes of mounds in the Nyah and Barmah Forests. 105 Figure 6.5 Victoria Archaeological Survey excavations at mound DP/1. 106 Figure 6.6 A mound rising above Murray River floodwaters.