Huts and stone arrangements at Hilary Creek, western Queensland: Recent fieldwork at an Australian Aboriginal site complex

This paper reports on an Aboriginal site complex, incorporating hut structures, ceremonial stone arrangements, an extensive surface artefact assemblage of lithics and mussel shell, and a silcrete quarry, located along Hilary Creek, a tributary of the Georgina River in western Queensland, Australia. At least two phases of occupation are indicated. The most recent huts have their collapsed organic superstructure still present, while those of a presumably earlier phase are distinguished as bare, circular patches of earth which are conspicuous amongst the ubiquitous gibber, with or without stone bases, and lacking any collapsed superstructure. Immediately adjacent to the huts and also a few hundred metres away are clusters of small stone arrangements, and about 2 km to the southwest, along the same creekline, is another series of larger, more substantial stone arrangements; these features speak to the importance of the general Hilary Creek area for ceremonial purposes. Radiocarbon dating reveals use of the Hilary Creek complex dates to at least 300 years ago; the absence of any European materials suggests it was likely not used, or only used very sporadically, after the 1870s when pastoralists arrived in the area, and when traditional lifeways were devastated by colonial violence.

Changing use of Lizard Island over the past 4000 years and implications for understanding Indigenous offshore island use on the Great Barrier Reef

Archaeological records documenting the timing and use of northern Great Barrier Reef offshore islands by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples throughout the Holocene are limited when compared to the central and southern extents of the region. Excavations on Lizard Island, located 33 km from Cape Flattery on the mainland, provide high resolution evidence for periodic, yet sustained offshore island use over the past 4000 years, with focused exploitation of diverse marine resources and manufacture of quartz artefacts. An increase in island use occurs from around 2250 years ago, at a time when a hiatus or reduction in offshore island occupation has been documented for other Great Barrier Reef islands, but concurrent with demographic expansion across Torres Strait to the north. Archaeological evidence from Lizard Island provides a previously undocumented occupation pattern associated with Great Barrier Reef late Holocene island use. We suggest this trajectory of Lizard Island occupation was underwritten by its place within the Coral Sea Cultural Interaction Sphere, which may highlight its significance both locally and regionally across this vast seascape.

The archaeology of the ‘Secret War’: The material evidence of conflict on the Queensland frontier, 1849–1901

Although the historical record relating to nineteenth century frontier conflict between Aboriginal groups and Europeans in Queensland has been clearly documented, there have been limited associated archaeological studies. As part of the Archaeology of the Queensland Native Mounted Police (NMP) project, this paper canvasses the physical imprint of frontier conflict across Queensland between 1849 and the early 1900s, focusing specifically on the activities and camp sites of the NMP, the paramilitary government-sanctioned force tasked with policing Aboriginal people to protect settler livelihoods. At least 148 NMP camps of varying duration once existed, and historical and archaeological investigations of these demonstrate some consistent patterning amongst them, as well as idiosyncrasies depending on individual locations and circumstances. All camps were positioned with primary regard to the availability of water and forage. Owing to their intended temporary nature and the frugality of the government, the surviving structural footprints of camps are generally limited. Buildings were typically timber slab and bark constructions with few permanent foundations and surviving architectural features are therefore rare, limited to elements such as ant bed flooring, remnant house or yard posts, stone lines demarcating pathways, and stone fireplaces. Architectural forms of spatial confinement, such as lockups or palisades, were absent from the camps themselves. The most distinctive features of NMP camps, and what allows them to be distinguished from the myriad pastoral sites of similar ages, are their artefact assemblages, especially the combined presence of gilt uniform buttons with the Victoria Regina insignia, knapped bottle glass, and certain ammunition-related objects.

Preliminary archaeological survey and remote-sensing of shell mounds at Kwokkunum, Albatross Bay, Cape York Peninsula, Australia

Shell mounds are a prominent part of the Cape York Peninsula archaeological record. A short period of fieldwork allowed initial assessment of their presence, size, and shape in the Kwokkunum region, Albatross Bay. Shell mounds found in this area vary in size with some examples amongst the largest found in the Cape York Peninsula. Comparison of terrestrial and airborne LiDAR data suggests that shell mounds in areas like Kwokkunum may be identified remotely where mound slopes exceed 5–10°. However, vegetation provides significant challenges for shell mound recording and vegetation on the mounds impacts on their form and preservation. Some of the challenges the largest mounds pose for investigation are reviewed.

The lost oasis: Archaeology of a ‘forgotten’ mikiri well in the Simpson Desert

This paper describes a previously unknown mikiri well in the Simpson dune field. This site was abandoned about 500-600 years ago and does not feature in ethnographic records for this region. We argue that its abandonment was most likely due to failure of the well caused by a fall in the local watertable. The Simpson Desert is one of the major sand-ridge deserts of the world, but current views of the chronology of human use of this vast dune field rest on only a handful of radiocarbon ages (n=12). The radiocarbon ages for this mikiri, and its surroundings, add to this limited dataset. We plot all available radiocarbon ages from archaeological sites in the dune field showing that occupation of this mikiri coincided with a widespread increase in use of the dune field during the last millennium, at about the time the Wangkanguru people in the dune field were becoming linguistically distinct from the Arabana to the west.

Frontier mystery: An unusual mound of kopi mourning caps on the eastern edge of the Simpson Desert

On the eastern edge of the Simpson dune field, an unusual find of 40–60 mourning caps in a single cluster, prompts us to raise issues about its interpretation. This region is known for violence along the colonial frontier, and this kopi site is only one to two days walk from the site of a known massacre of a ceremonial gathering of people at Kaliduwarry waterhole in about 1878. There is no direct evidence showing that this site coincides with colonial expansion in this region in the late 1870s, but the condition of these caps and their geomorphic context indicate that this site cannot be older than a few hundred years. If it dates to the pre-contact period in the 1800s, this kopi site must reflect a higher degree of social ranking and complexity than is usually assumed in the ethnography. Whether or not this remarkable site relates to the death of a single, high-ranked individual or multiple deaths on the colonial frontier in a single event, this cluster of mourning caps indicates that 40–60 people were in mourning simultaneously.

Results of archaeological surveys of the Pianamu cultural landscape, central Cape York Peninsula, 2014-2016

This paper presents preliminary results of archaeological investigation of the northern Cape York Peninsula highlands, the homelands of the Kuuku I’yu (northern Kaanju) people. Despite intensive and long-term research programs elsewhere in Cape York Peninsula, no previous archaeological work has been undertaken in this particular region. The aim of this research was to identify the location of archaeological places and artefacts throughout the Kaanju Ngaachi Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) and the broader Wenlock region. The preliminary research results outlined here include the recording of rock art, culturally modified trees, lithic material, pastoral sites and the remains of a Native Mounted Police camp. This study clearly indicates that the highlands of Cape York Peninsula have substantial research potential; however, further work is required to achieve a greater understanding of both physical and cultural landscapes.

Aboriginal marine subsistence foraging flexibility in a dynamic estuarine environment: The late development of Tin Can Inlet (southeast Queensland) middens revisited

Although the sea arrived in southeast Queensland around 8000 years ago, most estuarine middens date to the past 1000 years. An example is midden deposits dating to the past 400 years forming the upper levels of Sites 62 and 75b from Tin Can Inlet located immediately south of the Fraser Island (K’gari) World Heritage Area. Both sites were excavated and analysed in the 1980s. This paper revisits these results following a detailed re-analysis of midden materials and new insights on regional sea level changes. Taking an historical ecology approach, species-specific habitat requirements and associated substrate sediment dynamics help explain similarities and differences between the two midden shell assemblages. Environmental factors and the location of both sites on landforms that formed following sea level fall over the past 2000 years help explain why the basal levels of both sites are probably <1000–1500 years old. Documenting pre-2000-year-old Aboriginal use of Tin Can Inlet will need to target more elevated inland dune deposits (>5m ASL) fronting the mid-Holocene sea level highstand palaeoshoreline.

Deliberate selection of rocks in the construction of the Gummingurru Stone Arrangement Site Complex, Darling Downs, Queensland

This paper uses statistical analyses to examine the hypothesis that the creators of the Gummingurru Stone Arrangement Site Complex, southeast Queensland, deliberately selected rocks, based on size and shape, for the production of motifs at the site. As Gummingurru is an Aboriginal site, the literature that frames the research concerns Aboriginal cultural Law and worldviews. However, because the data are archaeological measurements, quantitative statistical methods are also employed. These quantitative results demonstrate deliberate selection of rocks occurred in the construction of four of the motifs at Gummingurru. We conclude that there are archaeological signatures of human behaviour in response to the requirements of cultural Laws with respect to the choice of raw materials, at least in stone arrangement sites.

Report on excavation of a shell mound site at Mandjungaar, western Cape York Peninsula

This short report presents results of excavation and analysis of a shell mound deposit at Mandjungaar, near Weipa, Cape York Peninsula. This study was initiated as a cultural heritage management project focused on a shell mound site damaged by unauthorised clearing of access tracks. This study included a small research component to establish a baseline understanding of longer-term use history of the Mandjungaar area at the request of Ndrua’angayth custodians. This included excavation and analysis of a test pit at the site. Results of the study are presented and contextualised in relation to previous research on the Weipa Peninsula in order to expand our understanding of the wider cultural history of the southern Weipa Peninsula. These results provide further support for the assertion that shell mound formation in the Albatross Bay region involved food production activities that were strategically focused on estuarine mud and sandflat ecosystems. In doing so, this dataset provides additional support for the previously proposed niche production model of shell mound formation.