2nd stage projects
Change & Continuity: Chronology, archaeology and art in the North Kimberley, northwest Australia – North Kimberley Rock Art & Artefacts Project led by Prof. Mike Morwood, Professor of Archaeology (University of Wollongong) and Dr June Ross, a rock art archaeologist (University of New England).
This multi-disciplinary study documents and dates major turning points in the human occupation of the North Kimberley. The resulting database will be an invaluable research, conservation and management tool in an area with increasing tourist use, and will provide a means for predicting site distributions elsewhere in the region to minimise development impacts. In addition, it will enable three PhD candidates to complete their research degrees, and will help to create a pool of able young researchers experienced in and focused on the Kimberley. It will go some way towards establishing a critical mass of Kimberley scholars and a measure of generational succession.
The 2011 (2nd) field season of 6 weeks at three locations was completed in mid-August:
• Team included 4 PhD students, 3 MA students, 3 undergraduates & 3 Traditional Owners
• Rock art recording analysis (81 new sites)
• Uranium series dating of skins and crusts
• In situ geochemical analysis of pigment using PXRF (Portable X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy
• Excavation
• Shellfish analysis
• Procurement of raw material for stone tools
• Processes in stone tool production
• Remote sensing/mapping of the physical environment
• 3 film crews for documentaries on the ABC, French and German TV
100 Years of Climate Change -The late quaternary climate record of the Kimberley region of north western Australia led by Prof. Andy Gleadow (University of Melbourne) and Dr Karl-Heinz Wyrwoll (University of Western Australia).
2011 Field update: This project is now in the publication stage. One paper has been published (aboriginal burning practices and the summer monsoon) and distributed, three more are in preparation, and two more are planned. Additional field work has accessed a 40,000 year old speleotherm in the Napier Range and more work with speleotherms is planned for 2012, in conjunction with a colleague with NSF funding.
- http://www.agu.org/news/press/jhighlight_archives/2011/2011-06-23.shtml
- http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/06/did-australian-aborigines-change.html
In 2010 detailed analyses wereundertaken on a second speleotherm which will provide a continuous climatic record since the last glacial maximum about 20,000 years ago; and an unprecedented data set of 84 optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates have been received from samples selected from the Fitzroy River catchment (54 from Chinese laboratory and 30 from Melbourne University).
Through its palaeo-climatological work, KFA anticipates findings that will bear on contemporary climate change and its consequences, as well as developing a more detailed historical record. Research will illuminate how adverse shifts in the Kimberley environment, particularly those linked to climatic variations, triggered diverse cultural and migratory responses.
Life Ways of the First Australians − Ancient cave dwellings & rock art, Oscar Napier Ranges, led by Prof Sue O’Connor, professor of archaeology (Australian National University) and Prof. Jane Balme, associate professor of archaeology (University of Western Australia).
This project continues Prof. O'Connor's initial research at Carpenter Gap which revealed evidence of human occupancy dating back more than 40,000 years. It should determine whether there is other organic material for dating in the caves and rock shelters, and whether there is potential for further excavation. If, as expected, there is an abundance of well-preserved, ancient organic matter [e.g. ropes, baskets, and other artefact remnants] and further excavation is physically feasible, Professors O'Connor and Balme hope to establish habitation dates that may push the time horizons back beyond those currently accepted. Extensive consultation with Indigenous representatives is integral to the success of this project. The project is intended to enable four PhD students to complete their research degrees.
2011 Field update: The first four week field season commenced on 21 August with strong support from the Bunuba Gooniyandi people, and will include sampling of carbonate skins for U series dating by Max Aubert.
