Community Archaeology: Working Ancient Aboriginal Wetlands in Eastern Australia

This volume presents the results of an investigation of wetland heritage in eastern Australia, with important contributions to the archaeology of the Tasmanian Midlands and the New England Tablelands.

Community Archaeology presents the results of an investigation of wetland heritage in eastern Australia, with important contributions to the archaeology of the Tasmanian Midlands and the New England Tablelands. In this first substantial project in these bioregions since 1991, OSL and radiocarbon dating at lagoon sites provided dates going back to 8000 BP, significantly extending previous information. In both regions a range of stone artefact scatters were recorded adjacent to lagoons, suggesting associated ceremonial activities. Across the regions, new OSL dates were obtained for lunette formation. These were unexpectedly diverse, with OSL dates not clustered around the Last Glacial Maximum at 20k. With sediment particle sizes suggesting both wind and water deposition, quite individual local lunette depositional histories not closely related to global climates are indicated. The book also contributes to the important global field of community engagement and education. Unlike most projects where Aboriginal people are involved in commercial archaeology, this project focussed on research. Community Elders were research team partners during fieldwork and training. Work-integrated -learning, at University and on-country locations, proved very successful as a learning approach for young participants.

Introduction - Wendy Beck and Robert Haworth Chapter 1: Indigenous Participation and Aboriginal Education - Wendy Beck, Catherine Clarke, Judith Burns, Anne McConnell and Lagoons Aboriginal Reference Group Chapter 2: Connections-Aboriginal Participants' Reflections: A Photo Essay - Compiled and photographed by Catherine Clarke and Wendy Beck Chapter 3: Fieldwork, Sampling and Study Areas - Wendy Beck and Robert Haworth Chapter 4: Dating and Chronology - Elspeth Hayes, Richard Fullagar, Wendy Beck and Kevin Kiernan Chapter 5: Formation and development of upland lake-lunette systems in northern New South Wales, Australia, and their relation to climate, ecological change and human occupation - Robert Haworth, Kevin Kiernan, Anne McConnell Chapter 6: A Review of the Archaeological Record of Surface Sites, New England Bioregion - John Appleton and Wendy Beck Chapter 7: Lagoon Excavations: New England Tableland Bioregion - John Appleton and Wendy Beck Chapter 8: Silcrete Grinding Grooves in New England, NSW - Richard Fullagar, Elspeth Hayes, Nancy Vickery, John Appleton and Wendy Beck Chapter 9: Contrasting Lake Formation and Late-Glacial Aeolian Activity Between the Tasmanian Central Plateau and Adjacent Midlands Graben - Kevin Kiernan, Anne McConnell, Robert Haworth, Richard Fullagar and Elspeth Hayes Chapter 10: The Archaeology of Lagoons of the Tasmanian Midlands and Eastern Central Plateau and Its Role in Re-Interpreting Past Tasmanian Aboriginal Landscape Use and Meaning - Anne McConnell, Andry Sculthorpe and Kevin Kiernan Chapter 11: The Tasmanian and New England Research in a Global Setting - Wendy Beck and Robert Haworth Appendix A: Analyst Report for Radiocarbon Dating Appendix B: Luminescence Dating of Sediments from Wetland Sites in New England, New South Wales, and Tasmania, Australia Appendix C: Luminescence Dating of Sediments from New England and Tasmanian Wetland Sites Appendix D: New England Tablelands Sediment Profile Descriptions Appendix E: Mapping and Characterisation of Silcrete and Axe Grinding Grooves in the New England Region, NSW, Introduction – Wendy Beck and Robert Haworth Chapter 1: Indigenous Participation and Aboriginal Education – Wendy Beck, Catherine Clarke, Judith Burns, Anne McConnell and Lagoons Aboriginal Reference Group Chapter 2: Connections—Aboriginal Participants’ Reflections: A Photo Essay – Compiled and photographed by Catherine Clarke and Wendy Beck Chapter 3: Fieldwork, Sampling and Study Areas – Wendy Beck and Robert Haworth Chapter 4: Dating and Chronology – Elspeth Hayes, Richard Fullagar, Wendy Beck and Kevin Kiernan Chapter 5: Formation and development of upland lake-lunette systems in northern New South Wales, Australia, and their relation to climate, ecological change and human occupation – Robert Haworth, Kevin Kiernan, Anne McConnell Chapter 6: A Review of the Archaeological Record of Surface Sites, New England Bioregion – John Appleton and Wendy Beck Chapter 7: Lagoon Excavations: New England Tableland Bioregion – John Appleton and Wendy Beck Chapter 8: Silcrete Grinding Grooves in New England, NSW – Richard Fullagar, Elspeth Hayes, Nancy Vickery, John Appleton and Wendy Beck Chapter 9: Contrasting Lake Formation and Late-Glacial Aeolian Activity Between the Tasmanian Central Plateau and Adjacent Midlands Graben – Kevin Kiernan, Anne McConnell, Robert Haworth, Richard Fullagar and Elspeth Hayes Chapter 10: The Archaeology of Lagoons of the Tasmanian Midlands and Eastern Central Plateau and Its Role in Re-Interpreting Past Tasmanian Aboriginal Landscape Use and Meaning – Anne McConnell, Andry Sculthorpe and Kevin Kiernan Chapter 11: The Tasmanian and New England Research in a Global Setting – Wendy Beck and Robert Haworth Appendix A: Analyst Report for Radiocarbon Dating ;