Australian Archaeology
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Full Citation Details:
Connah, G 1975. Current Research at the Department Of Prehistory and Archaeology University of New England. 'Australian
Archaeology', no.3, 28-31.
CURRENT RESEARCH AT THE DEPARTMENT OF PREEISTORY AND A R W L W Y UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND
Our research i n t e r e s t s i n c l u d e t o p i c s o u t s i d e as w e l l a s i n s i d e A u s t r a l i a , f o r i n s t a n c e my own work on t h e L a t e Stone Age and I r o n Age of West A f r i c a has r e c e n t l y l e d t o t h e p u b l i c a t i o n of fie ArchaeoZogy of Benin by Oxford U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s and I have f u r t h e r m a t e r i a l i n preparation f o r p u b l i c a t i o n concerning t h e Lake Chad a r e a of N.E. Nigeria. Likewise, I a i n Davidson is p r e s e n t l y completing work on man-environment r e l a t i o n s h i p s durf ng t h e l a t e P l e i s tocene i n Spain.
Nevertheless a nuniber of r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t s i n t h e f i e l d of A u s t r a l i a n archaeology a r e a l s o i n hand and c o n s t i t u t e o u r major growing a r e a s of research i n t e r e s t . A progranmP of fieldwork aud e x c a v a t i o n i n the lower River Macleay a r e a has been under way s i n c e 1972. This work has concentrated on s h e l l middens and has p r i n c i p a l l y involved myself, with a s s i s t a n c e during 1974 and 1975 from Penelope Emmerson who is Research A s s i s t a n t i n the Department. I a i n Davidson has a l s o contributed t o t h i s programne but has concentrated h i s e f f o r t s on a s i t e survey i n t h e d i f f i c u l t and a r c h a e o l o g i c a l l y unknown gorge country of t h e headwaters of t h e River Macleay. Since A p r i l 1974 h e has a l s o been b u i l d i n g up a s k e l e t a l c o l l e c t i o n of indigenous fauna t o e n a b l e u s t o i d e n t i f y bones from excavated sites. Penelope Emmerson and myself, i n conjunction with John Stanley of t h e Department of Geophysics, U.N.E., have a l s o c a r r i e d out f i e l d experiments w i t h magnetometers. A j o i n t paper on t h i s work was read a t t h e Canberra ANZAAS Congress i n January t h i s year and a modified version of t h a t paper has r e c e n t l y been accepted f o r p u b l i c a t i o n i n Irkpzkind. I have a l s o r e c e n t l y inaugurated a survey of 19th Century h i s t o r i c a l archaeology on t h e Saumarez S t a t i o n , thought t o be the e a r l i e s t sheep run i n the New England d i s t r i c t . I n a d d i t i o n I have flown t h r e e a e r i a l photographic s o r t i e s of p r e h i s t o r i c and h i s t o r i c s i t e s i n t h e New England and Mid North Coast areas, p i l o t e d by Frank Choate of the Department of Physical Chemistry, U.N.E. Our Department h a s a L i t t . B.
s t u d e n t , M r Adrian Piper, conducting a n a r c h a e o l o g i c a l survey of t h e Tweed Valley; and, under t h e continuing s u p e r v i s i o n of I s a b e l McBryde now a t the Department of P r e h i s t o r y and Anthropology, School of General S t u d i e s
,
A.N.U., Michael Quinnell's M.A. work on t h e a r t of t h e Carnarvon Ranges i s reaching i t s conclusion.
The p a r t of our research a c t i v i t i e s most advanced a t t h e moment is t h e work being done i n the River Macleay a r e a and i t is perhaps a p p r o p r i a t e t o make some i n t e r i m statement about i t a t t h i s s t a g e . The work on t h e lower Macleay middens was designed t o follow up an a r c h a e o l o g i c a l survey conducted by V a l e r i e Campbell f o r h e r B.A. Honours Thesis, U.N.E. 1969.
She has s i n c e published four radiocarbon d a t e s f o r samples c o l l e c t e d from eroding s e c t i o n s and auger cores from t h r e e of t h e middens (Campbell, EJankind 8 (1972), pp. 283-6). Excavated s e c t i o n s of f i v e s h e l l middens i n
d i f f e r i n g palaeoenvironments have been ccmpleted s i n c e 1972 and r e s c u e excavation has been c a r r i e d out a t t h r e e f u r t h e r middens.
Clybucca 3 was excavated i n 1972. This i s a midden composed o f o y s t e r and c o c k l e s h e l l s , formed over a beach sand- r i d g e a t t h e head o f a s m a l l bay i n t h e P l e i s t o c e n e s h o r e l i n e some 10 k i l o m e t r e s i n l a n d from t h e p r e s e n t s h o r e l i n e . Associated c u l t u r a l m a t e r i a l comprised a backed b l a d e i n d u s t r y w i t h a l i t t l e worked bone. Animal bones were recovered and p a r t of a fragmented human b u r i a l . There was c l e a r evidence t h a t f i r e s had been l i t on
t h e midden a t v a r i o u s t i m e s . Radiocarbon d a t i n g f o r c h a r c o a l samples i s a s f o l l o w s :
30-40 cm SUA 274 3360 f 120 bp
60-70 cm SUA 275 4260 120 bp
90-110 cm SUA 276 5120 2 150 bp
These d a t e s may be compared w i t h a d a t e f o r Clybucca 1 p u b l i s h e d by Campbell ( s e e above):
T h i s was f o r c h a r c o a l from 24 t o 30 i n c h e s deep i n an o y s t e r and c o c k l e midden s i t u a t e d on t h e same P l e i s t o c e n e s h o r e l i n e , a t a d i s t a n c e of about 5 k i l o m e t r e s E a s t of Clybucca 3. A d a t e of 4220
+
90 bp (GaK 834) h a s been o b t a i n e d by H a i l s f o r o y s t e r and c o c k l e s h e l l s c o l l e c t e d s i x f e e t below high w a t e r mark i n t h e same a r e a (Thorn, H a i l s and M a r t i n , Mar-he Geology, 7 (1969),
pp. 161-8) and i t would a p p e a r from c o n s i d e r a t i o n of t h e s e f i v e d a t e s t h a t l a g o o n a l c o n d i t i o n s were e x t a n t i n t h i s a r e a roughly 3000-5000 y e a r s ago. A t o n e time i t was s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e Clybucca s i t e s might be up t o 1 1 , 0 0 0 y e a r s o l d (McCarthy, Records of t h e Australian Musewn21, ( l 9 4 3 ) , pp. 164-7)
.
Trapped between t h e Clybucca 3 midden and t h e o l d c o a s t l i n e i s a s m a l l swamp i n which t h e r e i s u s u a l l y s t a n d i n g w a t e r . Bernard Swan o f t h e Department of Geography U.N.E. h a s examined t h i s and i s of t h e o p i n i o n t h a t i t could b e of s i m i l a r a n t i q u i t y t o t h e midden b u t low-level a i r photography, s o i l p i t s and auger t e s t s i n d i c a t e t h a t i t h a s n o t p r e s e r v e d much o r g a n i c m a t e r i a l .
Connection Creek 1 was excavated i n 1973. This i s an o y s t e r and c o c k l e midden s i t u a t e d about 4 k i l o m e t r e s i n l a n d from t h e p r e s e n t s h o r e l i n e , i n an a r e a which was p o s s i b l y a former e s t u a r y . Associated c u l t u r a l m a t e r i a l comprised a n i n d u s t r y of f l a k e s and s c r a p e r s and one b i f a c i a l l y f l a k e d p e b b l e chopper w i t h c l e a r use-wear on one margin.
Backed b l a d e s were c o n s p i c u o u s l y a b s e n t . There were a number of f i n e l y worked double-ended bone p o i n t s . The o y s t e r s h e l l s a t Clybucca 3 showed e v i d e n c e of attachment t o s t o n e s b u t t h o s e from Connection Creek 1 had marked grooves on t h e i r backs, s u g g e s t i n g t h a t t h e y had grown o n mangrove r o o t s . C u l t u r a l m a t e r i a l was s c a t t e r e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e midden and one s t r o n g l y developed b l a c k band of a s h , c h a r c o a l , s h e l l s and f i s h bones was p a r t i c u l a a r l y r i c h
i n t h i s r e s p e c t . Radiocarbon d a t i n g f o r t h i s midden i s a s follows:
Charcoal 50-60 cm S U A 395/1 3720 5 100 bp
O y s t e r s h e l l s 50-60 cm SUA 395/2 3340 ? 100 bp
Charcoal 100-110 cm SUA 369/1 3400 f 100 bp
Cockle s h e l l s 100-110 cm SUA 39612 3380 f 100 bp
Charcoal 130-140 cm SUA 397 3790 2 130 bp
(Dates on s h e l l throughout t h e p r e s e n t programme of e x c a v a t i o n were determined a s p a r t of Richard G i l l e s p i e s ' i n v e s t i g a t i o n of t h e r e l i a b i l i t y of techniques f o r d a t i n g s h e l l . )
These d a t e s may be compared w i t h two d a t e s f o r t h i s midden p u b l i s h e d by Campbell ( s e e above):
t h e s e w e r e f o r s h e l l (mainly o y s t e r ) c o l l e c t e d by t a k i n g auger c o r e samples and came from depths of 28 and 25 i n c h e s r e s p e c t i v e l y .
A s e c t i o n excavated j u s t o f f t h e lower edge of t h e midden revealed evidence s u g g e s t i n g 'beach' c o n d i t i o n s . S t o n e a r t e f a c t s were more common than i n t h e midden i t s e l f and c h a r c o a l and a s h l a y amongst a group of l a r g e s t o n e s . It seems l i k e l y t h a t t h i s w a s p a r t of a n a c t u a l l i v i n g a r e a . Radiocarbon d a t i n g f o r t h i s a r e a i s a s f o l l o w s :
Charcoal 40-46 cm SUA 394 4110 f 100 bp
I n 1974 excavations were conducted a t Maguire's Crossing on t h e p r e s e n t s h o r e l i n e where a p i p i midden had p r e v i o u s l y been d a t e d by c h a r c o a l c o l l e c t e d from an eroding s e c t i o n by Campbell ( s e e above). The d a t e obtained by h e r was :
This sample came from a depth of 4 t o 7 i n c h e s . The midden i s exposed i n r e c e n t c o a s t a l dunes and is a d j a c e n t t o t h e p r e s e n t h i g h water mark.
Excavation revealed a s e r i e s of s h e l l d e p o s i t s s e p a r a t e d by c l e a n sand.
A h e a r t h was i s o l a t e d i n one of t h e s e and a bone p o i n t recovered from a n o t h e r b u t l i t t l e s t o n e was p r e s e n t and o n l y a v e r y s m a l l p a r t of i t was a r t i f a c t u a l . Samples of c h a r c o a l and s h e l l s have been submitted f o r
f u r t h e r radiocarbon d a t i n g but r e s u l t s a r e n o t y e t a v a i l a b l e .
Also i n 1974 a single-phase p i p i midden known a s I n n e r B a r r i e r 4 was excavated on t h e i n n e r sand b a r r i e r which l i e s i n l a n d of t h e Ocean Swamp behind t h e dunes on which t h e Maguire's Crossing s i t e is s i t u a t e d . There was l i t t l e a r t e f a c t u a l s t o n e material b u t c h a r c o a l was p r e s e n t and samples of t h i s and of t h e s h e l l s have been s u b m i t t e d f o r r a d i o c a r b o n d a t i n g .
I n 1974 and a g a i n i n 1975 e x c a v a t i o n s were conducted a t S t u a r t s P o i n t 1, a very l a r g e o y s t e r and c o c k l e midden on t h e I n n e r B a r r i e r n o r t h of t h e p r e s e n t e s t u a r y of t h e Macleay. T h i s midden c o n t a i n e d a series of h e a r t h s , s t o n e a r t e f a c t u a l m a t e r i a l , double-ended bone p o i n t s , and much
f i s h bone as w e l l a s t h e bones of l a n d animals. A f r o t h f l o t a t i o n u n i t of t h e s o r t described i n Higgs Papers .in Economic Prehistory (1972) had been obtained from t h e United Kingdom by I a i n Davidson and was o p e r a t e d v e r y s u c c e s s f u l l y on s i t e by P e t e r I r i s h , a second y e a r P r e h i s t o r y s t u d e n t a t U.N.E. A s u b s t a n t i a l c o l l e c t i o n of p l a n t m a t e r i a l and f i s h s c a l e s w a s r e t r i e v e d . I n a d d i t i o n t h e wet s i e v i n g f o l l o w i n g t h e u s e of t h e u n i t
allowed t h e c o l l e c t i o n of l a r g e q u a n t i t i e s of small bones and o t h e r m a t e r i a l . Radiocarbon d a t e s f o r c h a r c o a l and s h e l l s from t h i s s i t e a r e awaited.
An a d j a c e n t midden, S t u a r t s P o i n t 4, has been radiocarbon dated by c o l l e c t i n g o y s t e r s h e l l s from an eroding s e c t i o n . This shallow midden l a y o v e r a double b u r i a l i n a p i t , t h e s k e l e t a l m a t e r i a l of which was rescued i n 1972 and i s p r e s e n t l y being examined by Michael Walker of t h e Department of Anthropology i n t h e U n i v e r s i t y of Sydney. The d a t e is:
2-9 i n c h e s SUA 398 1670
+
90 bpF u r t h e r e x c a v a t i o n of a r e s c u e c h a r a c t e r has a l s o been
c a r r i e d o u t a t Ryan's Cut s o u t h of Maguire's Crossing and a t P o i n t Plonnner.
A t t h e l a t t e r p l a c e I a i n Davidson and Kate S u l l i v a n of t h e National Parks and W i l d l i f e S e r v i c e i n v e s t i g a t i o n a shallow p i p i midden p r i o r t o i t s d e s t r u c t i o n by sand mining i n 1974.
I a i n Davidson and Penelope Emmerson have begun r e s e a r c h i n t o t h e A b o r i g i n a l u s e of t h e gorge systems of t h e Macleay River catchment.
No e v i d e n c e h a s y e t been found t o prove t h a t i t was n o t white s e t t l e m e n t which made t h e a r e a a t t r a c t i v e t o t h e Aborigines. Nevertheless t h e
s t r e n g t h of t r a d i t i o n s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e gorges have long been a refuge a r e a from t h e c o l d of t h e t a b l e l a n d s , and a r o u t e of access from c o a s t t o t a b l e l a n d s . Development of t h i s r e s e a r c h w i l l look f o r t h e
r e l a t i o n s h i p s o f human u s e of t h e gorge system t o both t h e upoand and t h e c o a s t a l p a t t e r n s of e x p l o i t a t i o n .
Only 5 of t h e 15 radiocarbon d a t e s l i s t e d above have been p u b l i s h e d b e f o r e , a n o t h e r 11 d a t e s a r e s t i l l awaited. Reviewing t h e whole series s o f a r a v a i l a b l e , t h e d a t e s a r e n o t without t h e i r problems b u t t h e y do seem t o s u g g e s t t h a t our e a r l i e s t evidence f o r s e t t l e m e n t i n t h e lower Macleay goes back t o some 5000 y e a r s ago and t h a t human e x p l o i t a t i o n of t h e p r e s e n t c o a s t l i n e was a l r e a d y p o s s i b l e 1000-2000 y e a r s ago. T h i s r e g i o n a l s t u d y of Aboriginal p r e h i s t o r y w i l l show t h e a d j u s t m e n t s i n man's u s e of t h e land during t h e e x t e n s i v e environmental changes a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e development of t h e p r e s e n t f l o o d p l a i n of t h e lower Macleay. By s t u d y i n g o t h e r r e g i o n s of t h e Macleay r i v e r we hope t o relate c o a s t a l e x p l o i t a t i o n s t o o t h e r e x p l o i t a t i o n s of i n l a n d and upland r e g i o n s .
Acknowledgement i s due t o t h e U n i v e r s i t y of New England and t h e A u s t r a l i a n I n s t i t u t e of Aboriginal S t u d i e s f o r r e s e a r c h funds t o s u p p o r t t h e p r e s e n t work. The kind cooperation of t h e N a t i o n a l Parks and W i l d l i f e S e r v i c e i s a l s o acknowledged. Richard G i l l e s p i e and A s s o c i a t e P r o f e s s o r R.B. Temple of Sydney U n i v e r s i t y a r e thanked f o r t h e i r c o o p e r a t i o n i n d a t i n g s h e l l a s w e l l as c h a r c o a l samples. The Department a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y of New England owes i t s e x i s t e n c e t o I s a b e l McBryde. We are v e r y g r a t e f u l f o r h e r encouragement and c o n t i n u i n g h e l p throughout t h i s r e s e a r c h .
Graham Connah
U n i v e r s i t y of New England
