Australian Archaeology
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Full Citation Details:
Orchiston, D.W. 1976. Recent Developments in Victorian
Prehistory. 'Australian Archaeology', no.4, 5-8.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS I N VICTDRIAK PREHISTORY
A Conference on ' A b o r i g i n a l Man and Environment i n
S o u t h e a s t e r n V i c t o r i a : Recent Developments i n V i c t o r i a n P r e h i s t o r y 1 was h e l d z t t h e U n i v e r s i t y of Melbourne on 27-29 November, 1975, and drew a t o t a l enrolment of 143. John McNally, D i r e c t o r o f t h e N a t i o n a l Museum o f V i c t o r i a , o f f i c i a l l y opened p r o c e e d i n g s , t h e f i r s t two d a y s o f which were devoted t o i n v i t e d r e s e a r c h p a p e r s . The f i n a l day ( a S a t u r d a y ) f e a t u r e d an a l l - d a y f i e l d t r i p t o t h e K e i l o r Museum, t h e B a i n l s Quarry and Dry Creek a r c h a e o l o g i c a l s i t e s n e a r K e i l o r , and t h e L a n c e f i e l d swamp s i t e .
Following i s a summary o f Conference papers, i n t h e o r d e r i n which t h e y were p r e s e n t e d .
' L a t e P l e i s t o c e n e Hominid S i t e s i n Northern V i c t o r i a ' (By P. Macumber, V i c t o r i a n Department o f Mines.) E i g h t o f t h e n i n e P l e i s t o c e n e hominid s i t e s c u r r e n t l y known i n V i c t o r i a ( v i z . Bourkes Bridge, Cohuna, Gunbower, Kow Swamp Main S i t e , Kow Swamp 1, Kow Swamp 9, Lake Boga, and Mangat) a r e s i t u a t e d on t h e n o r t h e r n R i v e r i n e P l a i n s , w i t h i n a r a d i u s of 60 km o f Kerang. These s i t e s l i e on o r a d j a c e n t t o a major Late P l e i s t o c e n e flow p a t h of t h e Murray-Goulburn system, i n a r e g i o n p a r t i c u l a r l y s u i t e d t o human s u r v i v a l : c l i m a t i c , geomorphic, and h y d r o l o g i c a l f a c t o r s combined t o produce a r a n g e o f p o t e n t i a l l y e x p l o i t a b l e ecosystems, some w i t h u s e f u l p e t r o l o g i c a l r e s o u r c e s . The e x i s t e n c e o f s o many hominid s i t e s i n t h i s r e g i o n i s n o t f o r t u i t o u s , a s h i g h groundwater l e v e l s and l o c a l s o i l c o n d i t i o n s promoted m i n e r a l i s a t i o n and hence p r e s e r v a t i o n of bone.
l A r c h a e o l o g i c a l I n v e s t i g a t i o n o f t h e "Mound People" o f Western V i c t o r i a
'
(By P. C o u t t s , R . Frank, M. M c I l w r a i t h , and D. W i t t e r , A r c h a e o l o g i c a l and A b o r i g i n a l R e l i c s O f f i c e , Melbourne.)
A s u r v e y o f t h e W i l l a u r a map s h e e t s e c t i o n o f t h e Hopkins R i v e r r e v e a l e d t h a t mound s i t e s o r i g i n a l l y were s i t u a t e d s o a s t o p e r m i t o p t i m a l e x p l o i t a t i o n of a l l a v a i l a b l e r e s o u r c e s c o n t a i n e d w i t h i n a v a r i e t y o f b i o t i c communities. T h i s i s c l e a r l y p o r t r a y e d by t h e f a u n a 1 and l i t h i c assembl.2ges from two e x c a v a t e d s i t e s . A r t i f a c t s , hwnan b u r i a l s , and s t r a t i g r a p h i c and s t r u c t u r a l d e t a i l s i n d i c a t e t h a t b o t h o f t h e s e - a r t i f i c i a l l y - produced mounds s e r v e d a s g e n e r a l l i v i n g s i t e s a n d t h a t occupation tock p l a c e , a t l e a s t i n p a r t , d u r i n g s p r i n g .
'The P o s s i b i l i t y o f S i t e L o c a t i o n a l A n a l y s i s i n t h e A r a r a t Area1 (By D. Byrne, Department of Anthropology, U n i v e r s i t y o f K e s t e r n A u s t r a l i a . )
T h i s p a p e r i s complementary t o t h e p r e c e d i n g one, and d e s c r i b e s s i t e s i n v e s t i g a t e d i n t h e A r a r a t a r e a , immediately n o r t h o f t h e W i l l a u r a map s h e e t . I n a d d i t i o n t o nounds and mound
c l u s t e r s , t h e 92 sites recorded i n c l u d e d q u a r r i e s and open camps.
A d e t a i l e d l o c a t i o n a l a n a l y s i s was c a r r i e d o u t f o r a l o c a l i s e d c l u s t e r o f mounds n e a r Lake Lonsdale.
' H i s t o r i c a l Background and Geology o f t h e L a n c e f i e l d Megafaunal S i t e 1 (By R. Glenie, A u s t r a l i a n Groundwater C o n s u l t a n t s ,
Me 15orrrne. )
A megafaunal swamp s i t e a t L a n c e f i e l d f i r s t d i s c o v e r e d i n 1843 was r e l o c a t e d i n 1973 a s t h e r e s u l t of a c a r e f u l l y r e s e a r c h e d f i e l d programme. 9ecause a p a l a e o z o o l o g i c a l e x c a v a t i o n a t t h e s i t e by a Monash U n i v e r s i t y team i n 1974 t u r n e d up human a r t i f a c t u a l m a t e r i a l , t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Sydney was i n v i t e d t o c a r r y o u t an
a r c h a e o l o g i c a l e x c a v a t i o n t h e f o l l o w i n g y e a r . T h i s l a t t e r e x c a v a t i o n r e v e a l e d t h r e e d i f f e r e n t l i t h o l o g i c a l u n i t s , a b l a c k c l a y , t h e bone bed, and a g r e e n i s h c l a y ( i n t h a t sequence, from t h e s u r f a c e ) . The s t r a t i g r a p h i c r e l a t i o n s h i p o f t h e bone bed t o t h e two c l a y u n i t s i s s t i l l obscure.
'The P a s t Vegetation around t h e L a n c e f i e l d Bone Bed S i t e '
(By P . Ladd, School o f Botany, U n i v e r s i t y o f Melbourne.) P o l l e n from t h e L a n c e f i e l d Swamp r e v e a l s t h a t t h e
surrounding p l a i n s were covered i n g r a s s l a n d when t h e bone bed was e s t a b l i s h e d (during P e r i o d L1) i n what was a shallow p o o l , occupied by w a t e r p l a n t s . The v e g e t a t i o n s u r r o u n d i n g t h e p o o l d u r i n g t h e subsequent L2 and L3 p r e h i s t o r i c p e r i o d s was c h a r a c t e r i s e d by s c r u b and sedge s p e c i e s r e s p e c t i v e l y . L4 marked t h e appearance o f
Europeans i n t h e a r e a .
' A n a l y s i s o f Fauna from L a n c e f i e l d '
(By D. Horton, A u s t r a l i a n I n s t i t u t e o f Aboriginal S t u d i e s , Canberra. )
More t h a n 7000 bone fragments from t h e L a n c e f i e l d Swamp were analysed t o o b t a i n i n f o r m a t i o n on two t h i n g s : b i o l o g y o f
t h e animals p r e s e n t , and mode o f bone accumulation. Only s i x d i f f e r e n t s p e c i e s accounted f o r almost a l l bones r e c o v e r e d , w i t h one s p e c i e s , Macropus titan, c o n t r i b u t i n g around 90% of t h e t o t a l . A l l p a r t s o f t h e body were r e p r e s e n t e d , and v e r y few o f t h e
macropods were j u v e n i l e s . Some p a l a e o p a t h o l o g i c a l c o n d i t i o n s observed. Many o f t h e recovered bones were broken, b u t o t h e r s c o n t a i n e d p a i r e d i n c i s i o n s which were i n t e r p r e t e d a s ThyZacoZeo tooth-marks. The Lancefield bone bed can c u r r e n t l y be e x p l a i n e d i n terms o f p r e d a t i o n by man and/or c a r n i v o r e s .
l P l e i s t o c e n e Man and E x t i n c t Marsupials
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t h e Evidence a t L a n c e f i e l d ' (By R.V.S. Wright, Anthropology Department, U n i v e r s i t y o f Sydney.)Two metre s q u a r e s were excavated a t t h e L a n c e f i e l d s i t e i n 1975, and t h e t o t a l s t r a t i g r a p h i c s e c t i o n and p o s i t i o n i n g of a r t i f a c t s s t u d i e d . Two radiocarbon d a t e s o f around 12,500 and
16,500 BP were o b t a i n e d from bone p r o t e i n and a p a t i t e r e s p e c t i v e l y , b u t b i o g e o g r a p h i c a l d a t a s u g g e s t t h e s e a r e f a r t o o young. The m i c r o - l o c a t i o n o f p o l l e n i n t h e e x c a v a t i o n s i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e r e h a s been l i t t l e v e r t i c a l movement o f a r t i f a c t s t h r o u g h t i m e .
' V i c t o r i a n A b o r i g i n e s and C o a s t a l P r o c e s s e s '
(By E . D . G i l l , D i v i s i o n o f Applied Geomechanics, CSIRO, Melbourne
.
)D e s p i t e t h e r e l a t i v e abundance o f p r e h i s t o r i c A b o r i g i n a l s k e l e t a l m a t e r i a l a l o n g t h e Murray River (where s o i l c o n d i t i o n s l e d t o t h e e x c e p t i o n a l p r e s e r v a t i o n o f b o n e ) , V i c t o r i a ' s g r e a t e s t p r e h i s t o r i c p o p u l a t i o n s were a l o n g t h e c o a s t s . However, t h i s i s n o t a p p a r e n t from t h e a r c h a e o l o g i c a l e v i d e n c e , because s e a l e v e l o s c i l l a t i o n s d u r i n g t h e l a s t 10,000 y e a r s ( t h e r e were about t e n ) have o b l i t e r a t e d many s i t e s . Carbon d a t e s from s i t e s t h a t remain show a p e r i o d i c i t y t h a t r e l a t e s t o t h e p a t t e r n o f marine advances and r e t r e a t s .
' Q u a t e r n a r y Geology and Environments a t t h e Dry Creek S i t e s n e a r Kei l o r
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(By J . Anderson and E.B. J o y c e , Geology Department, U n i v e r s i t y of Melbourne. )
S e d i m e n t o l o g i c a l examination o f t h e g e o l o g i c a l s e c t i o n b e n e a t h t h e Doutta G a l l a S i l t o f t h e K e i l o r T e r r a c e , a s exposed
i n Dry Creek, r e v e a l e d t h r e e major Arundel T e r r a c e d e p o s i t i o n a l u n i t s : t h e M o t t l e d C l a y s , Chocolate Clay, and D Clay. These d a t e from 18-20,000 BP back beyond 40,000 y e a r s , and p r o v i d e a g e o l o g i c a l framework w i t h i n which a r c h a e o l o g i c a l m a t e r i a l e x c a v a t e d by D r G a l l u s may be p l a c e d .
'The S t r a t i g r a p h y of t h e pre-Younger P a l a e o l i t h i c I n d u s t r i e s a t t h e K e i l o r S i t e '
(By A. Gal l u s
,
A r c h a e o l o g i c a l S o c i e t y o f V i c t o r i a . ) A s a r e s u l t o f 2 5 y e a r s o f f i e l d w o r k , a d e t a i l e d s t r a t i g r a p h y h a s been e s t a b l i s h e d f o r t h e t e r r a c e system a t t h e j u n c t i o n o f Dry Creek and t h e Maribyrnong R i v e r . A r t i f a c t sb e l o n g i n g t o two d i s t i n c t assemblages were e x c a v a t e d from s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t s t r a t i g r a p h i c p o s i t i o n s a t t h e b a s e o f t h e Arundel T e r r a c e . Both assemblages a r e e s t i m a t e d t o d a t e back 60,000 o r
70,000 y e a r s . A r t i f a c t s from a t h i r d assemblage have been r e c o v e r e d from t h e bed o f Dry Creek, and a r e presumed t o d a t e t o Middle P l e l s t o c e n e t i m e s . This i s a l s o t h e d a t i n g a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e a r t i f a c t s found amongst t h e g r a v e l s o f an o l d r i v e r bed a t nearby Bain
'
S Quarry.'New Data from Old Stones: I n v e s t i g a t i o n o f t h e D i s t r i b u t i o n of Axes from V i c t o r i a l S "Greenstone" Q u a r r i e s
'
(By I . McBryde, Department o f P r e h i s t o r y and Anthropology,
??le Australian National University.)
Analyses of hand-specimens, t h i n s e c t i o n s , and elemental composition a r e being used t o source s o u t h e a s t e r n A u s t r a l i a n s t o n e axes derived from Victorian l greenstonet q u a r r i e s . Ethnographic d a t a suggest t h a t gift-exchange and b a r t e r can account, t o some e x t e n t , f o r p r e h i s t o r i c d i s t r i b u t i o n p a t t e r n s .
'Aboriginal Settlement and Land Use i n South Western V i c t o r i a : a Report on Current F i e l d Workt
(By H. Lourandos, Department o f Anthropology, U n i v e r s i t y o f Sydney.)
I n t h e course o f h i s journeys through Western V i c t o r i a from 1836 on, Robinson recorded l a r g e - s c a l e drainage systems, w e l l - b u i l t semi-permanent v i l l a g e s , and l a r g e seasonal
concentrations o f population. P a r t of a drainage d i t c h l i n k i n g two swamps has a l r e a d y been excavated, and f u r t h e r fieldwork p e r t a i n i n g t o a l l t h r e e a s p e c t s of Robinson's o b s e r v a t i o n s i s r e q u i r e d .
'Victorian Archaeology: Prospects f o r t h e Future'
(By D.W. Orchiston, History Department, University o f Melbourne
.
)Despite i t s small s i z e and a p a u c i t y of t r a i n e d
a r c h a e o l o g i s t s , V i c t o r i a has much t o o f f e r A u s t r a l i a n p r e h i s t o r y . There a r e f i v e a r e a s i n which an important c o n t r i b u t i o n can be made, and t h e s e a r e : t h e study of f o s s i l man, t h e 'Gambierian I n d u s t r y 1 , megafaunal e x t i n c t i o n s , and Pleistocene-Holocene c o a s t a l processes and t h e i r e c o l o g i c a l e f f e c t s ; and t h e sourcing of stone implements. S i g n i f i c a n t c o n t r i b u t i o n s can a l s o be made i n t h e f i e l d s o f ethnohistory and h i s t o r i c a l archaeology. The f u t u r e prospects f o r Victorian archaeology a r e c l o s e l y bound up with archaeologica? developments c u r r e n t l y t a k i n g p l a c e w i t h i n Melbourne and La Trobe U n i v e r s i t i e s , t h e R e l i c s O f f i c e , t h e Council of Adult Education, and t h e Archaeological S o c i e t y of V i c t o r i a .
One o f t h e h i g h l i g h t s o f t h e Conference was a P u b l i c Lecture on t h e Thursday evening, when n e a r l y 200 people were t r e a t e d t o " h e S i g n i f i c a ; l c e o f A u s t r a i i a n Q r e h i s t o r y ; A 3ersonal Appraisal' by Professor John Mulvaney.
A l l Conference papers, except those by Byrne, Wright, McBryde, Orchiston, and Mulvaney, a r e scheduled t o appear i n 1976 i s s u e s of The Artefact ( s e e d e t a i l s elsewhere i n t h i s N e w s l e t t e r ) .
D. Wayne Orchiston History Department
