Posted on 02/01/2006 10:48:50 AM PST by blam
ANCIENT FIND
By LIZ McKINNON
February 1, 2006
Damein Bell stands in the remains of an ancient stone house uncovered by a bushfire at Tyrendarra. Picture: LEANNE PICKETT
THE bushfire at Tyrendarra last month has unearthed some of the biggest Aboriginal stone houses ever seen in Gunditjmara land.
Undocumented sites have been uncovered including a village thought to be 30,000 years old.
The Winda-Mara Aboriginal Co-operative made the discovery yesterday during an analysis of its Tyrendarra Indigenous Protected Area.
On January 22 fire burnt 240 hectares, blackening 90 per cent of the property's rocky outcrop on the Mt Eccles lava flow.
Previously inaccessible land is now showing shells of stone houses as wide as five metres, eel traps, water traps, walking tracks, water ways and the remnants of cutting tools.
Winda-Mara chairman Damein Bell said further finds were expected in coming weeks as Aboriginal Affairs geologists scour the property.
``This is solid evidence of a permanent dwelling and villages. They could house up to four families at once. It was a complete society.''Winda-Mara Corporation chairman Damein Bell
``This is wonderful,'' he said.
``We know they have always been here but now we have an opportunity to really get in and look at them.
``It was all inaccessible before.
``The elders will be saying: `I told you so','' he mused.
It has been more than 80 years since fire has cleared the rocky landscape.
Until 1999 it was used as farming land but has since been revegetated and used for Aboriginal tourism and cultural purposes.
Until the fire the site had more than 150 sites of Aboriginal cultural significance.
Mr Bell said the new findings were further evidence that Aborigines in the south-west were not nomadic.
``This should add significantly to the cultural heritage values of this land,'' he said.
``These are the biggest stone houses I have ever seen.
``This is solid evidence of a permanent dwelling and villages. They could house up to four families at once. It was a complete society.''
The houses are scattered across the rocky outcrop, most on higher rising land neighbouring fresh waterways with eel traps.
Mr Bell said the aquaculture system was the main source of trade and food for the inhabitants.
``We probably won't find something like this again. It's very exciting,'' he said.
With the major find, however, came loss for the Winda-Mara Corporation.
The body incurred almost $10,000 worth of damage in the blaze.
About 5000 freshly-planted trees were destroyed and fence lines were ruined, however, newly-built bridges in the heart of the blaze survived.
Winda-Mara land management supervisor Matt Butt said a clean-up around the bridges days before the blaze had acted as a fire break.
He said the loss was disheartening, but the archaeological findings had been a valuable reward for the group.
GGG Ping.
This is a change to everything I've ever read about the Aboriginies
Have they found any fossils? Very interesting.
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http://home.vicnet.net.au/~aar/housing.htm
More interesting reading about the Aborigines homes and life.
Certainly goes along with some of the DNA findings about markers on the Y chromosome.
The detective work seems to reveal the the origin of man is the Kalahari bushmen, the folks who talk with the clicks.
But the DNA markers that identified it show up next, in, of all places remains of ancient aboriginal folks IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
"When Ms. Ross mentioned the existence in western Victoria of the stone remains of these houses in a recent address to a conference of Architects, loan planners and landscape architects, the assembled body of habitation experts were astounded."
Such lifestyles perhaps would make Aborigines appear a sophisticated race living in a planned and complex society. Better to believe they were primitive, stone-age creatures who really did not use the land and therefore it was free for the taking by the white man.Or, it would make the Aborigines appear to be latecomers, or worse yet, mass-murdering bands who destroyed an older culture. Even worse, it could show that the myth of the Dreamtime is a very modern invention.
Interesting reading.
I thought so too.
Looks like things are busy on the genetic archeology front....I hope we continue to see more in the years ahead. The technology promises challenge several traditional views of human origins. Good stuff....
I don't care how old they are, if they are undocumented, send them back to where they came from!
Okay, now that THAT is disposed of, I am confused by the "previously inaccessable"; and, "until 1999 it was used as farming land"; and, "it has been 80 years since fire cleared the rocky landscape." That just sounds rather contradictory.
Also, if the fires just happened barely two weeks ago, what is the basis of the 30,000 year figure? It doesn't look like any excavation has been done yet, nor was any mentioned.
Interesting find. I have read that Australian Aborgines can have blonde hair. I would not be surprised if they came from Indonesia and are related to Ainus, Veddas, and Polynesians.
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