Aboriginal artefacts found off WA coast prompt calls for stronger heritage laws

Hundreds of ancient stone tools have been discovered at sites now underwater

Underwater Aboriginal archaeological sites have been discovered off Western Australia’s north for the first time, dating back thousands of years to when the current seabed was dry land.

Hundreds of stone tools including grinding stones were discovered in the Dampier Archipelago off the Pilbara coast by a team of Australian and British archaeologists, who partnered with the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation.

A Flinders University associate professor, Jonathan Benjamin, said more than 30% of Australia’s massive land mass had been inundated when sea levels rose after the last ice age, hiding a huge amount of ancient artefacts

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/02/aboriginal-artefacts-found-off-wa-coast-prompt-calls-for-stronger-heritage-laws?CMP=soc_567

dv said:

Aboriginal artefacts found off WA coast prompt calls for stronger heritage laws

Hundreds of ancient stone tools have been discovered at sites now underwater

Underwater Aboriginal archaeological sites have been discovered off Western Australia’s north for the first time, dating back thousands of years to when the current seabed was dry land.

Hundreds of stone tools including grinding stones were discovered in the Dampier Archipelago off the Pilbara coast by a team of Australian and British archaeologists, who partnered with the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation.

A Flinders University associate professor, Jonathan Benjamin, said more than 30% of Australia’s massive land mass had been inundated when sea levels rose after the last ice age, hiding a huge amount of ancient artefacts

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/02/aboriginal-artefacts-found-off-wa-coast-prompt-calls-for-stronger-heritage-laws?CMP=soc_567

Are there any minerals?

dv said:

Aboriginal artefacts found off WA coast prompt calls for stronger heritage laws

Hundreds of ancient stone tools have been discovered at sites now underwater

Underwater Aboriginal archaeological sites have been discovered off Western Australia’s north for the first time, dating back thousands of years to when the current seabed was dry land.

Hundreds of stone tools including grinding stones were discovered in the Dampier Archipelago off the Pilbara coast by a team of Australian and British archaeologists, who partnered with the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation.

A Flinders University associate professor, Jonathan Benjamin, said more than 30% of Australia’s massive land mass had been inundated when sea levels rose after the last ice age, hiding a huge amount of ancient artefacts

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/02/aboriginal-artefacts-found-off-wa-coast-prompt-calls-for-stronger-heritage-laws?CMP=soc_567

I thought we knew about these. Perhaps it’s that we knew but hadn’t found them.

sarahs mum said:

dv said:

Aboriginal artefacts found off WA coast prompt calls for stronger heritage laws

Hundreds of ancient stone tools have been discovered at sites now underwater

Underwater Aboriginal archaeological sites have been discovered off Western Australia’s north for the first time, dating back thousands of years to when the current seabed was dry land.

Hundreds of stone tools including grinding stones were discovered in the Dampier Archipelago off the Pilbara coast by a team of Australian and British archaeologists, who partnered with the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation.

A Flinders University associate professor, Jonathan Benjamin, said more than 30% of Australia’s massive land mass had been inundated when sea levels rose after the last ice age, hiding a huge amount of ancient artefacts

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/02/aboriginal-artefacts-found-off-wa-coast-prompt-calls-for-stronger-heritage-laws?CMP=soc_567

Are there any minerals?

Sure. The artefacts are made of minerals.

Funny thing. When I searched for ice age, sea levels, wa. I pulled up a lot of AGW sites.. and some contrarian ones which insist that sea levels have been falling for 1000s of years. Not sure how they’d rationalise this discovery.

buffy said:

dv said:

Aboriginal artefacts found off WA coast prompt calls for stronger heritage laws

Hundreds of ancient stone tools have been discovered at sites now underwater

Underwater Aboriginal archaeological sites have been discovered off Western Australia’s north for the first time, dating back thousands of years to when the current seabed was dry land.

Hundreds of stone tools including grinding stones were discovered in the Dampier Archipelago off the Pilbara coast by a team of Australian and British archaeologists, who partnered with the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation.

A Flinders University associate professor, Jonathan Benjamin, said more than 30% of Australia’s massive land mass had been inundated when sea levels rose after the last ice age, hiding a huge amount of ancient artefacts

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/02/aboriginal-artefacts-found-off-wa-coast-prompt-calls-for-stronger-heritage-laws?CMP=soc_567

I thought we knew about these. Perhaps it’s that we knew but hadn’t found them.

I’d heard of finds in the Arafura but not the NWS

Ian said:

Funny thing. When I searched for ice age, sea levels, wa. I pulled up a lot of AGW sites.. and some contrarian ones which insist that sea levels have been falling for 1000s of years. Not sure how they’d rationalise this discovery.

Damn…that post sent me looking for Jack Pettigrew’s stuff again, because I remember his lecture about the Bradshaw paintings mentioning the changing sea levels. Somehow I had completely missed the news that Jack had died in a car accident in Tasmania in May last year.

buffy said:

Ian said:

Funny thing. When I searched for ice age, sea levels, wa. I pulled up a lot of AGW sites.. and some contrarian ones which insist that sea levels have been falling for 1000s of years. Not sure how they’d rationalise this discovery.

Damn…that post sent me looking for Jack Pettigrew’s stuff again, because I remember his lecture about the Bradshaw paintings mentioning the changing sea levels. Somehow I had completely missed the news that Jack had died in a car accident in Tasmania in May last year.

Buffy’s post about Jack Pettigrew and Bradshaw paintings led me to this-
Aerial fire-bombing and back burning by the Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services since 2009 as part of the government’s fire prevention strategy to aid the exploitation of oil and gas reserves has caused paint to peel from over 5,000 of the 8,742 known examples of Bradshaw art. A survey by archaeologist Lee Scott-Virtue has determined that up to 30 per cent of the rock art had been completely destroyed by fire.
Damn again.

I’ve been waiting most of my life for Aboriginal artefacts to be found underwater in Bass Strait.

Hasn’t happened yet.

Underwater artefacts would be a great boon to anthropology because depth underwater is associated with a narrow time range.

mollwollfumble said:

I’ve been waiting most of my life for Aboriginal artefacts to be found underwater in Bass Strait.

Hasn’t happened yet.

Underwater artefacts would be a great boon to anthropology because depth underwater is associated with a narrow time range.

Might mean more to Archeology. Anthropology doesn’t really care about stuff unless it’s being used right now.

mollwollfumble said:

I’ve been waiting most of my life for Aboriginal artefacts to be found underwater in Bass Strait.

Hasn’t happened yet.

Underwater artefacts would be a great boon to anthropology because depth underwater is associated with a narrow time range.

I’ve watched the tide go out on Cape Barren Island. It goes out a long way.

I also understand that the tide surges through the strait. So I suppose some areas are washed pretty clean.