more than 60,000 years ago
Red Lily Lagoon in West Arnhem Land is an important archaeological
landscape with significant implications for understanding the First Australians


Date:
May 5, 2023
Source:
Flinders University
Summary:
Scientists have used sub-surface imaging and aerial surveys to
see through floodplains in the Red Lily Lagoon area of West Arnhem
Land in Australia. These ground-breaking methods showed how this
important landscape in the Northern Territory was altered as sea
levels rose about 8,000 years ago.


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==========================================================================
FULL STORY ========================================================================== Scientists at Flinders University have used sub-surface imaging and
aerial surveys to see through floodplains in the Red Lily Lagoon area
of West Arnhem Land in Northern Australia.

These ground-breaking methods showed how this important landscape in the Northern Territory was altered as sea levels rose about 8,000 years ago.

Their discovery shows that the ocean had reached this, now inland region,
which has important implications for understanding the archaeological
record of Madjedbebe -- the oldest archaeological site in Australia.

The findings also provide a new way to understand the rock art in the
region, which is recognised globally for its significance and distinctive style.

By examining how sediments now buried beneath the flood plains changed as
sea levels rose, the researchers can see how the transformation of Red
Lily Lagoon had resulted in the growth of mangroves that have supported
animal and marine life in a region where ancient Indigenous rock art is located. This transformation has, in turn, fostered an environment that
has inspired the subjects and animals in the ancient rock art.

In their findings published in in the scientific journal PLOS ONE today,
the researchers say environmental changes at the lagoon are reflected
in the rock art because fish, crocodiles and birds were featured in the
art when the floodplain transformed to support freshwater habitats for
new species.

Senior Author and Research Associate in the College of Humanities, Arts,
and Social Sciences at Flinders University, Dr Jarrad Knowlessar, says
the mapping fundamentally changes our archaeological understanding of
the stunning landscape in Arnhem Land.

"This is a key landscape for understanding the early human occupation
of Australia. Our reconstruction of Red Lily Lagoon enables effective predictive modelling of prominent cultural sites and provides an
important method to interpret the presence and provenance of Indigenous cultural material." "The timing of rock art aligns with the broader environmental changes we understand took place in this landscape. This
is evident through changes in subject matter in the art, such as large macropods, and the appearance of estuarine animal species such as fish
and crocodiles in the art. The inclusion of freshwater species, such as
fish and birds, occurs in the most recent artistic styles of this region,
and this reflects the phases of environmental change when the freshwater floodplains made up the landscape." "Based on the results of this study,
all Pleistocene sites in western Arnhem Land were near the ocean and, subsequently, mangrove swamps at some point during the transformation of
the landscape. This has important implications for the paleogeographic
settings of these sites, which must be considered when interpreting
changes in stone artefacts, food resources, and the isotope composition
of materials from this period of the first Australians." Co-author,
Associate Professor Ian Moffat, says Electric Resistivity Tomography
(ERT) is a rapid, low-cost, non-invasive method that can map large areas
of the Australian landscape to better understand their ancient history.

"We are showcasing how ERT data can be used to develop landscape
models that are useful when it comes to understanding known locations
as well as predicting where buried archaeological sites might be. We
have demonstrated that the landscapes of this region can be effectively
mapped using non-invasive methods.

This has important implications for locating new sites but also for
developing a more nuanced understanding of the regional geography, and
its impact on past human behaviour." "Red Lily Lagoon has exceptional archaeological significance in Arnhem Land as it is situated at one of
the easternmost points of the East Alligator River floodplain, where the
modern river, the Arnhem Plateau, creates a significant boundary between
the low-lying floodplains and the sandstone highlands, which have been
occupied by humans for over 60,000 years and are the location of countless significant sites, including some of the most iconic rock art panels in Australia." Traditional owner and co-author Alfred Nayinggull described
the importance of this research as "We want people to see and want people
to know what's been happening many thousand years ago in the past. "
* RELATED_TOPICS
o Earth_&_Climate
# Ecology # Geography # Environmental_Awareness #
Sustainability
o Fossils_&_Ruins
# Cultures # Lost_Treasures # Ancient_Civilizations #
Anthropology
* RELATED_TERMS
o Sea_level o Antarctic_ice_sheet o
Neandertal_interaction_with_Cro-Magnons o Homo_(genus)
o Aerial_photography o Greenland_ice_sheet o
Geology_of_the_Capitol_Reef_area o Breaking_wave

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Flinders_University. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Jarrad Kowlessar, Ian Moffat, Daryl Wesley, Mark Willis, Shay
Wrigglesworth, Tristen Jones, Alfred Nayinggul. Reconstructing
archaeological palaeolandscapes using geophysical and
geomatic survey techniques: An example from Red Lily Lagoon,
Arnhem Land, Australia. PLOS ONE, 2023; 18 (5): e0283006 DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0283006 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230505101703.htm

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