A terrestrial laser scanner in action on Jiigurru/Lizard Island. -IAN MCNIVEN
April 10 () –
The discovery of ceramic remains off the coast of Queensland challenges the idea that Aboriginal Australians They were unaware of the manufacture of these objects before European colonization.
The ceramics, the oldest found in Australia, were discovered in an archaeological dig at Jiigurru (Lizard Island) by the Australian Research Council's CABAH Center of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH), together with local Aboriginal communities.
Archaeologists excavated an old landfill 2.4 meters deep in Jiigurru over a two-year period to discover evidence of occupation, such as remains of shellfish and fish collected and consumed by the island's people, which are more than 6,000 years old.
“Less than a meter below the surface, the team found dozens of ceramic fragments that Dating between 2,000 and 3,000 years old, the oldest pottery ever discovered in Australia“, said it's a statement Professor Sean Ulm of James Cook University, whose findings have been published in Quaternary Science Reviews.
Professor Ulm said the discovery challenges previous notions that Australian Aboriginal communities were unaware of pottery making before European colonization, suggesting instead a rich history of long-distance cultural exchanges and technological innovation long before the British arrival.
“Geological analysis of the pottery indicates that it was produced locally using clays and tempers sourced from Jiigurru. The age of the pottery overlaps with a period when the Lapita people of southern Papua New Guinea were known to produce pottery,” he said. Professor Ulm
The discovery reveals that Aboriginal communities in northern Queensland They had connections with the pottery communities of New Guinea.
“The discovery gives us information about the sophisticated maritime capabilities of First Nations communities in this region, and these objects are crucial to understanding the cultural exchanges that occurred at Jiigurru thousands of years ago,” Professor Ulm said.
CABAH chief researcher Professor Ian McNiven of Monash University said the evidence points to a history of deep connections across the Coral Sea, facilitated by advanced canoe travel technology and open sea navigation skills, which contradicts the outdated notion of indigenous isolation.
“These networks facilitated the exchange of objects and ideas between the coastal communities of Australia and New Guinea over the past 3000 years. While some objects, such as conical shell body ornaments and bamboo pipes, indicate widespread exchange of culture and ideas, others, such as ceramics, also suggest the exchange of technology.”
