Old boundaries and new horizons: the Weipa shell mounds reconsidered

Title
Old boundaries and new horizons: the Weipa shell mounds reconsidered
Publication Date
2003-04
Author(s)
Morrison, Michael
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Place of publication
Australia
DOI
10.1002/j.1834-4453.2003.tb00516.x
UNE publication id
une:1959.11/29440
Abstract
This paper develops an alternative interpretation of shell mound phenomena at Albatross Bay, near Weipa on the west coast of Cape York Peninsula. Past researchers have interpreted these distinct mounded middens as functional edifices, constructed to enable small family groups to camp closer to resources during the late wet season. Here I propose that the mounds at Weipa were associated with relatively large groups of people intensively exploiting the shellfish Anadara granosa. This argument is based on a range of factors, including the biological characteristics of Anadara, a species that makes up over 90% of the composition of shell mounds, as well as archaeological and ethnographic evidence.
Link
Citation
Archaeology in Oceania, 38(1), p. 1-8
ISSN
1834-4453
0728-4896
Start page
1
End page
8

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