Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/29493
Title: An archaeological investigation of local Aboriginal responses to European colonisation in the South Australian Riverland via and assessment of culturally modified trees
Contributor(s): Dardengo, Mia (author); Roberts, Amy (author); Morrison, Mick  (author)orcid 
Corporate Author: River Murray and Mallee Aboriginal Corporation (RMMAC): Australia
Publication Date: 2019-12
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/29493
Abstract: This paper explores the individuality and spatial uniqueness of culturally modified trees (CMTs) in the South Australian Riverland to provide new understandings about local Aboriginal responses to European colonisation. As a result of this study 89 CMTs with 99 scars were located and recorded within the floodplain on Calperum Station which can now be monitored and protected for the future. Shield/dish type scars were the most frequent scar types (60%), followed by canoe scars (19%), shelter material or mybkoo scars (4%) and European shingle scars (2%). The remaining 15% of scars were the result of resource procurement. Through an analysis of scar attributes, species-specific trends were illuminated that tell a distinctive local narrative of bark use in the Riverland. We conclude that there was an adapta tion of local bark procurement strategies, favouring black box (Eucalyptus largiflorens) bark, as opposed to bark from red gum trees (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), after a period of sustained European entanglement in the area. Despite this shift, red gum trees remained the target for canoe bark. These trends, when considered in conjunction with the ethnohistoric record of bark use in the region, highlight the continuity in the cultural use of bark by Aboriginal people in the Riverland region, albeit with new technology and transformed procurement strategies which occurred in response to the rapid changes brought by European invasion and settlement.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Grant Details: ARC/170100479
Source of Publication: Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia, v.43, p. 33-70
Publisher: Anthropological Society of South Australia
Place of Publication: Australia
ISSN: 1034-4438
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 210101 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Archaeology
210301 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: 430107 Historical archaeology (incl. industrial archaeology)
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 950503 Understanding Australia's Past
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: 130703 Understanding Australia’s past
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages: S12 Yirawirung
S18 Ngintait
S19 Yuyu
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article
School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

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