Annual Report of the Archaeological Society of Victoria, 1977

View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Flinders Academic Commons Australian Archaeology Archived at Flinders University: dspace.flinders.edu.au Full Citation Details: Orchiston, D.W. & Johnson, C.S. 1978. Annual report of the Archaeological Society of Victoria, 1977. 'Australian Archaeology', no.8, 43-48. References M a r t i n , William A. Maurer, W.D. 1971 and T.G. Sorting. Lewis 1975 Computing Surveys 3 ( 4 ) :147-74 Hash Table Methods. Computing Sumeys 7(1) :5-19 l 31 3A Edgecliff Road WooZZahra NSW 2025 2 OZive Street Paddington NSW 2021 Department of Archaeo Zogy University o f Sydney A N N U A L R E P O R T O F THE A R C H A E O L O G I C A L SOCIETY O F VICTORIA, 1 9 7 7 D. Wayne Orchiston and C.S. Johnson On b e h a l f of t h e Committee, we a r e p l e a s e d t o p r e s e n t t h e 1 3 t h Annual Report o f t h e Archaeological S o c i e t y of V i c t o r i a . Commi t t e e The composition o f t h e Committee underwent s u b s t a n t i a l change during the year. I n March t h e e l e c t e d A s s i s t a n t S e c r e t a r y , M i s s Cynthia Grove, was t r a n s f e r r e d t o Sydney, and t h e Committee s e l e c t e d M i s s Beverley Webster t o t a k e h e r p l a c e . However, Beverley had t o s t e p down i n J u l y , owing t o evening l e c t u r e commitments, and s h e was r e p l a c e d by M i s s Dianne Saunders. Miss Joan Henderson r e s i g n e d from t h e p o s i t i o n of S y l l a b u s Organiser i n A p r i l , and E r i c Willacy was e l e c t e d t o r e p l a c e h e r , and Gavin Low a c t e d a s T r e a s u r e r d u r i n g Frank Hanham's prolonged o v e r s e a s t r i p . F i n a l l y , a s a r e s u l t of Gary P r e s l a n d ' s d e p a r t u r e f o r t h e I n s t i t u t e of Archaeology i n London, t h e Committee gained t h e s e r v i c e s of D r Nairne Elder. Those who remained on Committee throughout t h e y e a r were D r s Douglas Berryman, P e t e r C o u t t s , and Ron Vanderwal; David Davies, and M i s s Brenda Wallace (as Ordinary Members) ; Ron M i l l e r (Vice-President) ; A l l a n Archived at Flinders University: dspace.flinders.edu.au Waite (Immediate P a s t P r e s i d e n t ) ; C h r i s Johnson ( S e c r e t a r y ) ; and Wayne O r c h i s t o n ( P r e s i d e n t ) . Comni t t e e Meetings During t h e p a s t 1 2 months e l e v e n Committee Meetings were h e l d , and f o l l o w i n g i s a l i s t of a t t e n d a n c e f i g u r e s : D r Berryman D r Coutts M r Davies *Dr E l d e r %iss Grove %r Hanham ..kMiss Henderson M r Johnson jmr Low M r Miller D r Orchiston %r P r e s l a n d *Miss Saunders D r Vanderwal M r Waite M i s s Wallace %iss Webster %r Willacy For each person t h e f i g u r e s i n d i c a t e t h e number of meetings a t t e n d e d a g a i n s t t h e number of meetings h e l d , d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d of o f f i c e . Those who s e r v e d on Committee f o r a p a r t of t h e y e a r o n l y a r e i n d i c a t e d by a s t e r i s k s . During t h e y e a r 9 8 new members were e l e c t e d t o t h e S o c i e t y . There were 2 d e a t h s , 7 r e s i g n a t i o n s , and 14 people were s t r u c k o f f t h e membership l i s t f o r non-payment of f e e s . Two o f t h o s e who r e s i g n e d took o u t annual s u b s c r i p t i o n s t o The Artefact. A s of 27 October 1977, t h e f i n a n c i a l membership of t h e S o c i e t y s t o o d a t 215, r e p r e s e n t i n g a very p l e a s i n g n e t t i n c r e a s e f o r t h e y e a r o f 75. T h i s was mainly achieved a s a r e s u l t of t h e F o s s i l Man l e c t u r e s e r i e s ; and p u b l i c i t y a t t h e U n i v e r s i t i e s , t h e Council of Adult Education, and through t h e V i c t o r i a Archaeological Survey. Monthly Meetings Nine Ordinary monthly meetings of t h e S o c i e t y were h e l d , i n t h e S i s a l k r a f t Theatre a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Melbourne. I n March D r Nicholas P e t e r s o n (Department of P r e h i s t o r y and Anthropology, a t t h e ANU) addressed a j o i n t meeting of o u r S o c i e t y and t h e A n t h r o p o l o g i c a l S o c i e t y of V i c t o r i a on ' A u s t r a l i a n Ethnographic S t u d i e s and t h e i r r e l e v a n c e t o Archaeology'. Gordon Garner of t h e A u s t r a l i a n I n s t i t u t e of Archaeology spoke on Lachish a t t h e A p r i l meeting, and i n J u n e Mrs J u l i e C a r t e r and Gary P r e s l a n d , l o c a l p o s t - g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s i n P r e h i s t o r y , spoke on t h e i r r e s e a r c h programs i n d i f f e r e n t a r e a s of V i c t o r i a n archaeology. The June meeting was a l s o a d d r e s s e d by two s p e a k e r s , Drs Angus Martin (Zoology Department, U n i v e r s i t y of Melbourne) and Andrew Gleadow (Geology Department a t t h e same i n s t i t u t i o n ) , on r e c e n t hominid f i n d s from, and f i s s i o n t r a c k d a t i n g of t h e sediments near Lake Turkana i n E a s t A f r i c a . La Trobe Archived at Flinders University: dspace.flinders.edu.au U n i v e r s i t y ' s new l e c t u r e r i n P r e h i s t o r y , D r P a u l Ossa, d i s c u s s e d h i s South American P a l a e o i n d i a n r e s e a r c h a t t h e J u l y meeting, and i n August J o n P a t r i c k (Department of Computer S c i e n c e a t Monash U n i v e r s i t y ) s p o k e on h i s computer a n a l y s e s of B r i t i s h m e g a l i t h i c s i t e s . The September m e e t i n g t o o k p l a c e d u r i n g t h e 48th ANZAAS C o n g r e s s , which was h e l d i n Melbourne, and one of t h e o v e r s e a s v i s i t o r s , P r o f e s s o r Teuku Jacob from Gadjah Mada U n i v e r s i t y i n I n d o n e s i a , l e c t u r e d o n h i s new ' S o l o an' f i n d s from Ngandong. The s p e a k e r a t t h e October m e e t i n g , D r Ted T r e l o a r from t h e Department o f P h y s i c a l Chemistry a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y of Melbourne, spoke about thermoluminescence d a t i n g , and a t t h e f i n a l meeting of t h e y e a r ( i n November) Greek and Roman s i t e s i n Libya were d i s c u s s e d by D r Frank S e a r from t h e Department of C l a s s i c s a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y of A d e l a i d e . Although a t t e n d a n c e s ranged from 40 t o 1 0 0 , between 50 and 70 were u s u a l l y p r e s e n t a t m e e t i n g s . W e are grateful to a l l the s p e a k e r s f o r t h e i r e f f o r t s , t o t h e Syllabus Organisers f o r planning s o v a r i e d a n d s u c c e s s f u l a program, and t o a l l t h o s e who s o w i l l i n g l y helped with t h e super arrangements. Lecture s e r i e s I n March, t h e S o c i e t y began a 12-week l e c t u r e s e r i e s on ' ~ u m a n E v o l u t i o n i n A f r i c a and A s i a - An A r c h a e o l o g i c a l and B i o l o g i c a l p e r s p e c t i v e ' o n Tuesday e v e n i n g s i n t h e Zoology L e c t u r e T h e a t r e a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Melbourne. Fifty-nine people e n r o l l e d f o r t h i s c o u r s e , and Drs Angus M a r t i n and Wayne O r c h i s t o n s h a r e d t h e l e c t u r i n g . W e a r e g r a t e f u l t o Angus f o r making t h e Zoology L e c t u r e T h e a t r e a v a i l a b l e f o r t h i s course. Research seminars ; pub1 ic l e c t u r e During 1977 t h e S o c i e t y o r g a n i s e d two a l l - d a y Research Seminars. The f i r s t , o n 'The M t W i l l i a m Axe ~ u a r r i e s ' , took p l a c e on 1 May, and was a t t e n d e d by 75 members and f r i e n d s . Following l e c t u r e s o n t h e g e o l o g i c a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s o f s t o n e a r t e f a c t s , t r a d e networks i n a r c h a e o l o g y , and t h e M t William s i t e , by Gus Ferguson (Geology Department, U n i v e r s i t y o f Melbourne) , Ron Vanderwal ( P r e h i s t o r y a t La Trobe) and Ron M i l l e r (Head of t h e Education Department a t t h e N a t i o n a l Museum of V i c t o r i a ) r e s p e c t i v e l y , we journeyed t o L a n c e f i e l d O v a l by b u s , and a f t e r l u n c h proceeded t o t h e s i t e i t s e l f . The s e c o n d Seminar f o c u s s e d on 'Man and Megafauna i n A u s t r a l i a ' , and was h e l d o n 2 October. A f t e r a n i n t r o d u c t o r y l e c t u r e by Dan W i t t e r o f t h e V i c t o r i a A r c h a e o l o g i c a l Survey, Edmund G i l l ( D i v i s i o n o f Applied Geomechanics, CSIRO) spoke on Quaternary e n v i r o n m e n t a l changes i n V i c t o r i a and Bass S t r a i t . Joseph Leach, a n h o n o u r s s t u d e n t i n Geology a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y of Melbourne, t h e n d i s c u s s e d h i s r e c e n t i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f megafauna from Lake Corangamite, and Lindy Cochrane and P e t e r C o u t t s ( b o t h from t h e V i c t o r i a A r c h a e o l o g i c a l Survey) summarised Holocene man-environment r e l a t i o n s h i p s i n Western V i c t o r i a . F i n a l l y , Wayne O r c h i s t o n ended t h e Seminar w i t h a review of t h e e x t a n t a r c h a e o l o g i c a l e v i d e n c e f o r a n a s s o c i a t i o n between man and megafauna i n Australia. T h a t b o t h Seminars were a s u c c e s s is l a r g e l y a t r i b u t e Archived at Flinders University: dspace.flinders.edu.au t o t h e s p e a k e r s ' e f f o r t s , and t o t h o s e who manned t h e door of t h e Zoology Building, and a s s i s t e d with t h e morning and a f t e r n o o n t e a s . I n a d d i t i o n t o thanking them, we a r e g r a t e f u l t o D r Martin f o r making t h e Zoology L e c t u r e T h e a t r e a v a i l a b l e o n b o t h o c c a s i o n s . The S o c i e t y was a l s o involved i n a P u b l i c L e c t u r e , i n a s s o c i a t i o n with t h e C l a s s i c a l A s s o c i a t i o n of V i c t o r i a , and t h e Department of C l a s s i c a l S t u d i e s and t h e Off i c e f o r Continuing Education a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y of Melbourne. On 2 4 March, about 150 people were p r e s e n t i n t h e Laby T h e a t r e t o h e a r P e t e r Callaghan from t h e B r i t i s h School a t Athens l e c t u r e on h i s 1976 e x c a v a t i o n s a t Knossos. Visits The f i r s t o f f i c i a l S o c i e t y f u n c t i o n of 1977 was a v i s i t by 40 members and f r i e n d s t o t h e Chinese E x h i b i t i o n a t t h e N a t i o n a l G a l l e r y on 8 February. T h i s was followed, on 26 J u n e , by a n i n t e r e s t i n g a f t e r n o o n v i s i t by a p a r t y of 21 t o Ancient Times House, through t h e c o u r t e s y of Gordon Garner, D i r e c t o r o f t h e A u s t r a l i a n I n s t i t u t e of Archaeology. F i n a l l y , on 23 J u l y , D r I a n McPhee from t h e Department o f F i n e A r t s a t La Trobe U n i v e r s i t y l e d a group of 25 on a n e n t e r t a i n i n g and e n l i g h t e n i n g guided t o u r of t h e C l a s s i c a l H a l l i n t h e N a t i o n a l Gallery. We a r e g r a t e f u l t o Gordon and I a n f o r g i v i n g up t h e i r t i m e , and r e g r e t t h a t t h e s e v i s i t s were n o t b e t t e r supported. They were e s p e c i a l l y scheduled s o a s t o provide a b a l a n c e f o r t h e p r e h i s t o r y o r i e n t a t i o n of t h e monthly l e c t u r e s y l l a b u s . Annual Dinner The Annual Dinner was h e l d a t U n i v e r s i t y House, U n i v e r s i t y of Melbourne, on F r i d a y 1 2 August, and was a t t e n d e d by 32 members and f r i e n d s . Despite t h e s m a l l a t t e n d a n c e and absence of a s p e a k e r , an enjoyable time was had by a l l , thanks l a r g e l y t o t h e o r g a n i s a t i o n a l e f f o r t s of Brenda Wallace, Doug Berryman, and C h r i s Johnson. Pub1 ications Over t h e p a s t 12 months t h e S e c r e t a r y produced f i v e BuZZetins, which contained n o t i c e s of meetings; summaries of l e c t u r e s ( c o u r t e s y of Brenda Wallace) ; announcements; l i s t s of new members, and L i b r a r y acquisitions. The E d i t o r i a l Subcommittee, comprising Mark J u r i s i c h , Ron M i l l e r , Ron Vanderwal and Wayne Orchiston, brought o u t f o u r i s s u e s of The Artefact i n t h e 12 months s i n c e t h e l a s t AGM. These were: Volume 1, Number 4 (December 1976); and Volume 2, ,Numbers 1, 2 and 3. Between them, t h e s e f o u r numbers t o t a l j u s t o v e r 200 pages, and c o n t a i n 9 r e s e a r c h papers and 4 book reviews. Local b i a s is a p p a r e n t i n t h a t s i x of t h e a r t i c l e s r e l a t e d i r e c t l y t o V i c t o r i a . T h a t The Artefact i s g a i n i n g acceptance a s a pro£ e s s i o n a l r e s e a r c h j o u r n a l is m a n i f e s t by i t s rapidly-expanding c i r c u l a t i o n - i t now goes t o a l l S t a t e s of A u s t r a l i a and t o 11 overseas c o u n t r i e s ; t h e exchange arrangements made Archived at Flinders University: dspace.flinders.edu.au w i t h o v e r s e a s i n s t i t u t i o n s ; and t h e o r d e r s coming i n f o r back The E d i t o r i a l Subcommittee is g r a t e f u l t o Joan and r e p r i n t s . and Lyn Ramsay f o r t h e i r e f f i c i e n t t y p i n g of t h e g r i d s h e e t s , t o Andlon Reproductions who f a c e t h e arduous t a s k o f p r i n t i n g small-budge t p u b l i c a t i o n , u s u a l l y on s h o r t n o t i c e . numbers Ogden and a Library Over t h e p a s t 1 2 months t h e l i b r a r y has grown r a p i d l y , with t h e d o n a t i o n and purchase of many new items. A number of j o u r n a l s and monographs were a l s o o b t a i n e d i n exchange f o r The Artefact. T r a n s p o r t o f t h e L i b r a r y t o t h e monthly meetings became a major problem d u r i n g t h e y e a r and was only overcome when we were granted p e r m i s s i o n t o house t h e c o l l e c t i o n i n t h e k i t c h e n a d j a c e n t t o t h e S i s a l k r a f t T h e a t r e . The L i b r a r i a n , Andrew P e r r y , devoted a g r e a t d e a l of time t o r e l o c a t i n g and r e o r g a n i z i n g t h e e n t i r e c o l l e c t i o n ; c a t a l o g u i n g new a c c e s s i o n s ; providing books, j o u r n a l s and r e p r i n t S w i t h l o a n c a r d s ; and s t r e a m l i n i n g t h e borrowing procedure. The workload e v e n t u a l l y became such t h a t we had t o a p p o i n t an A s s i s t a n t L i b r a r i a n , and B i l l Thomas k i n d l y took on t h i s t a s k . The f r u i t s o f t h i s i n d u s t r i o u s a c t i v i t y a r e p o p u l a r i t y o f t h e L i b r a r y , which c o n t i n u e s t o be s u p p o r t e d f a c i l i t i e s o f f e r e d by t h e Society. W e c o n g r a t u l a t e Andrew and B i l l f o r t h e magnificent d u r i n g t h e y e a r , and thank a l l those who donated Library. seen i n the great one of t h e b e s t would l i k e t o job they have done material t o the Deaths During t h e y e a r we were advised o f t h e death of two members of t h e S o c i e t y , M r s E. Henderson of South Yarra, and M r Hamilton Ferguson o f Essendon. M r Ferguson has been a major f o r c e i n t h e S o c i e t y f o r many y e a r s , and only r e s i g n e d from t h e o f f i c e of Honorary S e c r e t a r y a t t h e 1976 AGM, a t which time he was granted Honorary Membership. With h i s p a s s i n g we have l o s t a valued f r i e n d and colleague. We s h o u l d a l s o mention the death of P r o f e s s o r H.K. Hunt, who was made a n Honorary Member i n 1975. S h o r t l y b e f o r e h i s d e a t h i n A p r i l of t h i s y e a r P r o f e s s o r Hunt resigned from t h e S o c i e t y , owing t o ill h e a l t h . W e o f f e r o u r s i n c e r e s t condolences t o t h e family and f r i e n d s o f t h e s e deceased former members. An Obituary f o r Hamilton Ferguson appears i n the September i s s u e of The Artefact. The ' K e i l o r Collection' I n J a n u a r y o f t h i s y e a r D r Alexander Gallus confirmed h i s g i f t t o t h e S o c i e t y of t h e c o l l e c t i o n of a r t e f a c t s and o t h e r m a t e r i a l e x c a v a t e d a t a number of s i t e s a l o n g t h e banks of Dry Creek n e a r K e i l o r between 1966 and 1972. Archived at Flinders University: dspace.flinders.edu.au Systematic c a t a l o g u i n g of t h i s s o - c a l l e d ' K e i l o r C o l l e c t i o n ' was continued by Doreen and B i l l Cross, Frank Hanham, and t h e l a t e Hamilton Ferguson d u r i n g t h e y e a r , and a s p e c t s o f t h e c o l l e c t i o n were r e s e a r c h e d by D r G a l l u s , David Davies, J o n P a t r i c k and Wayne Orchiston. Midway through t h e year t h e e n t i r e c o l l e c t i o n was moved from i t s home i n t h e o l d K e i l o r S h i r e H a l l (which was scheduled f o r r e n o v a t i o n ) t o a new s t o r e a t t h e Melbourne and M e t r o p o l i t a n , Board of Works' Brimbank Park n e a r Keilor. W e a r e g r a t e f u l t o t h o s e members who gave up t h e i r time t o a s s i s t w i t h t h e move, b u t p a r t i c u l a r l y David Davies and E r i c W i l l a c y , who o r g a n i z e d t h e project. Research by members A s i g n o f the growing s t a t u s of t h e S o c i e t y is t h e i n c r e a s i n g p r o p o r t i o n of members involved i n a c t i v e r e s e a r c h , e i t h e r i n d e p e n d e n t l y , o r e l s e through t h e V i c t o r i a Archaeological Survey, t h e N a t i o n a l Museum of V i c t o r i a , o r t h e U n i v e r s i t i e s . By t h e end o f October 1977, n e a r l y 15% of t h e membership was working on p u b l i s h a b l e p r o j e c t s i n v a r i o u s branches of archaeology o r c l o s e l y a l l i e d d i s c i p l i n e s . T h i s i s a p l e a s i n g a s p e c t of t h e Society' S development. Acknowledgements T h i s has been a y e a r of s u b s t a n t i a l growth and c o n s o l i d a t i o n , a s a r e s u l t of t h e combined e f f o r t s of many i n d i v i d u a l s . I n a d d i t i o n t o people a l r e a d y mentioned i n d i v i d u a l l y , we would l i k e t o thank a l l those who c o n t r i b u t e d i n any way towards t h e s u c c e s s f u l f u n c t i o n i n g of t h e S o c i e t y i n 1977. S p e c i a l thanks must go t o t h o s e who s e r v e d on subcommittees d u r i n g t h e y e a r ; t o t h e V i c t o r i a Archaeological Survey and i t s D i r e c t o r , P e t e r C o u t t s , f o r a s s i s t a n c e throughout t h e y e a r ; t o o t h e r members of t h e C o m i t t e e f o r t h e i r s t e r l i n g e f f o r t s ; t o t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Melbourne f o r making t h e S i s a l k r a f t T h e a t r e a v a i l a b l e f r e e of c h a r g e f o r monthly meetings ; and t o t h e H i s t o r y Department a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y of Melbourne f o r p r o v i d i n g f r e e Committee Meeting f a c i l i t i e s . Archived at Flinders University: dspace.flinders.edu.au