Honours Thesis Abstract

THESIS ABSTRACTS MINING THE LANdSCAPE: FINdING THE SOCIAL IN THE INdUSTRIAL THROUGH AN ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE LANdSCAPES OF MOUNT SHAMROCK Geraldine Mate PhD, School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, September 2010 In this thesis I offer a fresh approach to the historical archaeology of industry, using landscape as a framework for the investigation of a mining settlement. This approach marries the study of the social with the industrial reality of mining towns, acknowledging the role of landscape in framing people’s understanding of their everyday world. In particular, I examine how people made – created, constructed and understood – their landscape in the gold mining town of Mount Shamrock, in Queensland, Australia, settled in the second half of the nineteenth century. Landscape as a theoretical perspective provides a means of articulating how people understood the place in which they lived and worked. Although landscape studies have been undertaken in historical archaeology, they have generally not extended to a holistic view that includes the construction and embedding of meaning in landscape. Instead, landscape studies in historical archaeology have tended to limit analyses to the structuring of a landscape, not taking into account the dialectic of creating meaning in and taking meaning from the landscape. Further, in historical archaeology as a whole and in Australia in particular, there is frequently a false dichotomy in the way industrial towns are approached with the separation of industry and settlement. This study examines social inluences in the establishment and layout of Mount Shamrock, identifying signiicant elements in the construction of the physical and social landscape of the residents. I also consider how people created landscapes of meaning and attachment as they settled in the area and how this meaning was embedded in the landscape through movement, narrative and experiences. The inluence of technologies on the social landscape the residents constructed and lived in is analysed and conversely social inluences on the way mining and processing were carried out. Archaeological survey, historical documentation, maps, photographs and experiential reading were used to examine the remnants of Mount Shamrock. I argue that there was a constructed landscape at Mount Shamrock with a degree of structuring, evidenced by spatial arrangement and location of particular features in the landscape. People’s social relationships were embedded in landscape, for example with kinship networks represented in the proximity of properties. However, there was also evidence of social mobility within the social landscape of the settlement, the context of Mount Shamrock as a goldmining town, situated in nineteenth century Queensland facilitating that mobility. Residents initially perceived their landscape as wilderness – quickly transforming the landscape into something they could know and understand. They also regarded the landscape as a resource – they conceptualised it as such, they promoted it that way and they structured it that way – as a mining landscape that was experienced in everyday activity and even through sensory perceptions. The inluence of technology on the social hierarchy of Mount Shamrock was clear; technology was integral to how the residents operated and how they perceived the social landscape. Further, analysis also demonstrated the role social inluences played in the adoption of particular types of technology. The analysis of the landscapes of Mount Shamrock shows both the applicability of a landscape framework to historical archaeology and the versatility and depth of interpretation that can be gained by considering landscapes as a whole. Further, it is evident that industry and settlement are integrally linked, and all part of a meaningful and engaged landscape. At Mount Shamrock, gold mining was all pervasive in people’s perceptions of the landscape, part of the lived experience and it is clear that the ‘social’ of everyday life was indeed to be found in the ‘industrial’. UNVEILING ROCK ART IMAGES: A PILOT PROJECT EMPLOYING A GEOPHYSICAL TECHNIQUE TO dETECT MAGNETIC SIGNATURES Jennifer Milani M. Archaeology, Department of Archaeology, Flinders University, June 2010 The use of geophysical techniques in archaeology has become widespread, however these methods have rarely been applied to rock art research. There is a need to record and document rock art images as they face deterioration from environmental, industrial and human impacts. This project trials the use of a magnetic susceptibility (MS) meter to non-invasively detect and spatially resolve ochre rock art images. Ochre is frequently used in rock art production and previous research in other contexts has shown that it emits a MS signature due to its inherent magnetic characteristics. These ochre images can be hidden behind silica or carbonate crusts or may deteriorate over time limiting their visibility. The rock art images that lie behind such crusts are likely to be protected from weathering and are amenable to dating using such techniques as uranium-series and radiocarbon accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). This research demonstrates that, if present in suficient abundance, red ochre can be imaged and spatially resolved with a MS meter when applied to a rock face in a variety of geological environments. The type of binder used, pre-application heating or the rock type does not appear to have a signiicant effect on the viability of the technique. More important to the success of a survey is the equipment setting, spatial resolution of the survey and the use of a correction to control instrument drift. Imaging ochre beneath a proxy crust was trialled without success; however this is attributed to poor survey design rather than a fundamental problem with the technique. The success of this trial demonstrates the validity of continuing investigations in the emerging ield of rock art geophysics and highlights the importance of future trials on ield sites. Number 71, December 2010 87 Thesis Abstracts TO SEE WITH NEW EYES: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF A CONTACT LANdSCAPE AT THE WEIPA ‘TWENTY MILE’ MISSION, NORTHWESTERN CAPE YORK PENINSULA, QUEENSLANd Victoria Wade Claire Ratican B. Archaeology (Hons), Department of Archaeology, Flinders University, October 2009 B. Archaeology (Hons), Department of Archaeology, Flinders University, October 2009 This thesis presents the results of a phenomenological analysis of a contact landscape at the Weipa Mission in Weipa, Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. Many archaeological studies of contact have framed relations and experiences in terms of domination and passivity. In response, later studies have focused on the innovation, agency, resistance and accommodation of Indigenous people through ethnographic, landscape and material culture studies. This shift towards an archaeology of engagement brings to light the active participation of both cultures in social interaction. Phenomenology serves as an alternative framework which deconstructs the inequality implicit in conceptions of contact relations by attempting to understand these experiences through the body’s mediation of the contact landscape. The potential of phenomenology to contribute to contact archaeology was tested at Weipa Mission. To do this, archaeological survey was carried out to map the spatial arrangement of the site and mission diaries were analysed for records of people and events occurring within the landscape. These records were plotted into the map generated by the survey using GIS, which modelled the relationship between spatiality, sensuality, social practices and the landscape. These maps also acted as a reference point from which phenomenological recreations of past Indigenous experiences of space were made, complemented by the mission diaries and historical photographs. This enabled a phenomenological exploration of how the landscape was sensuously perceived by the Indigenous inhabitants of the Mission. Analysis showed that many experiences of Mission places were common to all inhabitants as dictated by the ideological and social role they played in the life of Weipa Mission. However, the phenomenological reconstructions of sensory experience, based on the events narrated in the mission diaries, suggest a wide scope of diverse and individualistic experiences which were deeply personal. This study shows that post-contact relations at the Weipa Mission were much more interactive and dynamic than can be revealed using a domination and resistance model, and that phenomenology has great potential for exploring past human behaviours in historical archaeological contexts. 88 STYLE, SPACE ANd SOCIAL INTERACTION: AN ANALYSIS OF THE ROCK ART ON MIddLE PARK STATION, NORTHWEST QUEENSLANd This thesis investigates the previously undescribed rock art of Middle Park Station in northwest Queensland. Queensland rock art has been intensively studied over the past four decades, leading to the identiication of several distinct art ‘provinces’: central Queensland, Mt Isa, the northern Queensland highlands and Cape York Peninsula. The Middle Park study area is centrally located between these art provinces, and is also situated in an area of ethnographically documented trade routes, making it an ideal setting in which to explore themes such as territoriality, social interaction and ideas exchange. This is achieved through characterisation of the Middle Park rock art assemblage, including analysis of motifs, techniques and their frequencies, and subsequent comparison with those of surrounding regions. Using GIS to assess site locations, and motif and technique frequencies, a spatial-stylistic approach was adopted at both local and regional levels to identify patterning within the landscape. Application of the principles of the information exchange theory of style then allowed conclusions to be drawn from this data regarding territorial behaviour and inter-group interaction. It was argued that, despite supericial stylistic similarities, the northern Queensland highlands, of which Middle Park is a part, cannot be considered merely an extension of the Central Queensland Province, owing to distinctly different motif ranges and technique frequencies. Further, owing to distinct stylistic and technical disparities within their rock art assemblages, it was deemed highly unlikely that there was contact with groups from the adjacent Cape York or Mt Isa regions. Analysis of material culture and hand variations present within the Middle Park rock art assemblage was also undertaken to complement ethnographic information and extend our knowledge of traditional lifeways. A range of boomerangs, shields, spear throwers and digging sticks were identiied, and through ethnographic analogy it was concluded that the majority of artefacts depicted were associated with hunting or ighting. Hand stencil variations were also present, though examination indicates that suggestions by others that they represent sign language among groups in the Middle Park area as recorded ethnographically cannot be supported. Closer consideration of such motifs using digital image enhancement indicated that people bearing cultural hand mutilations were present in the study area. Number 71, December 2010 number 71 December 2010 Australian Archaeology, the oficial publication of the Editors Australian Archaeological Association Inc., is a refereed Sean Ulm The University of Queensland journal published since 1974. It accepts original articles Annie Ross The University of Queensland in all ields of archaeology and other subjects relevant to archaeological research and practice in Australia and nearby Editorial Advisory Board areas. Contributions are accepted in seven sections: Articles Val Attenbrow Australian Museum (5000-8000 words), Short Reports (1000-3000), Obituaries Margaret Conkey University of California, Berkeley (500-2000), Bruno David Monash University Thesis Abstracts (200-500), Book Reviews (500-2000), Comment (1000) and Backill (which includes Andrew Fairbairn The University of Queensland letters, conference details, announcements and other material Richard Fullagar Scarp Archaeology of interest to members). Australian Archaeology is published Martin Gibbs University of Sydney twice a year, in June and December. Notes to Contributors are Luke Godwin Central Queensland Cultural Heritage available at www.australianarchaeologicalassociation.com.au. Management Pty Ltd Chris Gosden University of Oxford Australian Archaeology is indexed in the Arts and Humanities Simon Holdaway University of Auckland Citation Index of the ISI Web of Knowledge, SCOPUS, Susan Lawrence La Trobe University Australian Public Affairs Information Service (APAIS) and Judith Littleton University of Auckland Anthropological Literature and Anthropological Index Online. Jo McDonald JMcD CHM Pty Ltd Australian Archaology is ranked as a tier A journal by the Tim Murray La Trobe University Australian Research Council, European Reference Index for the Jim O’Connell University of Utah & The Australian National University Humanities and French Agence d’Evaluation de la Recherche et Fiona Petchey University of Waikato de l’Enseignement Supérieur. Lynette Russell Monash University Robin Torrence Australian Museum Subscriptions are available to individuals through membership of the Australian Archaeological Association Peter Veth The Australian National University David Whitley ASM Afiliates Inc. Inc. or to organisations through institutional subscription. Subscription application/renewal forms are available at http://www.australianarchaeologicalassociation.com.au. Editorial Assistant Linda Terry The University of Queensland Australian Archaeology is available through Informit and JSTOR. Short Report Editors Graphic Design: Lovehate Design Lara Lamb University of Southern Queensland Printing: Catherine Westcott Department of Transport Screen Offset Printing & Main Roads (Qld) Cover: Painting of a European tall ship, most likely made in the 1700s (Photograph: Paul S.C. Taçon). Book Review Editors Jon Prangnell The University of Queensland All correspondence and submissions should be addressed to: Jill Reid Department of Transport & Main Roads (Qld) Australian Archaeology Thesis Abstract Editor PO Box 6088, St Lucia QLD 4067, AUSTRALIA Stephen Nichols The University of Queensland Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.australianarchaeologicalassociation.com.au The views expressed in this journal are not necessarily those of the Australian Archaeological Association Inc. or the Editors. © Australian Archaeological Association Inc., 2010 ISSN 0312-2417 TABLE OF CONTENTS Editorial Sean Ulm & Annie Ross ii ARTICLES A Minimum Age for Early Depictions of Southeast Asian Praus in the Rock Art of Arnhem Land, Northern Territory Paul S.C. Taçon, Sally K. May, Stewart J. Fallon, Meg Travers, Daryl Wesley & Ronald Lamilami 1 A Dingo Burial from the Arnhem Land Plateau R.G. Gunn, R.L. Whear & L.C. Douglas 11 Painting the Police: Aboriginal Visual Culture and Identity in Colonial Cape York Peninsula Noelene Cole 17 Cave Archaeology and Sampling Issues in the Tropics: A Case Study from Lene Hara Cave, a 42,000 Year Old Occupation Site in East Timor, Island Southeast Asia Sue O’Connor, Anthony Barham, Matthew Spriggs, Peter Veth, Ken Aplin & Emma St Pierre 29 Historicising the Present: Late Holocene Emergence of a Rainforest Hunting Camp, Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea Ian J. McNiven, Bruno David, Ken Aplin, Max Pivoru, William Pivoru, Alex Sexton, Jonathan Brown, Chris Clarkson, Kate Connell, John Stanisic, Marshall Weisler, Simon Haberle, Andrew Fairbairn & Noel Kemp 41 Painting History: Indigenous Observations and Depictions of the ‘Other’ in Northwestern Arnhem Land, Australia Sally K. May, Paul S.C. Taçon, Daryl Wesley & Meg Travers 57 SHORT REPORTS Earliest Evidence for Ground-Edge Axes: 35,400±410 cal BP from Jawoyn Country, Arnhem Land Jean-Michel Geneste, Bruno David, Hugues Plisson, Chris Clarkson, Jean-Jacques Delannoy, Fiona Petchey & Ray Whear 66 The Age of Australian Rock Art: A Review Michelle C. Langley & Paul S.C. Taçon 70 Buggering Around in the Backyard: Creating Attachment to Place through Archaeology and Material Culture Steve Brown 74 BOOK REVIEWS Roonka: Fugitive Traces and Climatic Mischief edited by Keryn Walshe Reviewed by Eleanor Crosby 79 Archaeological Investigation by Martin Carver Reviewed by David Frankel 80 The Politics of Suffering: Indigenous Australia and the End of the Liberal Consensus by Peter Sutton Reviewed by Luke Godwin 81 Managing Archaeological Resources: Global Context, National Programs, Local Actions edited by Francis P. McManamon, Andrew Stout & Jodi A. Barnes Reviewed by Thomas F. King 84 Arrernte Present, Arrernte Past: Invasion, Violence, and Imagination in Indigenous Central Australia by Diane Austin-Broos Reviewed by John White 85 THESIS ABSTRACTS 87 BACKFILL Rock Art and Modiied Tree Tracings Digitisation: Background, Sites, Issues and Access Emma Lees 89 Lectures 93 List of Referees 95 NOTES TO CONTRIBUTORS 97 Number 71, December 2010 i