Wala-gaay Guwingal: A twentieth century Aboriginal culturally modified tree with an embedded stone tool
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-20, 20:49authored bySpry, C, Hayes, E, Kathryn AllenKathryn Allen, Long, A, Paton, L, Hua, Q, Armstrong, BJ, Fullagar, R, Webb, J, Penzo-Kajewski, P, Bordes, L
Aboriginal culturally modified trees are a distinctive feature of the Australian archaeological record, generating insights into Aboriginal interactions with wood and bark, which rarely survive in archaeological contexts. However, they are under-studied, in decline and typically presumed to pre-date the 20th century. Here we investigate the origin of a scar with a stone tool embedded in the scar overgrowth, located in the Central Tablelands, New South Wales, on Wiradjuri Country. We consider three datasets for this purpose: the tree and scar features; macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of the embedded stone; and chronology and age of the tree and scar. The origin of the scar and its relationship with the stone tool are unclear. However, the results, together with documentary and oral evidence, suggest that Aboriginal people quarried the stone and probably used it as a wedge to lever bark from the tree, or to make a sign. The results provide a rare glimpse into the continuation of Aboriginal cultural practices and knowledge transmission in the second half of the 20th century.
History
Publication title
Australian Archaeology
Volume
86
Pagination
3-20
ISSN
0312-2417
Department/School
School of Geography, Planning and Spatial Sciences
Publisher
Routledge Taylor & Francis Ltd
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Rights statement
Copyright 2020 Australian Archaeological Association
Repository Status
Restricted
Socio-economic Objectives
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artefacts; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander connection to land and environment