A05_07

Radiocarbon dating occupation of The Riverland region of the Murray River, South Australia.

Jacobsen G ¹,  Roberts A², Westell C², Jones R², Moffat I², Morrison M³, Rudd R⁴, River Murray and Mallee Aboriginal Corporation⁵

¹ANSTO, Lucas Heights, Australia, ²College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia, ³Department of Archaeology, University of New England, Armidale, Australia, ⁴School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia, ⁵River Murray and Mallee Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC, Adelaide, Australia

The Riverland region in South Australia is on the River Murry, Australia’s longest river, which originates in the Australian Alps in New South Wales and is part of an extensive river system that encompasses one-seventh of Australia – The Murray-Darling Basin (MDB).

Until recently, there had been few radiocarbon determinations in the Riverland region, creating a large gap in understanding past occupation in the MDB. To address this gap in knowledge, the Flinders University is working with the indigenous landowners, represented by the River Murray and Mallee Aboriginal Corporation (RMMAC) to identify and investigate archaeological sites in the Riverland region to determine a chronology for occupation and learn how the RMMAC ancestors adapted to the changing environment.

An extensive research project is underway, here we present initial radiocarbon dating and findings, encompassing occupation since before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the time of the European invasion in the 19th Century. Dating of 48 shell and charcoal shell samples have provided the earliest date for occupation of this region to 29 ka, this is followed by a hiatus until around 15 ka with subsequent occupation continuing through the Holocene. At around 4 ka oven mounds appeared, indicating innovations to broadening food resources in response to changing environmental conditions.