Longest Tradition: Australian Cave Holds Evidence of 12,000-year-old Ritual

In societies without writing, archaeologically tracing ethnographically known rituals back more than a few hundred years is rare. However, new archaeological evidence has been gleaned from the foothills of the Australian Alps, uncovering buried miniature fireplaces dating back 11,000 and 12,000 years, containing protruding trimmed wooden artifacts made of Casuarina wood smeared with animal or human fat.

Cloggs Cave Investigation

At the invitation of Gunai Kurnai Aboriginal Elders, researchers conducted archaeological excavations at Cloggs Cave in the Alpine foothills.

In Gunai Kurnai Country, caves were used during the early colonial period (mid-nineteenth century AD) not as residences, but as secluded sites for rituals performed by Aboriginal medicine men and women, known as "mulla-mullung," as documented by ethnographers. The findings of the investigation have been published in the July edition of Nature Human Behavior.

These artifacts match the configuration and contents of Gunai Kurnai ritual installations described in nineteenth-century ethnography. The findings represent 500 generations of cultural transmission of a documented ritual practice that dates back to the end of the last ice age and include Australia’s oldest known wooden artifacts.

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Two of the pieces of wood from the miniature fireplaces at Cloggs Cave. (David, B et al/Nature)

Just last month, Professor Bruno David from the Monash Indigenous Studies Centre was awarded an Australian Research Council (ARC) Industry Laureate Fellowship. He was tasked with the goal of researching coastal archaeological sites and work to preserve Indigenous cultural heritage in collaboration with the GunaiKurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GKLaWAC).

“Through the Fellowship with GKLaWAC, Professor David will work to develop a new, nationally and internationally applicable method to predict and monitor the susceptibility of coastal archaeological sites to erosion, and the training of a generation of GunaiKurnai Traditional Owners in land-and-sea Country research, monitoring and management. This approach will provide significant benefits for the self-determining management of coastal archaeological sites and landscapes by Indigenous organizations for future generations,” as per a press release by Monash University last month.

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Cloggs Cave cliffline above the Buchan River flood plain, showing location of cave entrance. (David, B/ResearchGate)

Cloggs Cave: Archaeological Features

Cloggs Cave exhibits several archaeological features that are characteristic of GunaiKurnai ritual installations and practices. These features span approximately 23,000 years, indicating the cave's prolonged use for various ritual activities. One of the notable features is a stone arrangement located in a shallow recess at the back of the cave, referred to as the alcove.

It possesses stalactites on the alcove's low ceiling, within human reach and up to 80 cm above the floor, some of which were intentionally broken. Uranium–thorium dating of the bases of regrowth filaments on these broken stalactites indicates they started regrowing between 120 and 23,230 years ago, approximately. This suggests that the breakage occurred within the period of confirmed Aboriginal presence in the cave, which began around 25,000 calibrated radiocarbon years before 1950 AD.

Another significant feature is a large patch of crushed calcite found on the floor next to the stone arrangement. A portable grindstone with traces of crushed calcite crystals, dated between 1,535 and 2,084 calibrated years before present, was also excavated 8 meters away near square P35. In the same area, 158 broken soda straws and crystal quartz artifacts were discovered, which nineteenth-century GunaiKurnai ethnography and contemporary GunaiKurnai knowledge holders identify as bulk (pebbles) and groggin and kiin (crystals). These objects were documented to hold ritual significance and were used for magic and medicinal purposes.

Finally, a fully buried standing stone, estimated to be around 2,000 years old, was excavated in square P35.

Despite the presence of tens of thousands of small vertebrate bones, primarily from natural deaths and owl roosts, there are no remains of vertebrate animal food, suggesting the cave was not used for residential purposes but rather for ritualistic activities.

One of the miniature fireplaces with trimmed sticks immediately after they were exposed by excavation in Cloggs Cave. (David, B et al/Nature)

Ethnographic Records: Tracing Installations in Secluded Areas

Nineteenth-century ethnographic records describe ritual practices that involved creating installations in secluded areas. These installations used wooden components that typically decayed within a few years or decades, preventing them from being widely observed and replicated over long periods. Archaeological evidence shows that these wooden objects were often placed near or smeared with animal or human fat during their use, mirroring the ethnographic accounts. This association with fat, invisible to the naked eye, made the ritual elements difficult to duplicate.

The installation from XU8–9 (SU4D) dated to 10,720–12,420 cal BP. (David, B et al/Nature)

The factors that enabled the preservation of both the installations and their wooden artefacts provide exceptional insights into the durability of GunaiKurnai cultural traditions and the transmission of knowledge across generations. These artefacts, alongside ethnographic documentation, illustrate the continuity of ritual practices and ideas over a period of 12,000 years.

“Local ethnography and current GunaiKurnai knowledge document that caves such as Cloggs Cave were never used for general occupation in GunaiKurnai Country; the lack of archaeological food remains in such caves is consistent with the ethnography. Rather, the caves were the retreats of mulla-mullung, powerful medicine men and women who practiced magic and rituals in secluded places,” write the authors of the study.

The striking similarities between the miniature fires and trimmed, fat-smeared wooden sticks found in Cloggs Cave and those described in mid-nineteenth-century ethnographic accounts indicate a remarkable continuity of practice. These findings suggest that the ethnographically known rituals have direct antecedents dating back approximately 12,000 years, to the end of the last ice age. This continuity underscores the deep cultural heritage and long-term preservation of ritual traditions among the GunaiKurnai people!

The GunaiKurnai People: A Rich Oral and Cultural Tradition

The GunaiKurnai people are the Traditional Owners of a vast area in southeastern Australia, encompassing the Gippsland region of Victoria. The history of the GunaiKurnai people is deeply intertwined with the diverse landscapes of their country, from the coastal areas and wetlands to the mountainous alpine regions. They have a rich oral tradition that includes stories, songs, and ceremonies passed down through generations.

In the face of European colonization, the GunaiKurnai people experienced significant disruptions to their traditional way of life. The introduction of new diseases, land dispossession, and violent conflicts greatly impacted their communities.

Top image: Entrance to Cloggs Cave.    Source: David, B et al/Nature

By Sahir Pandey