Late Holocene coastal land-use, site formation and site survival: Insights from five middens at Cape Leveque and Lombadina, Dampier Peninsula, Kimberley, Australia

Abstract

This paper introduces primary data on site contents, chronology and stratigraphy for four subsurface middens, which formed through the late Holocene on the Dampier Peninsula. Data from one surface midden collection are also presented. In this monsoonal coastal locality, variations in dune stability and sand flux are critical to archaeological site formation and preservation. Site specific factors determining sand sequestration into topsoils interact with geomorphological processes and past human discard to determine the stratigraphy and chronology of individual sites. Taphonomic modes during the Anthropocene have shifted, such that middens are rapidly transformed by wind when exposed in back-beach areas. Processes of sand sequestration present management issues at midden sites, and their chances of survival into the future. The cultural assemblages from the middens are also discussed, with reference to the rich ethnoarchaeology of Bardi land-use and subsistence.

Keywords:

• Dampier Peninsula
• middens
• site formation
• site preservation
• Anthropocene
• coastal Kimberley
• Cape Leveque

Acknowledgements

We would like to extend our thanks to the Bardi Jawi Traditional Owners who supported this research, in particular Mr Frank Davey, Mr Peter Hunter, Mr Vincent Angus, Ms Maureen Angus, Daniel Oades and the Bardi Jawi Rangers who worked with Sue O’Connor, Anthony Barham and Stewart Fallon in the field. Fieldwork was carried out under a Research Agreement between O'Connor and the Bardi Jawi Body Corporate. The Kimberley Land Council are thanked for their assistance with drafting the agreement. A Section 16 Permit (No. 429, 2/5/2008) for the excavations was granted by the Department of Indigenous Affairs, Research, Mitigative, Salvage and Management, Government of Western Australia. We would also like to acknowledge Moya Smith and Kim Akerman for fielding questions about archaeological research in the region and Karina Pelling for producing the maps. We thank three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on the manuscript. All errors contained within are our own.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Funding for this project was provided by the Australian Research Council Discovery Project ‘Catastrophic Marine Inundation Events (CMIEs) on the Prehistoric Archaeological Record of the Australian Coastline’ (DP0878735).