Format: Paper presentations with discussion
Convenors:
Dr Rhiannon C. Stammers, South Australia Water & La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia, rhiannon.stammers@sawater.com.au
Mr Rene Woods, Murray Darling Basin Authority & University of NSW, Sydney, Australia, Rene.Woods@mdba.gov.au
Rivers and waterways are the life blood of humanity. From the Murray-Darling Basin in south-eastern Australia, to the Nile Valley in Africa and the sprawling systems of Eurasia, people’s lives are controlled by rivers. The rivers define, create, conserve and destroy the archaeological record. This session calls for papers relating to the archaeology of rivers and waterways. We seek submissions from all time periods and regions, but especially those locations that highlight long-term river use. Discussions focusing on the intersections between modern land use (including development), aspirations for stewardship of land and water, cultural heritage management, river health, the discovery and conservation of archaeological sites and the reinvigoration or preservation of cultural traditions are highly encouraged.
Papers:
What Do Rivers Think About Us? Indigenous and Other Non-anthropocentric Ontologies of Personhood
Michael Lever, Lantern Heritage, Australia
John Winch, Mutthi Mutthi, Australia
Non-anthropocentric worldviews have existed for millennia in Indigenous and eastern cultures. In western thought, however, these have only recently emerged to acknowledge that the view of a universe centred on humans may function in strong positivist ontologies, but is irrational from empiricist, and critical ontological stances.
A demonstration of this is that rivers have recently and increasingly been granted legal personhood and rights in countries including Bangladesh, Colombia, India and New Zealand. The Victorian government recently legislated to recognise the Yarra River entirely as a living and integrated natural entity. It is, after all, a well-documented understanding among many Aboriginal Australians that not only rivers but all existence, including landscape animals and people, are born, live and interact as kin, each with their own rights.
Notably in all these cases of legislation, the push for legislation of river personhood came from Indigenous peoples and those of their non-Indigenous allies who were willing to have their western and colonialist anthropocentric worldviews challenged. As the definition of personhood increasingly expands beyond humanity, archaeologists need to ask themselves: If rivers, landscape and artefacts have personhood and rights, where does that leave archaeologists relative to them?
The Three Sacred Rivers at the Heart of Kaurna Country
Jeffrey Newchurch, Kaurna and Narungga Elder, Kaurna Repatriation Team Leader
Neale Draper, Neale Draper & Associates Pty Ltd; Flinders University, Australia
Andrew Maland, Neale Draper & Associates Pty Ltd, Australia
Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation & RAW Group, Adelaide, South Australia
Three sacred rivers cross the heart of Traditional Kaurna country between the Mount Lofty Ranges (Yura the Rainbow Serpent) and the sea, each passing through part of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. This is the only capital city in Australia where the Aboriginal Traditional Owners have been recognised through a consent determination of Native Title rights and interests (Commonwealth Native Title Act 1993). The Kaurna community faces the constant challenge of maintaining their cultural identity in the face of large-scale commercial, infrastructure and residential developments throughout their traditional country, and the associated impacts on their cultural and archaeological heritage and the traditional burial places of their ancestors.
This presentation describes the cultural heritage significance of these three sacred rivers for Kaurna people: the Kadlitparri (Wild Dog River), the Karrawirraparri (the River of the Red-Gum Forest) and the Nangkiparri (the Women’s River). The kinds of archaeological sites and development-impact challenges faced by the Kaurna Nation and their evolving cultural heritage management strategies to preserve their traditional cultural values and special places are illustrated by their interaction with developers, Government Agencies and archaeologists at a massive township construction project along the Kadlitparri (Gawler River).
From Water to Soil: The Saga of Civilisation and the Roots of Religion
Dr Munmun Mondal, Assistant Professor, Dept of History, Lovely Professional University, India
India, located in South-East Asia is forming the largest alluvial plain and delta in the world by the rivers Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra. The three perennial rivers form this geographical area’s culture, economy, religion, and polity from the protohistoric period to modern times. The continuity and changes of society based on these rives clearly depict their importance and influences on flora and fauna with the livelihood practices of the people. The fertility of the Indus helped to grow the Harappan civilisation in 3000BC, the Ganges attracted the Janapada formation in the 3rd century AD, and the Brahmaputra after merging with the Ganges forming the largest delta of the world forming the Sundarbans mangrove forest, one of the largest such forests in the world.
This delta became the busiest trade route from ancient time to modern period with the intermingling of diverse nature of cultures and religions. The soil of these rivers played a significant part in the formation of vernacular architecture and art of this region since ancient times and still the religious practices are based on these rivers. So, the rivers in India have shaped its history, polity, religious beliefs, rituals, and social structures over time.
Foreshore Erosion, Monitoring and Aspirations in Northern Sydney
Kyle Nettleton, Museum and Education Officer, Aboriginal Heritage Office, Sydney, Australia
Phil Hunt, Senior Archaeologist, Aboriginal Heritage Office, Sydney, Australia
Susan Whitby, Heritage and Volunteer Coordinator, Aboriginal Heritage Office, Sydney, Australia
Northern Sydney is cradled between two main river systems, the Hawkesbury and the Parramatta. Thousands of years ago the old valleys flooded and the waters slowed, forming the picturesque estuaries and harbours that Sydney is famous for. Aboriginal clans adapted and flourished in these new environments. Most of the dated archaeological sites along the foreshores are related to this post-Holocene landscape.
The Aboriginal Heritage Office is a partnership of local councils in northern Sydney where many reserves and even private yards have surviving Aboriginal sites. For 25 years the AHO has been working with stakeholders to try and protect this irreplaceable heritage. Over time it has become increasingly obvious that the foreshore sites are disappearing. The impacts are not just due to development and visitation, historic and current.
Since the arrival of the first big boats, and with post-Industrial sea level rises, foreshore Aboriginal sites have been up against it. High tides and storms are peak events, while boat wash is a daily threat. The only realistic protection is barriers and sea walls. Archaeological salvage is not yet practised for shoreline erosion. Site recording and monitoring are the relatively easy actions within our reach, yet more is urgently needed.
Archaeology of River Valleys. Case Studies from the Western part of Bengal Delta, West Bengal, India
Dr Suchira Roychoudhury, Dept of Ancient Indian History Culture and Archaeology, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan, India
Much archaeological research and fieldwork takes place in river valleys because prehistoric people frequently lived in these areas for plentiful availability of physical and biological resources. Often, river valley deposits contain abundant archaeological sites. However, channel migration and resulting erosion or deposition sometimes wipe out or bury sites or make it difficult to predict the location or specific context of cultural features and artefacts. The study of fluvio-erosional geomorphology and depositional processes in river valleys can yield important implications for understanding archaeological site formation—building up, preservation and destruction.
The paper will look into some such sites situated on a riverine landscape in the western part of Bengal Delta on the uplands of West Bengal India. It will specially emphasise the multicultural site of Mangalkot, situated at the confluence of two rivers, Ajay and its principal tributary Kunur, in Bardhaman district, West Bengal, India, which has been excavated by the researcher as a special case study. The present paper aims to highlight the methodologies adopted in the investigations to understand the archaeological record in the fluvial landscape. It will also underscore the limitations of working on such sites and how such problems can be addressed.
Shifting Shorelines: Investigating the Damya Lake and its Impact on Natufian Communities in the Northeastern Jordan River Valley
Natasha Nagle, Dept of History and Archaeology, La Trobe University, Australia
The Jordan Valley, shaped by the Jordan River and now occupied by the Dead Sea, has long been a key region for human settlement and adaptation. Today, the Dead Sea shrinks at an alarming rate of 1m/year (Ghazleh et al. 2011), but this is not the first major hydrological shift in the region.
Before the Dead Sea, Lake Lisan (c. 60–15 kya; Abed 2014) dominated the valley, leaving behind the well-documented Lisan Formation, but the period following its retreat remains poorly understood. Despite expectations of deep erosion after Lake Lisan’s withdrawal c. 15,000 BP (Macumber and Head 1991), the overlying Damya Formation suggests a prolonged lacustrine environment.
Persistent water bodies may have influenced Natufian settlements like Wadi Hammeh 27 (c. 12,000 BP; Edwards 1988), challenging assumptions of rapid hydrological collapse and raising questions about the Jordan River’s role in sustaining human activity; shaping mobility, subsistence, and early village development.
This PhD research presents the first systematic survey of the Damya Formation, reconstructing its depositional history and impact on the Valley’s early human communities. Understanding past adaptations to hydrological change provides critical insights into human resilience and can help inform modern water management and conservation in the Jordan Valley.
Wollondilly River and the Burragorang Valley: An Unbroken Story at the Edge of Sydney
Phil Hunt, Senior Archaeologist, Aboriginal Heritage Office, Sydney, Australia
Kazan Brown, Gundungurra Traditional Owner, Australia
Many city people don’t really reflect on where their water comes from. Sydneysiders may recognise that the Warragamba Dam has something to do with theirs. Fewer would know that the Wollondilly River is a main contributor. Less would understand that it runs through the Burragorang Valley and that there is a very precious Aboriginal story that lies within.
When the dam was complete in 1960, the last of the residents were expelled and the area was cocooned. For some Gundungurra families the wall and the locked gates did not prevent them from continuing their connection. Recent proposals to raise the dam wall were a call to arms. The original archaeological assessments did not fully appreciate the wealth of Aboriginal knowledge and archaeological potential. Subsequent work identified over 300 sites from a mere sample of the area, yet the significance was still understated.
This is a rare place despite and because of the dam. The story places, the waterholes, the Dreaming Track, the Aboriginal farms, the source of stone tool material, rock art sites, burials, camp sites and houses. So much of what was and is important lies along the river.
A River in the Patagonian Desert: 10,000 Years of Occupation in the Mayo River Valley (Senguer Basin), Chubut, Central Patagonia, Argentina
Analia Castro Esnal, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano (INAPL); Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras (UBA-FFyL), Buenos Aires, Argentina
Maria Laura Casanueva, Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano (INAPL), Buenos Aires, Argentina
Lucia A. Gutierrez, Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medio Ambiente y Energía (INQUIMAE), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) – Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina
Mailin R. Campos, nstituto Multidisciplinario de Historia y Ciencias Humanas (IMHICIHU), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
Gimena Conforti, Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano (INAPL), Buenos Aires, Argentina
In the 19th century, naturalists and explorers who ventured into the uncharted interior of Patagonia documented the nomadic hunter-gatherer Tehuelche people using river valleys not only as settlement areas and resource procurement zones but also as circulation corridors structuring their long-distance annual mobility circuits. This is the case of the rivers forming the Senguer Basin. In particular, the Mayo River and its tributaries, including the Arroyo Ñirihuao and the Guenguel River, show occupations from the Early Holocene (10,000 years BP) until the arrival of European-Creole settlers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which led to major changes in subsistence systems. The earliest Indigenous settlements are represented by caves and rock shelters with rock art, preserving stratified archaeological evidence. Additionally, sites with human burials and Late Holocene rock art have been recorded along the Mayo and Guenguel Rivers. Other surface sites reveal lithic evidence indicating long-distance circulation of exotic raw materials, particularly obsidian. This study aims to demonstrate how the Mayo River, in the middle of the Patagonian steppe, functioned as both a circulation corridor and an attraction hub for human groups over 10,000 years of history and up to the present.