Hidden in plain sight: The archaeological landscape of Mithaka Country, south-west Queensland

Michael C. Westaway; Douglas Williams; Kelsey Lowe; Nathan J. Wright; Ray Kerkhove; Jennifer Silcock; Joshua Gorringe; Justyna Miszkiewicz; Rachel Wood; Richard Adams; Tiina Manne; Shaun Adams; Tony Miscamble; Justin Stout; Gabriel D. Wrobel; Justine Kemp; Brooke Hendry; Max Gorringe; Betty Gorringe; Keiron Lander; Shawnee Gorringe; Ian Andrews; Mark Collard

doi:10.15184/aqy.2021.31

Hidden in plain sight: The archaeological landscape of Mithaka Country, south-west Queensland

Michael C. Westaway, Douglas Williams, Kelsey Lowe, Nathan J. Wright, Ray Kerkhove, Jennifer Silcock, Joshua Gorringe, Justyna Miszkiewicz, Rachel Wood, Richard Adams, Tiina Manne, Shaun Adams, Tony Miscamble, Justin Stout, Gabriel D. Wrobel, Justine Kemp, Brooke Hendry, Max Gorringe, Betty Gorringe, Keiron LanderShawnee Gorringe, Ian Andrews, Mark Collard

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

13 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Ethnohistoric accounts indicate that the people of Australia's Channel Country engaged in activities rarely recorded elsewhere on the continent, including food storage, aquaculture and possible cultivation, yet there has been little archaeological fieldwork to verify these accounts. Here, the authors report on a collaborative research project initiated by the Mithaka people addressing this lack of archaeological investigation. The results show that Mithaka Country has a substantial and diverse archaeological record, including numerous large stone quarries, multiple ritual structures and substantial dwellings. Our archaeological research revealed unknown aspects, such as the scale of Mithaka quarrying, which could stimulate re-evaluation of Aboriginal socio-economic systems in parts of ancient Australia.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1043-1060
Number of pages	18
Journal	Antiquity
Volume	95
Issue number	382
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2021.31
Publication status	Published - Aug 2021

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Westaway, M. C., Williams, D., Lowe, K., Wright, N. J., Kerkhove, R., Silcock, J., Gorringe, J., Miszkiewicz, J., Wood, R., Adams, R., Manne, T., Adams, S., Miscamble, T., Stout, J., Wrobel, G. D., Kemp, J., Hendry, B., Gorringe, M., Gorringe, B., ... Collard, M. (2021). Hidden in plain sight: The archaeological landscape of Mithaka Country, south-west Queensland. Antiquity, 95(382), 1043-1060. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2021.31

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title = "Hidden in plain sight: The archaeological landscape of Mithaka Country, south-west Queensland",

abstract = "Ethnohistoric accounts indicate that the people of Australia's Channel Country engaged in activities rarely recorded elsewhere on the continent, including food storage, aquaculture and possible cultivation, yet there has been little archaeological fieldwork to verify these accounts. Here, the authors report on a collaborative research project initiated by the Mithaka people addressing this lack of archaeological investigation. The results show that Mithaka Country has a substantial and diverse archaeological record, including numerous large stone quarries, multiple ritual structures and substantial dwellings. Our archaeological research revealed unknown aspects, such as the scale of Mithaka quarrying, which could stimulate re-evaluation of Aboriginal socio-economic systems in parts of ancient Australia.",

keywords = "Aboriginal, Australia, Mithaka, cultivation, stone extraction, trade networks, villages",

author = "Westaway, {Michael C.} and Douglas Williams and Kelsey Lowe and Wright, {Nathan J.} and Ray Kerkhove and Jennifer Silcock and Joshua Gorringe and Justyna Miszkiewicz and Rachel Wood and Richard Adams and Tiina Manne and Shaun Adams and Tony Miscamble and Justin Stout and Wrobel, {Gabriel D.} and Justine Kemp and Brooke Hendry and Max Gorringe and Betty Gorringe and Keiron Lander and Shawnee Gorringe and Ian Andrews and Mark Collard",

note = "Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd..",

year = "2021",

month = aug,

doi = "10.15184/aqy.2021.31",

language = "English",

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pages = "1043--1060",

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Westaway, MC, Williams, D, Lowe, K, Wright, NJ, Kerkhove, R, Silcock, J, Gorringe, J, Miszkiewicz, J, Wood, R, Adams, R, Manne, T, Adams, S, Miscamble, T, Stout, J, Wrobel, GD, Kemp, J, Hendry, B, Gorringe, M, Gorringe, B, Lander, K, Gorringe, S, Andrews, I & Collard, M 2021, 'Hidden in plain sight: The archaeological landscape of Mithaka Country, south-west Queensland', Antiquity, vol. 95, no. 382, pp. 1043-1060. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2021.31

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T1 - Hidden in plain sight

T2 - The archaeological landscape of Mithaka Country, south-west Queensland

AU - Westaway, Michael C.

AU - Williams, Douglas

AU - Lowe, Kelsey

AU - Wright, Nathan J.

AU - Kerkhove, Ray

AU - Silcock, Jennifer

AU - Gorringe, Joshua

AU - Miszkiewicz, Justyna

AU - Wood, Rachel

AU - Adams, Richard

AU - Manne, Tiina

AU - Adams, Shaun

AU - Miscamble, Tony

AU - Stout, Justin

AU - Wrobel, Gabriel D.

AU - Kemp, Justine

AU - Hendry, Brooke

AU - Gorringe, Max

AU - Gorringe, Betty

AU - Lander, Keiron

AU - Gorringe, Shawnee

AU - Andrews, Ian

AU - Collard, Mark

PY - 2021/8

Y1 - 2021/8

N2 - Ethnohistoric accounts indicate that the people of Australia's Channel Country engaged in activities rarely recorded elsewhere on the continent, including food storage, aquaculture and possible cultivation, yet there has been little archaeological fieldwork to verify these accounts. Here, the authors report on a collaborative research project initiated by the Mithaka people addressing this lack of archaeological investigation. The results show that Mithaka Country has a substantial and diverse archaeological record, including numerous large stone quarries, multiple ritual structures and substantial dwellings. Our archaeological research revealed unknown aspects, such as the scale of Mithaka quarrying, which could stimulate re-evaluation of Aboriginal socio-economic systems in parts of ancient Australia.

AB - Ethnohistoric accounts indicate that the people of Australia's Channel Country engaged in activities rarely recorded elsewhere on the continent, including food storage, aquaculture and possible cultivation, yet there has been little archaeological fieldwork to verify these accounts. Here, the authors report on a collaborative research project initiated by the Mithaka people addressing this lack of archaeological investigation. The results show that Mithaka Country has a substantial and diverse archaeological record, including numerous large stone quarries, multiple ritual structures and substantial dwellings. Our archaeological research revealed unknown aspects, such as the scale of Mithaka quarrying, which could stimulate re-evaluation of Aboriginal socio-economic systems in parts of ancient Australia.

KW - Aboriginal

KW - Australia

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KW - cultivation

KW - stone extraction

KW - trade networks

KW - villages

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VL - 95

SP - 1043

EP - 1060

JO - Antiquity

JF - Antiquity

IS - 382

ER -

Hidden in plain sight: The archaeological landscape of Mithaka Country, south-west Queensland

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