Back to Search
Start Over
Australian Aboriginal Traditions about Coastal Change Reconciled with Postglacial Sea-Level History: A First Synthesis.
- Source :
- Environment & History (09673407); 2016, Vol. 22 Issue 3, p393-420, 28p
- Publication Year :
- 2016
-
Abstract
- Like some other oral traditions of Australian Aborigines, those that relate to widespread and enduring coastal inundation appear to be several thousand years old. The best-documented traditions, some mythologised, are presented for six sites around the Australian coast (Bathurst and Melville Islands, Northern Territory; Rottnest, Carnac and Garden Islands, Western Australia; Spencer Gulf, South Australia; Kangaroo Island, South Australia; Port Phillip Bay, Victoria; Cairns and Fitzroy Island, Queensland). The minimum depths at which each tradition would have been true is determined from local bathymetry. These depths are then compared to postglacial sea-level history and minimum ages for each tradition calculated. These range from 7,500-13,400 years Before Present and represent unique observations of postglacial sea-level rise and its effects that have significant implications for an appreciation of the longevity of such traditions in preliterate societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 09673407
- Volume :
- 22
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Environment & History (09673407)
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 116806197
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.3197/096734016X14661540219311