Grono, Elle, David, Bruno, Stevenson, Janelle, Fresløv, Joanna, Mullett, Russell, Keaney, Benedict, Graham, Catriona, Ash, Jeremy, Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation, GunaiKurnai, Mcdowell, Matthew C., Petchey, Fiona, Delannoy, Jean-Jacques, Rogers, Ashleigh J., and Kennedy, David M. (2024) Cloggs Cave pollen sequences, GunaiKurnai Country, East Gippsland (SE Australia): 25,000 years of cultural plant use and changing environments. Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, 3. 1488477.

Preview

PDF (Published Version) - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (9MB) | Preview

Abstract

In southeastern Australia, GunaiKurnai caves are known by current Aboriginal Elders and from nineteenth century ethnographic documents as special places used by mulla-mullung (“clever men” and “clever women”) for the practice of magic and medicine. Pollen analysis conducted on sediments from one such cave, Cloggs Cave, reveals an unusually well-preserved and well-stratified pollen sequence extending back >25,000 years, with much of the pollen introduced into the cave by people carrying flowering plants. High concentrations of pollen, rare for limestone cave settings, were recovered, including pollen clumps of individual taxa representing deposition of in situ flowering material. These taxa are dominated by plants known through GunaiKurnai knowledge and ethnography to have special cultural uses and that match the plants known to have been used by mulla-mullung, and some edible plants. These include taxa such as Banksia spp., Pimelea spp. (rice flower), and Plantago spp. (plantain) and the plant families of Asteraceae (daisy) and Poaceae (grass). The largely anthropogenic pollen assemblage also signals the presence of plants from cooler and drier climates dominated by more open vegetation during the Last Glacial Maximum than that observed around Cloggs Cave in recent times. The Early Holocene pollen then reflects a warmer and wetter climate that supported the expansion of woodland elements. Together, the pollen record of Cloggs Cave provides remarkable insights into two articulating histories: the cultural practices of the GunaiKurnai Old Ancestors in a special, secluded cave; and the environmental history of Country.

Item ID:	85150
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	2813-432X
Keywords:	anthropic pollen, archaeobotany, cave pollen, Cloggs Cave, GunaiKurnai, pollen clumps, pollen taphonomy
Copyright Information:	Copyright © 2024 Grono, David, Stevenson, Fresløv, Mullett, Keaney, Graham, Ash, GunaiKurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation, McDowell, Petchey, Delannoy, Rogers and Kennedy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Funders:	Australian Research Council (ARC)
Projects and Grants:	ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CE170100015)
Date Deposited:	21 Apr 2025 21:30
FoR Codes:	43 HISTORY, HERITAGE AND ARCHAEOLOGY > 4301 Archaeology > 430101 Archaeological science @ 50% 45 INDIGENOUS STUDIES > 4501 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, language and history > 450101 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander archaeology @ 50%
SEO Codes:	13 CULTURE AND SOCIETY > 1307 Understanding past societies > 130703 Understanding Australia’s past @ 50% 21 INDIGENOUS > 2104 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage and culture > 210405 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander places of significance @ 50%
Downloads:	Total: 4 Last 12 Months: 4
	More Statistics