Gone with the Wind, Waves, and Walking: Prioritizing Research at Vulnerable Archaeological Sites in Coastal Zones
Rogers, Ashleigh J., David, Bruno, Kennedy, David M., Mullett, Russell, Fresløv, Joanna, Petchey, Fiona, Mialanes, Jerome, Neill, Liam, Bowman, Olivia, Brickle-Krizanac, Cade, Hayes, John, and Dow, John (2025) Gone with the Wind, Waves, and Walking: Prioritizing Research at Vulnerable Archaeological Sites in Coastal Zones. Journal of Field Archaeology, 50 (4). pp. 345-361.
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Abstract
Climate change, rising seas, and encroaching public camping are escalating threats to cultural heritage places along much of Australia’s coastline. For the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation of southeastern Victoria, Australia, the documentation, research, and management of vulnerable coastal archaeological sites is a key priority. Here, we present the results of archaeological excavations undertaken at the Brataua site complex in Wellington Shire, Victoria. Despite site loss through coastal erosion, agriculture, and recreation, the excavation results revealed that people repeatedly visited the area for at least 3000 years for shellfishing and to obtain local quartz pebbles for stone tool manufacture. These findings call for a refinement and rethinking of the regional archaeological sequence established by pioneer researchers in the 1960s–1980s. They highlight the importance of storytelling in places that are highly vulnerable and in danger of destruction within a matter of years, months, or even weeks.
| Item ID: | 88677 |
|---|---|
| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 2042-4582 |
| Keywords: | Aboriginal coastal lifeways, archaeological site erosion, Australia, coastline change, community-led archaeology, Holocene shell middens, recreational visitor impact |
| Copyright Information: | © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. |
| Funders: | Australian Research Council (ARC) |
| Projects and Grants: | ARC CE170100015, ARC IL240100034 |
| Date Deposited: | 19 Jun 2026 03:30 |
| FoR Codes: | 45 INDIGENOUS STUDIES > 4501 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, language and history > 450102 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artefacts @ 70% 43 HISTORY, HERITAGE AND ARCHAEOLOGY > 4301 Archaeology > 430101 Archaeological science @ 30% |
| SEO Codes: | 21 INDIGENOUS > 2104 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage and culture > 210401 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artefacts @ 100% |
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