According to historical reports, the GunaiKurnai, an Australian Aboriginal nation, used the caves as a setting for magic, healing and cursing rituals. According to a new study, for approximately 25,000 years, these rituals left a curious memory: ancient layers of plant crystals.
in a Frontiers in environmental archeology In a paper published today, researchers found rare organic remains of ceremonial rituals in Cloggs Cave, GunaiKurnai country. Research on ancient wells in the cave presented strong evidence that people, probably the GunaiKurnai, intentionally selected and brought grass to the cave for ceremonial use. The GunaiKurnai are known to have participated in these traditions for thousands of years, but this physical evidence offers a unique insight into how ancient societies used plants in their daily lives.
To reach this conclusion, the team analyzed phytoliths, pollen and geological deposits from the cave. The burned phytoliths pointed to repeated human activity and offered rare insights into how early humans used plants.
“This is a truly excellent study, weaving together careful scientific analysis of the phytoliths with GunaiKurnai cultural knowledge to show that grasses were collected and burned especially at Clogg Cave to support ritual practices over many millennia.” Anna Florinan archaeologist at the Australian National University who was not involved in the new work told Gizmodo.
A living record
Cloggs Cave was “rediscovered” and excavated by modern archaeologists in the 1970s, according to a 2021 study. column for The Conversation written by a group of researchers, including Bruno David and Jean-Jacques Delannoy, co-authors of the latest study. However, the GunaiKurnai nation had occupied the area before, presumably since the last Ice Age, they explained.
It was not until 2019 that the GunaiKurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation, which the Australian government recognize as a representative organization of the nation, visited Cloggs Cave. The organization subsequently invited archaeologists from Australian and French institutions to be research partners, according to the column. The last study was part of these investigations and focused mainly on the archaeobotanical records identified at the site.
Preserved in silica
For the study, the team collected thousands of phytoliths from pits that, according to archaeological analysis, were made up of 73 layers of ash between 4,000 and 1,600 years ago. The excavations also found a tall stone about 11 inches (28 centimeters) tall, which the GunaiKurnai probably used for rituals about 2,000 years ago. The cave samples consisted of 29 different types of phytoliths from grasses, herbs and woody plants, of which about 18% were burned or melted.
“Unlike pollen, which is dispersed by wind or insects, phytoliths primarily accumulate where a plant decomposes,” Elle Grono, first author of the study and an archaeologist at the Australian National University, said in an article. statement. “No plants grow inside the cave due to the lack of light, so the phytoliths must have been transported by people or animals such as opossums in their fur or through their feces.”
As Florin explained, the team’s consideration of different possible scenarios for phytolith accumulation “gives strength to the team’s conclusions.”
Traces of tradition
Importantly, the distribution of burned plant remains is also “consistent with traditional GunaiKurnai practices of using ashes to perform magic and rituals and also to trace the footsteps of anyone who enters, including spiritual beings,” David, a researcher at Monash University in Australia, explained in the statement. The team also found wooden sticks with grease-smeared edges, which could have been part of the rituals.
That said, in typical archaeological fashion, the team noted in the paper that the findings reflect one possible, yet compelling, interpretation for the purpose of these organic remains.
However, he added that records of phytoliths and pollen make it “clear” that they were collected outside and then taken to the cave. In any case, the finds offer a fascinating window into the history of human activity in Cloggs Cave, which previous archaeological research suggests housed the GunaiKurnai for 25,000 years. According to Florin, archaeobotany tends to be underrepresented in Australian archaeology, making the latest work increasingly important.
“Plants provide the basis for many foods, medicines, technologies, crafts and built structures, as well as being intertwined with religious, ceremonial and cultural practices,” Florin said. “It is exciting to see archaeobotanical research, combined with GunaiKurnai cultural knowledge, enriching a history of the long-term ritual use of Clogg Cave by the GunaiKurnai.”
