World Heritage and cultural diversity in Oceania

This article examines how the universalizing framework of world heritage has been expanded in relation to the archaeological heritage in Oceania with the objective of satisfying the imperatives of a post-colonial world. We consider the idea of ​​an "Australian turn" in global approaches to heritage - and in particular World Heritage - that has emerged from the participation of archaeologists and other heritage professionals with Aboriginal communities in Australia and other parts of Oceania. Colleagues from other parts of Oceania have undoubtedly contributed to this "turn", as have those who work in Oceania from other countries such as Canada, France, New Zealand, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. Nevertheless, There seems to be a broad recognition that Australians have made and continue to make the biggest difference at world heritage level. The characteristic feature of this "turn" is the valorization of social value - contemporary heritage values ​​of living cultures, strongly focused on intangible heritage - together with the scientific valorization of tangible archaeological resources. The last part of the work considers the continuation of the significant resistance of some sectors to these important mechanisms to accommodate cultural diversity. strongly focused on intangible heritage - together with the scientific valorization of tangible archaeological resources. The last part of the work considers the continuation of the significant resistance of some sectors to these important mechanisms to accommodate cultural diversity. strongly focused on intangible heritage - together with the scientific valorization of tangible archaeological resources. The last part of the work considers the continuation of the significant resistance of some sectors to these important mechanisms to accommodate cultural diversity

The Gooreng Gooreng Cultural Heritage Project: some proposed directions and preliminary results of the archaeological program

The paper outlines the working hypotheses guiding exploratory archaeological surveys on the coast between Bundaberg and Gladstone in south-central Queensland. It reports some early results and their possible implications. The surveys reported are part of a multi-stage project on the sandstone caves and rock shelters

Eurimbula Site 1, Curtis Coast: site report

This site report presents an account of archaeological excavations undertaken at Eurimbula Site 1, a large open midden site complex located in Eurimbula National Park on the southern Curtis Coast, Central Queensland. Excavations yielded a cultural assemblage dominated by mud ark (Anadara trapezia) and commercial oyster (Saccostrea commercialis) and incorporating small quantities of stone artefacts, fish bone and charcoal. Densities of cultural material were found to decrease markedly with distance from the creek. Analyses of excavated material demonstrate extensive low intensity use of the site from at least c.3,200 cal BP to the historical period

Big Foot Art Site, Cania Gorge: Site report

This site report presents a description of archaeological investigations undertaken at Big Foot Art Site, a large rockshelter and art site located at Cania Gorge, eastern Central Queensland. Field and laboratory methods are outlined and results presented. Excavation revealed evidence for occupation spanning from before 7,700 cal BP to at least 300 cal BP, with a significant peak in stone artefact discard between c.4,200-3,200 cal BP. Results are compared to analyses undertaken in the adjacent Central Queensland Highlands

Edge-ground hatchets on the Southern Curtis Coast, Central Queensland: A preliminary Assessment of Technology, Chronology and Provenance

A number of edge-ground hatchets were identified from various locations in central Queensland during recent investigations conducted as part of the Gooreng Gooreng Cultural Heritage Project. Macroscopic examination suggested that some hatchets were manufactured on a distinctive form of rhyolitic tuff which is restricted in occurrence to the Town of Seventeen Seventy - Agnes Water area on the southern Curtis Coast. The hatchets are distributed over an area of some 6000 km2, centred on the town of Lowmead within the ethnohistorically documented linguistic borders of Gooreng Gooreng country. Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) was employed in an attempt to provenance the hatchets to particular outcrops of rhyolitic tuff on the basis of trace element geochemistry. Preliminary results confirm that all hatchets identified as rhyolitic tuff exhibit a similar geochemical signature. Moreover, this geochemistry can be correlated with the background samples from the Ironbark Site Complex, the only major rhyolite quarry known in the region. The study enhances our understanding of past Aboriginal lifeways in the region by situating strategies of stone procurement and use in the landscape

Roof Fall Cave, Cania Gorge: Site report

This site report presents a description of archaeological investigations undertaken at Roof Fall Cave, an occupied rockshelter and art site located at Cania Gorge, eastern Central Queensland. Excavation yielded quantities of stone artefacts, bone and charcoal, along with some freshwater mussel shell and ochre with an occupational sequence spanning from up to 18,576 cal BP to the historical period. Roof Fall Cave is currently the oldest dated site in Cania Gorge and possibly in the Central Queensland region