Researchers find traces of a 12,000-year-old Aboriginal ritual that has been practiced for thousands of years

The ritual was designed to either heal or harm people. It involved tying an object belonging to a person to a stick covered in fat and holding it in front of a fire until the stick fell over. This ritual has probably been practiced for hundreds of generations.

Cloggs Cave is one of the most fascinating sites for archaeologists in Australia. It is also an important site for the GunaiKurnai Aboriginal people. The cave, located in the Buchan region of eastern Victoria, has provided invaluable insight into the prehistoric settlement of the area. Archaeological excavations have uncovered artefacts dating back over 20,000 years, including stone tools, animal remains and evidence of early human activity.

For the GunaiKurnai people, Cloggs Cave has cultural and spiritual significance as it is part of their ancestral lands and plays a role in their oral traditions and cultural heritage. The cave’s rich archaeological and cultural layers make it an important site for understanding both ancient human history and the ongoing cultural practices of the GunaiKurnai community.

Recently, the Gunai Kurnai Aboriginal Elders invited archaeologists to conduct a more thorough excavation, and several discoveries were made, including the installation of a ritual that dates back to 11,000 to 12,000 years ago.

Antique fireplaces

The first indication that something interesting was going on in the cave were miniature fireplaces. The fireplaces were found deep in the cave, in places not used for everyday activities, suggesting that they were purely ritualistic. There were also no signs of everyday rubbish, suggesting that the area was used purely for ritual purposes.

These fire pits contained wooden artifacts made from casuarina wood, also known as Australian pine. The wooden sticks had been smeared with fat, which could have been both animal and human fat. After the sticks were smeared with fat, they were lightly charred and then quickly buried. The cool, dry conditions of the cave have preserved these installations remarkably well and provide a rare opportunity to study wooden artifacts from such an ancient period.

The ritual was almost certainly intended to invoke a higher power, although it is not clear whether it was intended to help or harm anyone. It was most likely aimed at a specific person or group of people.

But this is where it gets really interesting.

Modern GunaiKurnai elders recognize and identify these practices. In addition, this type of ritual was also described in ethnographic research of the 19th century. In other words, this exact ritual has been performed since the Ice Age until modern times.

Carrying culture through the centuries

The exact purpose of the ritual has been lost in the mists of time, but this discovery provides tangible evidence of cultural continuity and the transmission of traditions across generations. In societies without written records, oral traditions and rituals were the primary means of transmitting knowledge and cultural identity.

The finds at Cloggs Cave show that these traditions have remained remarkably intact despite the passage of 500 generations. This continuity is also a testament to the resilience and adaptability of the GunaiKurnai people while maintaining their cultural heritage.

However, interpreting the ritual is extremely difficult. Over time, cultural practices can evolve and the meanings associated with them can change. In addition, the archaeological record is often incomplete and many artifacts have been lost over time. Understanding the original context and meaning of the ritual is currently beyond the reach of archaeologists and this particular knowledge has not been passed on to the next generation.

However, the combination of archaeological finds and ethnographic records gives us a glimpse into an ancient society. It also allows researchers to piece together a more complete picture of these ancient practices. Future studies could examine other sites in the region to see if similar ritual installations exist, providing a broader context for the Gunai Kurnai’s practices. In addition, more detailed chemical analyses of the residues on the wooden sticks could shed light on the specific animals or plants used in the rituals.

Continued collaboration with Indigenous communities will be critical to guiding these research efforts. By involving the Gunai Kurnai people in the research process, scientists can ensure that their work is culturally sensitive and informed by local knowledge and perspectives.

Journal reference: Bruno David et al., Archaeological evidence for an ethnographically documented Aboriginal Australian ritual from the last Ice Age, Nature Human Behavior (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-01912-w