Editorial

Authors

  • Jay Hall School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25120/qar.3.1986.180

Abstract

1986 has been a very good year for archaeology in Queensland. As the following pages testify, fundamental research is being undertaken throughout the length and breadth of the state. Furthermore it is being carried out by researchers who hail from not only Queensland but institutions throughout Australia. Perhaps the most significant discovery reported this year was the site of Wallen Wallen Creek on North Stradbroke Island, Moreton Bay (see R. Neal and E. Stock, Nature 1986:618-621). While excavating a recent surface midden for salvage purposes, Rob Neal, a Ph.D candidate at Queensland University, discovered a deep (>2.5m) deposit within a coastal dune which yielded a continuous human occupation sequence. Collaboration with geomorphologist Errol Stock from Griffith University established that two soil units were formed after the dune was laid down and that associated cultural material is relatively undisturbed. C14 dating revealed an internally consistent series of determinations which stretch to over 22,000 B.P. Present results indicate a dramatic increase in occupation intensity (as measured by discard rate) in the late Holocene (esp. after ca. 2,000 B.P.), a pattern which fits well with results from other research in this area (eg. Hall & Robins QAR, Volume 1) as well as other parts of eastern Australia. This discovery has provided the Pleistocene-Holocene chronological framework that has been sought for the Moreton Region for several years now. Future analysis of Wallen Wallen Creek material promises to add much to our notions of cultural change in this and adjacent areas.

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Published

01/01/1986

Issue

Section

Editorial