Erodingaboriginalcoastalshellmidden

WhatareAboriginalCoastalShellMiddens?

Coastalshellmiddenscontaintheremainsofshellfisheatenby

Aboriginalpeople.Theycanconsistoftheshellsfromasinglemealormanydifferentmealseateninthesamelocationovermanyyears.Theycanalsocontaintheremainsofamorevarieddietincludingfish,sealandkangaroo.Charcoalandhearthstonesfromfiresaswellasotherculturalitemssuchasstoneandboneartefactscanalsobepresent.

Whereare CoastalShellMiddensFound?

ShellmiddensarefoundinmanyareasalongtheVictoriancoast.Theycanbelocatedinshelteredpositionsinthedunes,coastalscrubandwoodlands,withinrockshelters,oronexposedclifftopswithgoodvantagepoints.Theycanoccurnear

rockyorsandyshoresandalsoclosetocoastalwetlands,inlets,estuaries,baysandrivermouths.

Coastalshellmiddensarefoundaslayersofshellexposedinthesides ofdunes,banksorclifftops,orasscattersofshellexposedonerodedsurfaces.Theyrangeinsizefromafewmetresacrosstomanyhundredsofmetresandcanconsistofathin,singlelayer,ormultiplelayersformingathickdeposit.

WhattoDoifYouFindanAboriginalCoastalShellMidden

Donotdisturbtheareaorremoveanymaterialfromthesite.CheckwhethertheplacehasthetypicalcharacteristicsofanAboriginalcoastalshellmidden.Ifitdoes,recorditslocationandwriteabriefdescriptionofitscondition.Notewhetheritisunderthreat

ofdisturbance.

PleasehelptopreserveAboriginalculturalplacesbyreportingtheirpresence to the Office of Aboriginal Affairs Victoria.

Contact:

TheHeritageRegistrar

Office of AboriginalAffairsVictoriaPOBox2392

MelbourneVIC3001

Telephone:1800762003

WhatProducedAboriginalShellMiddens?

ShellmiddensaretheremainsofmealsofshellfishoncegatheredandeatenbyAboriginalpeople.

Aboriginalpeoplegatheredarangeofshellfishspecies.Theyweregatheredfromrockplatformsandfromthesandyshoresofoceanbeaches,riverinlets,estuariesandbays.Onrockplatforms,shellfishsuchasmusselswerepulledoffinsheets,while

snail-liketurbosandwhelkswereprisedoffwithwedgeshapedsticks,stoneandbonetools,orfingers.Rockplatformshellfishfromthesub-tidalzone,suchasabalone,wereobtainedbydiving.Onsandybeaches,theshellfishweredugupwithsticks,handsandfeet.Aboriginalpeoplecollectedthelargershellfishbecausetheycontainedmoremeat.

Aboriginalpeopleoftentooktheircatchbackintoshelteredareasbehindthebeachtocookandeat.Shellfishwerealsoeatenraw,butthepresenceofburntshellindicatestheywerejustasfrequentlycookedinhotcoals.Heatfromfiresopenedbivalvesslightly,whereasmeatfromwhelksandturboshellshadtobeprisedout.

WhilemanyAboriginalshellmiddenplacesarethesoleresultofshellfishing,adiverserangeofactivitiestookplaceatothersites.Habitationplacesweresometimeslocatedinresource-richenvironmentswherewetlands,estuaries,lakesandopenwoodlandsoccurclosetotheshore.Middensassociatedwithsuchplacescanincludeagreaterrangeofculturalmaterialincludingbone,stonetoolsand hearthremains.Suchmiddenscan beextensiveandconsistofstratified(multiplelayer)deposits.

WhatCausesNaturalShellBeds?

Sometimesitisdifficulttotellthedifferencebetweennaturally

accumulatingshellbedsandculturallyformedmiddens.Naturalshellbedscanaccumulateastheresultofwaveactionontheshore.Overtime,someofthesenaturalshellbedswillberaisedthroughcoastaluplift,orasaresultofsealevelchanges.

Severalcharacteristicsindicatewhenashellbedisnatural.Naturalshellbedsarefrequentlyfoundonoldupliftedterraces,orveryoldlandforms.Theshellbedswillconsistofasinglespeciesinarangeofsizesincludingsmallshellsthatwouldhaveprovidedlittlefood.Shellsinnaturalbedswillshowsignsofdamageconsistentwithwaterrolling.Theywillnotshowsignsofburning,ordamagefromhavingbeendeliberatelyopened.Bonesandculturalmaterialssuchashearthsandstoneartefactswillbeabsent.Shellbedscanbelarge,deepanddense,butwillnothavedark,ashy,organicsedimentslikeAboriginalmiddens.

WhyareAboriginalShellMiddens Important?

ShellmiddensprovidevaluableinformationaboutAboriginaluseofthecoastandcanshowchangesindiet,behaviour,activitiesandsettlementoverthelast12,000years.

Oneofthemostimportantfeatures ofmiddenplacesisthattheshellcaneasilybedatedusingtheradiocarbonmethodofdating.

TheoldestknownAboriginalshellmiddenplaceontheVictoriancoastisnearly12,000yearsold.Atthistimesealevelswerelowerbecauseicecapsatthenorthandsouthpolesweremuchlargerthantoday.Theshorelinewasmanykilometresawayfromitspresentposition,attimescreatingalandbridgewithTasmania.Sealevelsstabilisedbetween6-7000years

ago,andmostmiddensalongthepresentcoastlinewereformedsincethattime.Thedatesofmiddens,theirlocationandtheircontents,indicatethatdifferentareasofthecoastwereusedatdifferenttimes,generallywhentheyweremostproductive.Therewerechangesinshellfishspecies

thatwereused,stonetooltypesand

rawmaterials.Thepresenceofexoticstoneinplacesisevidenceofcontact betweenpeoplefromdifferentareas.

CoastalshellmiddensprovideAboriginalpeopletodaywithanimportantlinktotheircultureandtheirpast.Shellmiddenswhichcontainburialsareparticularlysignificant.

ThreatstoCoastalShellMiddens

Aboriginalshellmiddensareamongstthemostfragileculturalplaces.Theycanbeexposedbywindandwatererosion;ordegradedbyhuman

oranimalinterference.Burrowinganimalsdisturbsandanddamagethevegetation.Peopleoftendestabilisethegroundsurfacebyusingunregulatedwalkingtracksoroff-roadvehicles.Onceexposed,middenscanrapidlydeteriorate.

Effectivemanagementoftheseplacesconsistsofstabilisingthesurfacebyencouragingamatureanddiversevegetationcoverandallowinglowimpactorrestrictedaccess.

The Office of AboriginalAffairsVictoriarecordsthelocation,dimensionsandcontextofAboriginalcoastalmiddenplaces,sothatwewillhaveapermanentwrittenandphotographicrecordofthisimportantpartoftheheritageofallAustralians.

AreAboriginalCoastalShellMiddensProtected?

AllAboriginalculturalplacesinVictoriaareprotectedbylaw.Aboriginalartefactsarealsoprotected.

ItisillegaltodisturbordestroyanAboriginalplace.Artefactsshouldnotberemovedfromsite.

June2008

CopyrightStateGovernmentofVictoria2008.AuthorisedbytheVictoriaGovernment,Melbourne

ISBN978-1-921331-64-0

ThispublicationmaybeofassistancetoyoubuttheStateofVictoriaanditsemployeesdonotguaranteethatthepublicationiswithoutflawofanykindoriswhollyappropriateforyourparticularpurposesandthereforedisclaimsallliabilityforanyerror,lossorotherconsequencewhichmayarisefromyourelyingonanyinformationinthispublication.