Periodic Reporting for period 5 - ACROSS (Australasian Colonization Research: Origins of Seafaring to Sahul)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2024-02-01 al 2024-10-31
The ACROSS project takes an interdisciplinary approach to researching some of the earliest seafaring in human history: that between the Sunda shelf (Island South East Asia) and Sahul (Australia and New Guinea).
The chronology, nature and notion, of ‘arrival’ of people in Sahul is debated, with the accepted ontology of many Aboriginal peoples that they have been ‘on Country’ since ‘the Creation’ from time immemorial (Uluru Statement of the Heart, 2017). Whilst, in western science, the timing of the peopling of Australia, potentially between 65,000-50,000 years ago, places this dispersal within the wider context of global ‘colonization’. This represents some of the earliest evidence of modern human occupation outside Africa, yet, even at the greatest sea-level lowstand, the peopling of Sahul would have involved seafaring.
It is the maritime nature of this dispersal which makes it so important to questions of technological, cognitive and social human development. These issues have traditionally been the preserve of archaeologists but with a multidisciplinary approach that embraces a unique combination of marine geoarchaeology, oceanography and archaeogenetics, we have the opportunity to bring together and examine different data sources, in order to question the When, Where, Who and How of the earliest ocean crossings in world history.
Aims
To implement an interdisciplinary, high resolution approach to understand the evidence we have for early seafaring and movement of people into Sahul through research into palaeolandscapes, hydrodynamics and population movement.
• To further question the nature and timing of movement into Sahul
• To further question routing and likely duration of voyages, intentionality and risk
• To map now submerged palaeolandscapes through the integration of onshore and offshore data.
ACROSS acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the seas and lands on which we undertake our Australian research. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
The chronology, nature and notion, of ‘arrival’ of people in Sahul is debated, with the accepted ontology of many Aboriginal peoples that they have been ‘on Country’ since ‘the Creation’ from time immemorial (Uluru Statement of the Heart, 2017). Whilst, in western science, the timing of the peopling of Australia, potentially between 65,000-50,000 years ago, places this dispersal within the wider context of global ‘colonization’. This represents some of the earliest evidence of modern human occupation outside Africa, yet, even at the greatest sea-level lowstand, the peopling of Sahul would have involved seafaring.
It is the maritime nature of this dispersal which makes it so important to questions of technological, cognitive and social human development. These issues have traditionally been the preserve of archaeologists but with a multidisciplinary approach that embraces a unique combination of marine geoarchaeology, oceanography and archaeogenetics, we have the opportunity to bring together and examine different data sources, in order to question the When, Where, Who and How of the earliest ocean crossings in world history.
Aims
To implement an interdisciplinary, high resolution approach to understand the evidence we have for early seafaring and movement of people into Sahul through research into palaeolandscapes, hydrodynamics and population movement.
• To further question the nature and timing of movement into Sahul
• To further question routing and likely duration of voyages, intentionality and risk
• To map now submerged palaeolandscapes through the integration of onshore and offshore data.
ACROSS acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the seas and lands on which we undertake our Australian research. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
The project had two main starting points: mapping palaeocoastlines and using archaeogenetics to analyse population movement and migration timing. Both investigations provided parameters for palaeohydrodynamic modelling to understand early seafaring.
The archaeogenetics working group looked at population movement through the region. Analysing a substantial new data set that improved molecular clock estimates and enlarged the phylogenetic tree. The data included 13,811 genome-wide SNPs for 1671 individuals from 100 locations, and 23,121 genome-wide SNPs for 1204 individuals from 71 locations. The analysis of 176 new whole genome also proved invaluable for the genetic dating of settlement chronologies. Alongside the mtDNA data, this allowed for further precision on the chronology of the first settlement of Sahul, supporting the long chronology for movement into the region and known radiometric dates of ca. 60,000ka. A Y-chromosome tree from the Sahulian SNP data was also generated.
The palaeolandscape and sea-level analysis within this research underpinned the reconstructions of the palaeomarine and coastal environments and provided the project with parameters for analysing seafaring routes, technology and skill. Global changes in relative sea-level have had a profound effect on the movement of people, and on our existing archaeological archive. A considerable proportion of the palaeo record has been submerged during the last postglacial marine transgression. Two million km2 of potentially inhabitable land on the Sahul shelf is now submerged.
Using offshore industry data and seismic analysis, ACROSS reconstructed the region’s changing coastal landscape. The analysis of sea-level curves, offshore cores, and recalibrated dates helped refine sea-level models for MIS2–MIS6, locating the palaeocoast during MIS4 when maritime movements into Sahul likely began. Local environmental markers, such as reefs and estuaries, were identified, aiding the understanding of the monsoon system and the changing landscape. These results also suggest submerged cultural sites could be preserved.
ACROSS ran models to explore ocean currents, tides, and winds to study early voyages. The models revealed likely successful routes, time at sea, and chances of success. The monsoon system was crucial to these voyages, showing that accidental drifting was unlikely, and some form of propulsion was likely used. This indicated a basic level of seafaring skill and knowledge of the marine environment.
This work integrated onshore and offshore narratives, moving discussion beyond the environmental domain to re-focus on the human past and human narratives of activity. The interweaving of archaeology, marine science and cultural heritage allows us to discuss the ‘Human Ocean’, where people’s activity and narratives, both create Sea Country, and adapt to its changes.
Through studying these land and seascapes, we improve our understanding of a range of themes from sea-level rise and climate change to ecology and hydrology of the landscape, to past activity, and lived and remembered landscapes through time. When the continental shelf is also recognised as representing a complex hermeneutic landscape, entwining multiple narratives and layers of significant space, its continued cultural importance to community today can also be perceived.
In Australia, where maritime activity can be traced back to the Late Pleistocene oral traditions have deep roots. Multiple Indigenous stories along the northern Australian coast talk of origins, seafaring, voyages, and the coastal environments encountered and created. These narratives reflect the deep heritage of coastal activity and seafaring, which supports discussion of maritime cultural heritage, encounter and arrival through time.
By giving shape to these land and seascapes, ACROSS recognises the deep heritage of the region and the now-submerged continental shelves, which form a part of traditional Country and Sea Country: travelled, active, cultural landscapes for Indigenous community today.
The project has presented and published a range of scientific papers on these themes, and produced a podcast series, webpage and other media projects to share these methods, results and narratives.
The archaeogenetics working group looked at population movement through the region. Analysing a substantial new data set that improved molecular clock estimates and enlarged the phylogenetic tree. The data included 13,811 genome-wide SNPs for 1671 individuals from 100 locations, and 23,121 genome-wide SNPs for 1204 individuals from 71 locations. The analysis of 176 new whole genome also proved invaluable for the genetic dating of settlement chronologies. Alongside the mtDNA data, this allowed for further precision on the chronology of the first settlement of Sahul, supporting the long chronology for movement into the region and known radiometric dates of ca. 60,000ka. A Y-chromosome tree from the Sahulian SNP data was also generated.
The palaeolandscape and sea-level analysis within this research underpinned the reconstructions of the palaeomarine and coastal environments and provided the project with parameters for analysing seafaring routes, technology and skill. Global changes in relative sea-level have had a profound effect on the movement of people, and on our existing archaeological archive. A considerable proportion of the palaeo record has been submerged during the last postglacial marine transgression. Two million km2 of potentially inhabitable land on the Sahul shelf is now submerged.
Using offshore industry data and seismic analysis, ACROSS reconstructed the region’s changing coastal landscape. The analysis of sea-level curves, offshore cores, and recalibrated dates helped refine sea-level models for MIS2–MIS6, locating the palaeocoast during MIS4 when maritime movements into Sahul likely began. Local environmental markers, such as reefs and estuaries, were identified, aiding the understanding of the monsoon system and the changing landscape. These results also suggest submerged cultural sites could be preserved.
ACROSS ran models to explore ocean currents, tides, and winds to study early voyages. The models revealed likely successful routes, time at sea, and chances of success. The monsoon system was crucial to these voyages, showing that accidental drifting was unlikely, and some form of propulsion was likely used. This indicated a basic level of seafaring skill and knowledge of the marine environment.
This work integrated onshore and offshore narratives, moving discussion beyond the environmental domain to re-focus on the human past and human narratives of activity. The interweaving of archaeology, marine science and cultural heritage allows us to discuss the ‘Human Ocean’, where people’s activity and narratives, both create Sea Country, and adapt to its changes.
Through studying these land and seascapes, we improve our understanding of a range of themes from sea-level rise and climate change to ecology and hydrology of the landscape, to past activity, and lived and remembered landscapes through time. When the continental shelf is also recognised as representing a complex hermeneutic landscape, entwining multiple narratives and layers of significant space, its continued cultural importance to community today can also be perceived.
In Australia, where maritime activity can be traced back to the Late Pleistocene oral traditions have deep roots. Multiple Indigenous stories along the northern Australian coast talk of origins, seafaring, voyages, and the coastal environments encountered and created. These narratives reflect the deep heritage of coastal activity and seafaring, which supports discussion of maritime cultural heritage, encounter and arrival through time.
By giving shape to these land and seascapes, ACROSS recognises the deep heritage of the region and the now-submerged continental shelves, which form a part of traditional Country and Sea Country: travelled, active, cultural landscapes for Indigenous community today.
The project has presented and published a range of scientific papers on these themes, and produced a podcast series, webpage and other media projects to share these methods, results and narratives.
The ACROSS project has aided our understanding of the timing and nature of early seafaring. By combining mitochondrial, Y-chromosome and genome-wide data sets, along with archaeological and palaeoclimatological evidence, we have re-aligned genetic and archaeological dates for the settlement of Sahul and refined the settlement model.
ACROSS was able to access multiple large industry data sets on the northwest shelf of Australia, applying new methodologies in seismic data processing learnt within industry, but not developed previously in archaeological research. With these cutting edge Near Surface seismic data processing methods, ACROSS was able to create an unprecedented reconstruction of the Northwest shelf. This data has been studied alongside core data and recalibrated dates to support chronological interpretation of palaeolandscape. The hydrodynamic modelling approach taken, combines ocean currents, tide and windage for the first time, enabling a holistic understanding of the marine environment that helps us understand timing and routing of early voyages.
ACROSS was able to access multiple large industry data sets on the northwest shelf of Australia, applying new methodologies in seismic data processing learnt within industry, but not developed previously in archaeological research. With these cutting edge Near Surface seismic data processing methods, ACROSS was able to create an unprecedented reconstruction of the Northwest shelf. This data has been studied alongside core data and recalibrated dates to support chronological interpretation of palaeolandscape. The hydrodynamic modelling approach taken, combines ocean currents, tide and windage for the first time, enabling a holistic understanding of the marine environment that helps us understand timing and routing of early voyages.