Rockshelters and Rock Art in the River Murray Gorge: New Data and Syntheses

Undertaken in partnership with the River Murray and Mallee Aboriginal Corporation this project will explore Aboriginal rock art and rockshelter occupation deposits in the Upper Murray River Gorge, South Australia. The project will conduct the first archaeological excavations of stratified rockshelter sites in this region in more than 50 years and complete the first comprehensive archaeological survey of its upper reaches. A threatened and rapidly diminishing corpus of rock art will be recorded. The cultural importance of the located sites will be considered in conjunction with their archaeological significance to produce meaningful narratives. New understandings about Holocene societal and environmental changes will be generated.