Abstract
Context: A rare archaeological example of Aboriginal water management in a Murray River floodplain upstream of Renmark is described and contextualised.
Aims: Historical accounts, archaeological descriptions and hydrological modelling are used to propose a likely function of the site.
Methods: The site was documented through archaeological field recording, a digital elevation model (DEM) developed through a real-time kinematic (RTK) survey and flood inundation modelling (FIM), and is interpreted through a review of archival and documentary sources.
Key results: The site represents one of only a few extant physical examples of Aboriginal water management in the Riverland and greater Murray–Darling Basin.
Conclusions: Our assessment indicates that Aboriginal people had excavated an artifical channel within the Calperum floodplain in order to manipulate natural water connectivity, most likely as part of a fish trap or weir structure.
Implications: The site builds an appreciation of the complexity of Aboriginal land practices and supports the impression gained though historical accounts of a curated and managed riverscape.
Aims: Historical accounts, archaeological descriptions and hydrological modelling are used to propose a likely function of the site.
Methods: The site was documented through archaeological field recording, a digital elevation model (DEM) developed through a real-time kinematic (RTK) survey and flood inundation modelling (FIM), and is interpreted through a review of archival and documentary sources.
Key results: The site represents one of only a few extant physical examples of Aboriginal water management in the Riverland and greater Murray–Darling Basin.
Conclusions: Our assessment indicates that Aboriginal people had excavated an artifical channel within the Calperum floodplain in order to manipulate natural water connectivity, most likely as part of a fish trap or weir structure.
Implications: The site builds an appreciation of the complexity of Aboriginal land practices and supports the impression gained though historical accounts of a curated and managed riverscape.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1026-1038 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Marine and Freshwater Research |
| Volume | 74 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| Early online date | 10 Jul 2023 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 10 Jul 2023 |
Keywords
- Aboriginal archaeology
- Fish trap
- Flood inundation modelling
- Floodplain
- Floodplain management
- Freshwater fishery
- Hydro-ecology
- Murray-Darling Basin
- Murray River