An introduction to earthen mound sites in South Australia

Aboriginal earthen mound sites (mounds) have a patchy distribution across south-eastern and northern tropical Australia though in all regions are consistently associated with floodplains and seasonal wetlands. These sites appear to be the locations of repeat-use pit ovens developed primarily through the intensive exploitation of wetland resources for food and fibre. It has been suggested that improved resource yields gained through mound use may have supported increased levels of residency and population growth from the mid to late Holocene. Despite a long history of mound reporting in South Australia, local examples are yet to be incorporated into the national debate on any meaningful level. This paper seeks to address this through a review of mounds in two disparate regions of the state; the Northern Adelaide Plains and the Riverland region of the River Murray.