Collaborative Histories of the Willandra Lakes

Abstract

In the Willandra Lakes region of south-western New South Wales, Australia, research over the past 45 years has created a vivid picture of interactions between humans and their environment spanning an immensely long period of time. The landscape provides an archaeological record of grand proportions, almost unique in its capacity to offer a complex picture of Pleistocene Aboriginal life. Understandings of this landscape, and of Australia as a continent and nation, were changed by the unearthing in 1968 of the remains of a young woman who would later become known as Mungo Lady, and who is now estimated to have lived 42,000 years ago. This vital evidence of deep human history emerged due to soil erosion. As well as representing the ancient presence of Homo sapiens, the realisation that it was the earliest known human cremation ignited the interest of the Australian and international scientific community in the region. Through scientific research, since 1968, the lands of the Willandra Lakes changed from being conceived as sparsely populated, semi-arid, marginal sheep station country, to a veritable trove of geological and cultural significance. Lake Mungo was considered sufficiently important to become a National Park in 1979, followed in 1981 with the whole Willandra Lakes region being listed as World Heritage – indeed, one of Australia’s first three UNESCO recognised World Heritage Areas – and one recognised for not only the uniqueness of its natural landforms, but also for its cultural significance. Show more