Archaeological excavations on the island of Badu have for the first time revealed evidence of people in Torres Strait before 2500 years BP. We interpret this evidence as representing three phases of island use and occupation. Phase 1 (8000–6000 years BP), when the high islands of Torres Strait were part of terminal Greater Australia, saw permanent occupation of the region. During Phase 2 (6000‐c.3500/3000 years BP), the Western Islands of Torres Strait were occasionally visited from Cape York. And in Phase 3 (c.3500/3000 years BP to present) the islands became occupied mainly by speakers of languages with strong Papuan and Austronesian elements from the north and northeast. We argue for Austronesian influences at the tip of Australia during the late Holocene.
Archaeologists and anthropologists have long been interested in the study of past human interaction. In the Indo-Pacific, research has focused on the age and processes by which islands were settled and the role that intermediary communities played in these histories. Torres Strait, on Australia’s northern border, represents one such frontier zone. For millennia this 48,000 km2 area (containing at least 274 islands) separated predominately horticultural and pottery-using Melanesians and hunter-gatherer Australians, a contrast considered by some to be ‘starker and more perplexingly than anywhere else in the world’ (Walker 1972:405). Mirroring archaeological explanations and theoretical interests elsewhere, Coral Sea chronicles have transitioned between those prioritising large-scale migration to narratives of entanglement on the periphery of ancient globalisations. This paper develops the theme of entanglement, exploring distinctive regionally diverging histories of innovation and interaction occurring in Western, Central and Eastern Torres Strait. We suggest that traditional histories, involving the wandering trackways of Culture Heroes, provide useful insights into the deep history of human interactions, thereby helping us to understand patterns observed in the archaeological and linguistic record.
Torres Strait (TS), on Australia's north-east border, has a long history of research on poerapoeral kulal: powerful stones. Poerapoeral kulal contain vital power from site-of-origin and therefore their movement across the Coral-Arafura Sea corridor provides important information about past and present human relationships (Elu 2004). With few exceptions Western models draw on anthropological, linguistic and site origin research collated by a Cambridge University field team over 100 years ago, with little detailed reassessment of stone raw material and distribution or geological and archaeological surveys conducted within the intervening period. It is also unclear how TS Islanders engage with this literature, particularly the many communities poorly represented by 19th-century studies. In this paper, we test several assumptions influencing recent literature from contemporary islander and non-indigenous perspectives. This includes assessing whether: (a) western scholarship models oversimplify terminology and discussion; (b) early geological assessments of substantive movement of stones is correct; and (c) movement of exotic stones was a common feature across TS. Finally, using detailed cultural, archaeology, geology, and language data sets we reinterpret the regionally-varying role and antiquity of poerapoeral kulal within this animate cosmo-political land and seascape.
This paper is a checklist of 277 vascular plant taxa th^have been collected or encountered in Abbott Creek Research Natural Area, Oregen;; a brief description of five forested and two nonforested vegetation typesv:fs included, 3f r KEYWORDS: Vascular plants, checklists (vascular plants Creek Research Natural Area) STUDY AREA Abbott Creek Research Natural Area is located in Douglas and Jackson Counties, and has a total area of 1 076 ha (2,660 acres). Its western border, defined by the main branch of Abbott Creek, provides the easiest access to major portions of the area. An unma i nta i ned logging road parallels the southwestern boundary. This road is reached from U.S. Highway 26 via Forest Road 3047 (fig. 2). The northern border is defined by a ridge between the Rogue and Umpqua River drainages. The main access to this ridge is via trail remnants from Abbott Butte fire lookout, served by Forest Road 2923. The eastern edge of the area generally follows the Golden Stairs Trail, accessible at its southern end by Forest Road 3017 and by Forest Road 3016 at a more northern point. There are no maintained trails or roads within the RNA. Physiography and Geology The topography is quite steep; much of the area consists of slopes of 25 percent or more. Gentler terrain is found near Abbott Creek and on some high elevation benches south of Abbott Butte and between Abbott and Falcon Buttes. Abbott Butte is the highest point (1 869 m; 6,128 ft) in the Research Natural Area; the lowest point (1 006 m; 3,300 ft) is located in the southwest of the RNA. The entire area is volcanic in origin. Soils belong to the Freezener-Coyata soil series (Power and Simonson 1969). Typically the soils are acid in reaction and well drained with dark reddish-brown, friable, loam surface layers. Rock fragments range from abundant to less than 30 percent by volume. Figure 2.-Features of the Abbott Creek Research Natural Area and vicinity. Border of area , Circaea alpina , Erigeron aliceae , Montia sibirica , Osmorhiza chilensis , Trientalis lati folia , Ribes viscosissimum, Rubus parviflorus, Smilacina sessilifolia , Vancouver ia hexandra and Vicia americana which occur in over 67 percent of" the locations sampled. The ecoclass is CR F9 (Hall 1978). 2. The Abies concolor-Tsuga heterophil 11a /Acer circinatum-Taxus brevi folia vegetation type is on the moist end of the gradient that includes the three other forested vegetation types that are part of the Mixed-Conifer Zone as it occurs in the RNA (Mitchell and Moir 1976). This vegetation type is found at the bottom of the major drainages, usually where there is a permanent streamflow. Pseudotsuga menziesii , Abies concolor, Tsuga heterophylla , Pinus lambertiana , and Pinus monticola comprise the overstory. The shrub layer is very well developed; Acer circinatum , Taxus brevifolia , Castanopsis chrysophylla , Corylus cornuta , and Cornus nuttallii are the most important representatives. The understory is quite dense and is dominated by Achlys triphylla , Berberis nervosa , Chimaphila umbel lata , Linn...
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.