By: Beth O'Sullivan
Lake Mungo early Occupation and archaeological
evidence.
Where is Lake Mungo and why is it Important?
Lake Mungo is situated 987Km inland (south-west) of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. It is one of seventeen lakes in the Willandra Lakes Region in Mungo National Park. Mungo National Park is a tourist attraction and World Heritage site because of the extraordinary findings of Indigenous Australian human
remains and artefacts displaying an established culture and way of living.
remains and artefacts displaying an established culture and way of living.
Mungo Lady (Lake Mungo 1)
Who is Mungo Lady and why is she so Important?
The picture above shows the reconstructed piece of Mungo Lady’s head the earliest ritual/religious cremation found.
Mungo Lady is the name that archaeologists have given to a group of cremated bones found at Lake Mungo. Mungo Lady was a young Indigenous Australian adult female and her discovery is extremely important to understanding and discovering the past of the Indigenous Australians. Previously, Archaeologists had thought Aboriginals had come from Africa a few 1000 years ago but now, due to the discovery of Mungo lady and Mungo Man (further down the page) that few thousand has stretched to over 40 000 years!
Mungo Lady is also very important because she is the oldest modern human found outside of Africa and because she was cremated. Cremation is the burning of bones of a dead person and is generally a sign of respect. The picture to the right shows the part of the scull from the cremated bones of Mungo Lady. The dark parts of bone are the more burnt fragments and the lighter areas are less burnt. Therefore Mungo Lady provides the evidence that shows how sophisticated and established the Indigenous culture was back 40 000 years ago and that ritual cremation was practiced.
Mungo Lady is also very important because she is the oldest modern human found outside of Africa and because she was cremated. Cremation is the burning of bones of a dead person and is generally a sign of respect. The picture to the right shows the part of the scull from the cremated bones of Mungo Lady. The dark parts of bone are the more burnt fragments and the lighter areas are less burnt. Therefore Mungo Lady provides the evidence that shows how sophisticated and established the Indigenous culture was back 40 000 years ago and that ritual cremation was practiced.
Where was Mungo Lady found and who found her?
Mungo Lady was found about 900km south-west of Sydney near Lake Mungo. A geologist named Jim Bowler from Melbourne University found her in 1968. Jim had come to Lake Mungo because of his interest in geology. One day he saw a piece of charcoal and as he picked it up, out came some fragments that looked like some human bones. He wasn’t sure whether they were a human or not, so he took them to an archaeologist who confirmed they were human bones. When they realised that, and the bones looked quite old it meant that the bones could erode quickly so they decided to excavate to see if there were any more.
The bones were taken back to a laboratory and tested which established that they were human and had been burnt, most probably ritually cremated. Mungo Lady was initially said to be about 26 000 year old but when they discovered Mungo man in 1974, and as technology improved, they found that she was more likely to be around 40 000 years old. Below is a hyperlink/ button to a video made in 1975 by the ABC which tells us about the discovery of Mungo Lady and a bit about Mungo Man. Please be warned that not all the information in this video is correct and up to date because it was made a long time ago and technology and knowledge has changed.
The bones were taken back to a laboratory and tested which established that they were human and had been burnt, most probably ritually cremated. Mungo Lady was initially said to be about 26 000 year old but when they discovered Mungo man in 1974, and as technology improved, they found that she was more likely to be around 40 000 years old. Below is a hyperlink/ button to a video made in 1975 by the ABC which tells us about the discovery of Mungo Lady and a bit about Mungo Man. Please be warned that not all the information in this video is correct and up to date because it was made a long time ago and technology and knowledge has changed.
Mungo Man (Lake Mungo 3)
Who was Mungo Man, where was he found and who found him?
Left) Anthea Carstairs and (Right) Dr Wilfred Shawcross excavating Mungo Man in 1974.
Photo by: Jim Bowler
After the discovery of Mungo Lady archaeologists came to the conclusion that if she was cremated and buried there must have been more people or perhaps even a community. In 1974, when Jim Bowler was just 2km away from the site of Mungo Lady, he came across what he thought from a distance were wombat bones but as he got closer he saw however it was the top of a human’s skull, this is how Mungo Man was discovered. Mungo Man was an Indigenous Australian male who died at about the age of 50. Mungo Man was the next big discovery that has changed and shaped the way we think of Australia.
Why is Mungo Man so Important and what’s so different about him?
Mungo Man is very important because it confirms to archaeologists that more people or even a community had probably lived there. Above you can see Mungo Man being carefully brushed and excavated out of his grave by Anthea Carstairs and Dr Wilfred Shawcross. You can see that this was a burial because of the slightly bent knees, he lying on his side, with hand clasped together and red ochre has been found to have covered him. Ochre is not found in this area of NSW suggesting a seasonal migration. Mungo Man’s body is a full body skeleton and there is no agreed date for when he lived. After 25 years of research they still have no conclusion for the date he lived but he is said to have been around 30 000 - 60 000 years ago. There are even disputes on the gender of Mungo Man but is believed by most people to be male. Mungo Man shows the development of a complex culture and presence of spiritual elements in the Indigenous culture.
Hunting and gathering: food and artefacts
Lake Mungo was very different 20 000- 40 000 years ago than it is now. Lake Mungo has not always been a semi-arid climate but used to be a moist area and was filled with fresh water lakes where many animals lived and came to drink. There is evidence that the Barkindji, Ngiyampaa
and Mutthi Mutthi peoples ancestors lived along the shores of Lake Mungo.
There are old animal bones showing that Lake Mungo was filled with fresh water and had the following living in it:
- Crayfish,
- Murray cod,
- Golden Perch,
- Mussels, and
- Shellfish.
It is most probable that the Indigenous people also hunted in nearby forests for:
- kangaroo,
- wallabies and
- emu eggs
There have also been old stone artefacts uncovered by archaeologists. These include pieces of stone attached to wood and used like an axe to strip bark and sandstone grinders suggesting the grinding of grass seeds to make flour. This shows that the Indigenous people of this area had sophisticated tools and established methods of hunting and gathering.
and Mutthi Mutthi peoples ancestors lived along the shores of Lake Mungo.
There are old animal bones showing that Lake Mungo was filled with fresh water and had the following living in it:
- Crayfish,
- Murray cod,
- Golden Perch,
- Mussels, and
- Shellfish.
It is most probable that the Indigenous people also hunted in nearby forests for:
- kangaroo,
- wallabies and
- emu eggs
There have also been old stone artefacts uncovered by archaeologists. These include pieces of stone attached to wood and used like an axe to strip bark and sandstone grinders suggesting the grinding of grass seeds to make flour. This shows that the Indigenous people of this area had sophisticated tools and established methods of hunting and gathering.