Cape to Cape Heritage Preservation Project: Stage 1 - Archaeological Heritage Management
November 1st to 30th, 2020
This is an opportunity to get involved with a community archaeology project that will take place over four weeks based in the heart of Wooditj Bilya (Margaret River), in southwestern Australia. The project is part of a long-term, heritage preservation and community-based research program. A collaborative team is working to develop a Cultural Plan for this area, focused on the Wadandi coastal cultural places and landscapes of the Cape to Cape region.
The larger program is aimed at embedding cultural leadership in natural resource management, integrating cultural knowledge systems with Western-based scientific methods, empowering youth, and protecting and restoring cultural complexes and their associated ecological zones.
Wadandi cultural systems are interwoven with the landscape and its ecosystems. There presents a need to strategically manage, protect, monitor, and research the integrated cultural and natural landscape to ensure the area can mitigate pressures and impacts associated with erosion, climate change, population pressure, development and tourism.
For this stage, in November 2020, the team will carry out a regional survey as a condition assessment of the numerous archaeological sites and cultural complexes that exist across the limestone and sand dune systems. From here the team will work with Elders and cultural facilitators to develop site forms linked to an interactive database and mapping system, to feed into a long-term monitoring platform.
As part of this stage, two targeted archaeological excavations will take place in locations identified by Wadandi Cultural leaders - one is an open site in a landform of dune systems that represent the Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene transition. The second is part of a limestone cave system associated with a cultural Songline. The intent of the excavations is to gather information on cultural histories, chronologies and historical ecology.
The diversity of archaeological sites and features attest to the function of these zones during traditional times as a significant cultural landscape that was utilized by Wadandi People for a variety of cultural activities and practices. Lizard traps, gnamma holes (waterholes), burials, stone artifact scatters, quarry sites, fish traps, rock-art sites, and ceremonial places, all exist at different locations, as physical manifestations of the ways in which People engaged with their cultural ways and ecological zones in the past.
None of the archaeological features exist in isolation from one another or from the ecosystems and natural features of which they are a part. The features are all important components of a cultural landscape now, just as they were components in a cultural system in the past. However, increasing population pressure and tourism is having a negative impact on many cultural features and archaeological sites, and impacting upon the Wadandi cultural values.
As an outcome of this field school, we will develop a cultural map for specific areas under the direction of cultural leaders. The information will be collected via oral histories, interviews, field survey, archaeological investigations and archival research, as part of an integrated team effort. This work will involve targeted field surveys and site recording focused on Wadandi traditional place names.
There will also be practical workshops in heritage legislation, cultural protocols and methods of evaluation. The work will involve archaeological survey, testing and mapping, and provide you with a collection of skills required of a field archaeologist, anthropologist and environmental scientist. We will also integrate with local community and cultural activities.
From here, the team will workshop how cultural mapping is the basis for developing an integrated heritage management plan. We will workshop current threats and methods for ongoing community-based protection and management at the site and landscape level. We will also participate in workshops with Elders and specialists to learn about ways of cultural monitoring and management, and develop cross-cultural understandings. The program also includes formal workshops for understanding the rights of nature - ‘to recognize and protect nature’s inherent rights to exist, thrive and evolve’ (Earth Law Center).
The program can be custom-designed to your specific studies or interests.
What you will learn:
This program will equip you with the skills and knowledge related to college studies and experience working as a professional heritage and environmental officer. The program is open to high-school and college students, those interested in their own professional development, or anyone interested in collaborative heritage and science.
The program takes you step-by-step through a range of skills and experiences while participating in meaningful projects, focused on:
Learning, understanding and following cultural protocols
Language, identity and well-being
Anthropological surveys and cultural mapping
Archaeological surveys, mapping, and excavation
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey
Community and applied archaeology
Heritage laws and methods of survey and evaluation
Place name mapping
Cultural plant surveys and traditional gathering
Cultural science and ecology
Weed control and water testing
Heritage site preservation and environmental management
Rights of nature
Integrating cultural knowledge, archaeology and natural resource management
You will also participate in on-ground heritage protection and management projects.
Who is eligible?
The program is open to high school students, college students, and professionals. The program is useful for those studying archaeology, linguistics, anthropology, environmental science, or environmental law - or for those that would like to learn about and experience any aspects of these fields. Applied Archaeology is available to assist in contacting your field school sponsor, study abroad officer, or internship provider to organize and plan for the program. We can also assist to arrange high school or college credit for your participation.
*Opportunities for continuing your experience with a similar program along the south coast of Western Australia for the month of December (see Ancient and Maritime History of Thistle Cove Project)
Background
Applied Archaeology International is working in partnership with the Wadandi community of southwestern Australia on a number of heritage preservation projects. The program, via a partnership with the Undalup Association, is focused on the conservation and management of central cultural places and linking projects to larger landscape-scale management and protection plans. This collaboration is also centred on collating cultural data sets and maps to develop tools and a mapping platform that will assist with strategic conservation efforts and supporting cultural ranger teams under the Undalup Association.
Cultural leadership in planning, management and research is yet to be fully recognized in greater Western Australia, however the benefits of local collaboration is powerfully effective. The team have embarked on a cultural mapping project along cultural waterways and coastal cliffs, for the development of a cultural plan. Respectful planning with cultural custodians and an integrated team, leads to collaborative, strategic undertakings, and broadens our understanding of this shared cultural landscape.
Several projects are underway, including a rock art protection program that utilizes 3D technology, a regional repatriation project, and a program to protect a sacred cave from natural and human-caused disturbances (see the links below).
Wadandi Bloodlines
The team are currently working on a project to document Wadandi Bloodlines and develop a cultural plan for Wooditj Bilya (Margaret River). Here is a short video on this project:
Protecting Kybra: A Community Heritage Preservation Project
A glimpse into the work of Wadandi-Pibelmun community and their partners, in an effort to record, conserve, and manage a sacred place under threat from land use activities and associated degradation:
Waljin Mia (Rainbow Cave) Protection Project
Waljin Mia (Rainbow cave) is a sacred cultural place for the Wadandi People of South Western Australia. The cave is part of a complex cultural landscape. The Wadandi Elders look after their cultural places as part of their custodial obligations, which include the variety of plants and animals that inhabit these coastal limestone cliffs.
Wadandi, Coming Home: A Repatriation Project
The video is a glimpse into a repatriation program led by Wadandi Cultural Custodians, examining the traditional customs and ways of bringing their people home to Boodja.
More Information
For more information and registration information, please contact:
David Guilfoyle – contact form or email: dg@appliedarchaeologyinternational.com
www.appliedarchaeologyinternational.com
