Traces of a ritual practiced by the indigenous people of Australia 12,000 years ago have been discovered.
Researchers Russell Moult and Bruno David during excavations in Australia (X)
Two wooden sticks covered in grease were discovered in an Australian cave, representing traces of a ritual dating back 12,000 years, passed down by indigenous people for more than 500 generations, according to a study.
It is very rare for archaeological evidence dating back several thousand years to trace the symbolism of the actions of individuals in societies that did not yet practice writing, according to the authors of the study published Monday in the journal Nature Human Behavior.
The discovery was made in a cave at the foot of the Australian Alps, in the southeast of the country, in an area inhabited by the indigenous Gunaicornai group. Excavations in the cave had previously been carried out in the 1970s, and led to the discovery of the remains of giant kangaroos that were likely consumed by the first inhabitants of the cave.
But the Gunakornai people "did not participate in the excavations" at this site that belonged to their "ancestors," archaeologist Bruno David, from the Department of Indigenous Studies at Monash University in Australia and lead author of the study, told AFP.
In 2020, excavations were again carried out in the small Kluges Cave, but this time led by an indigenous group represented by the Glawak Association.
Wanting to reach ancient, untouched layers, archaeologists dug small holes in the wall, uncovering a wooden stick and then a second, both apparently remarkably well preserved. The first dates back 11,000 years, the second 12,000 years, to the end of the last Ice Age, according to radiocarbon dating.
The two sticks were barely burnt, each in the ashes of a palm-sized hearth, which could not be used to heat or cook meat. The tips of the sticks were polished to be placed vertically in the fire and covered with animal or human fat.
“These were moments frozen in time, so intriguing that we wondered what was going on in the cave,” said Russell Mullett, president of the Glowak Society and one of the study’s authors.
"Mula Molong" in Australia
Years of research led Russell Mullett to 19th-century ethnographic accounts by the Australian anthropologist and Aboriginal specialist Alfred Hoyt. Some of Hoyt’s notes, never published, were kept in a museum, and Russell Mullett had to negotiate hard to get them back.
In his books, Hoyt provides details of the rituals of the Mola Molong, powerful healers and healers of the Gunaikornai group. During the ceremonies, the Mola Molong used wooden sticks similar to those found in Klugs Cave and made from the same wood, also covered with human or kangaroo fat, which were used to sustain the fire during the rituals.
"The Mula Molong would chant the name of the sick person, and when the stick was consumed it would fall off and the spell would end," Monash University explained in a statement.
The ritual continued to be practiced in Australia through the 19th century, especially in remote areas, according to Alfred Howitt. The behaviors have been passed down for 12,000 years, across more than 500 generations, in one of the oldest living cultures in the world. “We don’t know of any behaviors today that have been so symbolic for so long,” said study co-author Jean-Jacques Delanoë of the Editem laboratory in Savoie.
"Australia has preserved the memory of the First Nations thanks to a strong oral tradition. In our societies, there has been a change in memory with the transition to writing and we have lost the meaning of actions," he told AFP, recalling drawings he made in the Chauvet Cave in the Ardèche, southeastern France , whose meaning "we will probably never know".
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