Australian Cave Contains Evidence of 12,000-Year-Old Ritual
Archaeologists from Monash University and the GunaiKurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation have uncovered evidence of a ritual dating back 12,000 years in Cloggs Cave, located in the foothills of the Australian Alps in Victoria. The discovery, published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, revealed two miniature fireplaces with wooden sticks embedded in them, smeared with animal or human fat. These artifacts are considered Australia's oldest known wooden objects, dating back to the end of the Last Ice Age.
The findings indicate that this ritual, documented in the 19th century by anthropologist Alfred Howitt, was practiced for over 500 generations by the GunaiKurnai people. The ritual involved the use of shaped sticks in fireplaces, possibly for purposes related to magic or healing. This discovery provides significant insights into the cultural heritage and continuity of one of the world's oldest living cultures, highlighting the long-standing traditions that were disrupted by European settlers in the 1860s.
