A ground penetrating radar survey near the excavated burial site of Kiacatoo Man
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Author(s)
Kemp, Justine
Gontz, Allen
Pardoe, Colin
Pietsch, Tim
Olley, Jon
Year published
2014
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Ground penetrating radar technology has advanced in the last decade to the point where it is possible to identify objects as small as a grave quickly and with great precision. This study investigates its potential for identifying possible human burials alongside the grave site of Kiacatoo Man in central New South Wales. In 2011, the weathered remains of this individual were discovered in a levee of an ancient course of the Lachlan River, and measurements taken from the reconstructed femur suggest an individual of exceptional size and rugosity. Preliminary OSL analyses of fine sandy sediment underlying the grave floor provide ...
View more >Ground penetrating radar technology has advanced in the last decade to the point where it is possible to identify objects as small as a grave quickly and with great precision. This study investigates its potential for identifying possible human burials alongside the grave site of Kiacatoo Man in central New South Wales. In 2011, the weathered remains of this individual were discovered in a levee of an ancient course of the Lachlan River, and measurements taken from the reconstructed femur suggest an individual of exceptional size and rugosity. Preliminary OSL analyses of fine sandy sediment underlying the grave floor provide a maximum age for the skeleton of around 17,000 years. A GPR survey over a 200 m x 40 m grid of the levee revealed five disturbances that are consistent with the geophysical and morphological expression of grave excavations. The technique appears to be an effective tool for mapping of unmarked graves, and may be particularly useful for systematic archaeological exploration of the source-bordering dunes and levees of the Riverine Plain. These landforms may hold the key to understanding burial patterning, the distribution of people, and land-use during the late Pleistocene in Australia.
View less >
View more >Ground penetrating radar technology has advanced in the last decade to the point where it is possible to identify objects as small as a grave quickly and with great precision. This study investigates its potential for identifying possible human burials alongside the grave site of Kiacatoo Man in central New South Wales. In 2011, the weathered remains of this individual were discovered in a levee of an ancient course of the Lachlan River, and measurements taken from the reconstructed femur suggest an individual of exceptional size and rugosity. Preliminary OSL analyses of fine sandy sediment underlying the grave floor provide a maximum age for the skeleton of around 17,000 years. A GPR survey over a 200 m x 40 m grid of the levee revealed five disturbances that are consistent with the geophysical and morphological expression of grave excavations. The technique appears to be an effective tool for mapping of unmarked graves, and may be particularly useful for systematic archaeological exploration of the source-bordering dunes and levees of the Riverine Plain. These landforms may hold the key to understanding burial patterning, the distribution of people, and land-use during the late Pleistocene in Australia.
View less >
Journal Title
Quaternary Australasia
Volume
31
Issue
2
Publisher URI
Copyright Statement
© 2014 Australasian Quaternary Association. The attached file is reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version.
Subject
Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience not elsewhere classified
Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience
Archaeology