Kow Swamp archaeological site facts for kids
The Kow Swamp archaeological site is a very important place in northern Victoria, Australia. It is on the eastern side of Kow Swamp. Here, scientists found many ancient human burials in a sand dune. These burials date back to a time called the Pleistocene period. Between 1968 and 1972, an archaeologist named Alan Thorne dug up the skeletons of more than 22 people.
When these human remains were first found, some of the skulls looked very old, possibly from a type of human earlier than modern people. However, later studies showed that they were indeed from early modern humans, but with some unique features.
Contents
Where is Kow Swamp?
Kow Swamp gets its name from an Aboriginal word, Ghow. This word comes from the Yorta Yorta language. It means 'white gypsum soil', which is common in the area. Today, Kow Swamp is a large lake. It is used to hold water for irrigation (watering crops).
The lake is about 15 kilometres (9 miles) around and about 3 metres (10 feet) deep. Long ago, it was a low-lying swamp. It only filled with water when the Murray River flooded or had very high water levels.
How the Site Was Found
Aboriginal people have lived at Kow Swamp for a very long time. You can still see "canoe trees" there. These are trees where bark was carefully removed to make canoes. There are also "middens," which are like ancient rubbish heaps. These middens show what people ate and how they lived.
Early European settlers saw an Aboriginal ceremonial site on the north side of the swamp. In 1925, part of a skull was found during digging work on the west side. This skull was named the "Cohuna Cranium." The editor of the local newspaper, Cohuna Farmers Weekly, told the authorities. Everyone soon realised how important this discovery was.
In the 1960s, Alan Thorne found an old bone in the collection at the Museum of Victoria. He traced it back to Kow Swamp. Major archaeological digs happened between 1968 and 1972. Thorne led these digs for the Australian National University in Canberra. A local person, Gordon Spark, also found more remains around the swamp. By 1972, scientists had dug up and studied the remains of at least forty people. These discoveries helped show that Aboriginal people have a very rich and diverse history. They also suggested that different groups of people came to Australia long before Europeans arrived.
How Old Are the Remains?
Scientists use special methods to figure out how old ancient things are. One method is Radiocarbon dating. This method showed that most of the burials at Kow Swamp happened between 13,000 and 10,000 years ago. The most recent burial was about 6,500 years old.
Another method, called Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, was used in 2003. This dating suggested the burials were even older, between 22,000 and 19,000 years old. However, some scientists have questioned these dates. It can be hard to be sure that the sand being dated is exactly the same age as the burials.
Other studies of bones from nearby sites, like Nacurrie and Coobool Creek, support the earlier dates. They suggest the Kow Swamp burials are likely between 13,000 and 9,000 years old.
What the Skulls Look Like
At first, some scientists thought the skulls from Kow Swamp looked like those of Homo erectus. This is an older type of human, not modern Homo sapiens. Alan Thorne thought this meant that features of Homo erectus might have lasted in Australia until about 10,000 years ago.
However, another scientist, Donald Brothwell, disagreed. He believed that the unusual size and shape of the Kow Swamp skulls were caused by something called artificial cranial deformation. This is when people intentionally change the shape of a baby's head.
The skulls from Kow Swamp are different from modern Aboriginal skulls. They are also different from other ancient human remains found at places like Lake Mungo and Keilor. These differences once made some people think that different groups of people arrived in Australia at different times. But more recent studies do not fully support this idea. Many of the skulls found were in small pieces. Only two of them were mostly complete.
Returning the Remains
Aboriginal community groups have asked for the human remains from Kow Swamp to be returned. These remains were held in museums in Australia and other countries. The Kow Swamp skeletons have now been returned to their original area and reburied.
Casts (copies) of some of the Kow Swamp skulls are kept by the Archaeology and Human Sciences department at the Australian National University. Some casts are also at the London Natural History Museum and other places.
Related pages
