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<< Text Pages >> Jordan River Levee - Ancient Village or Settlement in Australia

Submitted by coldrum on Saturday, 02 April 2011  Page Views: 19837

Site WatchSite Name: Jordan River Levee Alternative Name: kutalayna, Brighton Bypass site
Country: Australia
NOTE: This site is 147.87 km away from the location you searched for.

Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Nearest Town: Hobart  Nearest Village: Brighton
Latitude: 42.705S  Longitude: 147.265600E
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
1 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
no data Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
no data Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
4

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Ancient Settlement in Tasmania. Roadworks dig finds millions of Aboriginal artefacts. Archaeologists say they may have found proof of the oldest and most southerly human habitation in the world at the site of a major road project in Tasmania. Archaeologists and Aboriginal heritage officers have been removing sediment from eight trenches along the Jordan River levee at the Brighton roadworks site, north of Hobart.

Initial findings suggest the sediment is between 28,000 and 40,000 years old, making it the oldest, most southern site of human habitation in the world.
It is believed up to 3,000,000 artefacts could be buried there.

Dozens of protesters have been arrested and 19 people have been charged over protests aimed at trying to stop the roadwork in recent months.

Fiona Newson from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Land and Sea Council says the Tasmanian Government needs to take the latest report from archaeologists seriously.

"We're talking about a worldwide significant site in regards to the scientific values and heritage values," she said.
"It would be a total waste and not a good look on Tasmania if they were going to destroy it."

With the State Government in caretaker mode, Infrastucture Minister Graeme Sturges has been cautious in his response.
"We will certainly follow the required process and we will acknowledge and respect the findings of the report," he said.

"Bear in mind we're to receive the final report in about a week and we will follow due process in regard to this matter."

The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre's Michael Mansell says the site is tremendously significant and wants it put on the World Heritage List.

"The bottom line is that nothing must go within a bull's roar of the site," he said.

"I don't think there's any doubt that the Federal Government has to be involved anyway because there's a strong belief that this area should now be declared a world heritage listed place."

Mr Mansell says Aborigines want the Premier to apologise for the treatment of protesters at the Brighton bypass site.

"I think in the circumstances the Premier owes an apology to those Aboriginal people who always said, 'What is there is terribly significant and must be preserved at all costs'," he said.

"An apology I don't think would be astray."

Archaeologists working on the project hope the site will be protected.

Head archaeologist Robert Paton is excited by the preliminary findings.

"The dates that we've got so far, the readings, they've been nice and statistically tight, and that suggests to me they're probably correct," he said.

"To have the opportunity to work on that site with the Aboriginal community, it's been a pretty exciting time for everyone."

More at ABC News. Description of site: The area is a north-south floodplain area with the Jordan River to the east and south. The area is bounded on the west by the village of Brighton and a railroad grade. To the north are the TeaTree Road bridge and a railroad bridge.

Note: Millions of artefacts discovered at 'extremely significant' 40,000-year-old site but the road building is to continue, putting the site at risk. Aborigines Protest at Parliament. Site Visits Available. See comments.
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Nearby Images from Flickr
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This Way, Kiddo...

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"Jordan River Levee" | Login/Create an Account | 8 News and Comments
  
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Dec 2010 - Aborigines call for Archaeology ban - Archeaologists Dispute Dates by bat400 on Saturday, 02 April 2011
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I'm unsure from context if the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre's call for a ban on archaeology surveys is in response to disputes with archaeologists, a tactic for delaying development projects, or a philosophical protest supporting heritage and indigenous determinism as more important than scientific findings. Excerpts from the article:

Over 100 Aborigines held a meeting on the 22nd December 2010 to give their response to the Tasmanian Government’s decision on the Brighton Bypass site. Michael Mansell, the legal director of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre reported that the Aboriginal community had made four important decisions:
* A complete ban on any survey studies of Aboriginal heritage on all projects, meaning projects requiring a study to determine if Aboriginal heritage exists will be halted. The ban would remain in place until laws are enacted to protect, instead of destroy, Aboriginal heritage.
* The Federal Government should take over Aboriginal heritage protection from the State using its overriding powers under s51 (26) of the Constitution. It is felt that the State government has failed to protect Aboriginal heritage and has become it’s single greatest destroyer.
* The leaders of the Tasmanian political parties should agree to a public Commission of Inquiry to investigate the causes of the current situation.
* The camp established on the Brighton site is permanent and will remain until the situation of the bypass is resolved.

The group go on to congratulate Australian Green Party leader Bob Brown for his efforts in getting the Federal Government involved through its commitment to an independent report on funding and design options. Bob Brown believes legal advice he received allows for the emergency heritage listing of the Jordan River levee which should stop the proposed Brighton bypass going ahead.
While the listing is not permanent, the site is protected until an assessment is completed and the Minister decides if the site should have permanent protection (within 12 months).
“Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke has noted that the heritage values of the levee are under significant threat,” Senator Brown said in Hobart late last year. However, Tasmania’s Environment Minister Brian Wightman, said he understood the listing had no effect on his decision and the building would go ahead as planned. Wightman went on to say, “the State Government recognised the cultural significance of the site, which was why it would spend an extra $12 million for a bridge with reduced impact.”
However, Mr. Mansell feels that the importance of the site has not been presented in order to show how precious it is to everyone, and that all Tasmanians stand to gain from insights into the lifestyle of people who dealt with and adapted to environmental changes over the past 40,000 years. Mansell concluded that, “The artefacts merely signal something happened by the Jordan River, but it is not the artefacts that are important: the importance is in the story of the people who left the artefacts there”.
Rob Paton, says the findings show that “this is not just a site of things but also a site which has great spiritual values for Aboriginal people” .
Mr Paton is hopeful that a resolution will be reached that pleases the Tasmanian Aboriginal community, the archaeologists and the road builders, and is quoted on ABC news as saying “If we can take a step back and sit down and discuss things I think we can work our way through it.”
However, Prof Jim Allen from La Trobe University in Melbourne was reported as saying he found some of the data “confusing“, “misleading“, and “unprepossessing” and that the site could be less than 30,000 years old. Professor Allen said Mr Paton’s claim that the site was among the oldest in Australia should be put “into a more precise context” with twenty Aboriginal sites in Australia dated older.

For more, see Read the rest of this post...
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Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre Inc. Interprets Kutalayna by bat400 on Saturday, 02 April 2011
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According to the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, Inc.:
"the kutalyana National Heritage area is highly significant, not only to the Aboriginal community in Tasmania, but the whole Australian and international community. kutalayna helps tell the story of humans in Tasmania, a story of resilience, survival and a cultural richness that everyone can be proud of."

Their website describes the site with annotated aerial photography and videos. Weekly newsletters (21 Mar 2011 most recent) describe the site, the protests, and information on alternative routes for the bypass. They also offer to conduct tours of the site.

Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, Inc.

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Aborigines take bypass protest to Parliament by bat400 on Saturday, 02 April 2011
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Tasmania's Aboriginal community has held a rally outside Hobart's Parliament House over the Brighton Bypass which they believe will destroy a significant heritage site.

About 50 protesters descended on Parliament House lawns to oppose what they say is the pending destruction of 42,000 years of Aboriginal heritage at the Jordan River levee north of Hobart.

A bridge will be built directly over the heritage site and protesters want the bypass re-routed.

The Government maintains the current route is the best available option.

A construction and environmental management plan is still to get final approval from the Heritage Minister, Brian Wightman.

Source: http://www.abc.net.au.
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In Australia, Aborigines and government face off over sacred spot by bat400 on Saturday, 02 April 2011
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Another article, from the Christian Science Monitor:

The government of the Australian state of Tasmania is moving ahead with plans to build a bridge – straight through land containing Aborigine artifacts.

To residents of Hobart, the capital of Australia’s island state of Tasmania, a grassy flood plain bordering the Jordan River, was nothing special until archaeologists uncovered a treasure-trove: an estimated 3 million artifacts dating back 40,000 years.

The spot had been an important meeting place for Aboriginal tribes, and the tools, stones, and spear tips found there represent the oldest evidence of human habitation in the Southern Hemisphere.

But the Tasmanian government is pressing ahead with plans to build a bridge – part of a new four-lane highway – over the river. The government claims the construction will not threaten the riverbank’s hidden riches. But an Aboriginal leader, Michael Mansell, has labeled the project “cultural vandalism,” saying the white colonial sites like Port Arthur, the former convict settlement, would never be disturbed.

Three major tribal groups are believed to have traded goods and held traditional ceremonies here. Aborigines were still living on the flood plain as late as 1828, 25 years after Europeans colonized Tasmania. Most of the island’s indigenous population was wiped out during the settlement process. The archaeologist who led the dig, Rob Paton, wrote of the site: “It has the potential to give us a glimpse into an unknown part of world history and the spread of Homo sapiens across the earth.”

The government says it has examined eight alternative routes, but none are viable.

Source: article by Kathy Mark http://www.csmonitor.com/World. Thanks to coldrum for the link.
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Dig rewrites history of Tasmania's Aborigines by Andy B on Friday, 17 December 2010
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But millions of artefacts discovered at a 40,000-year-old site are at risk from a plan for a new four-lane highway

To the archaeologists, the site by the Jordan River, on the outskirts of present-day Hobart, Tasmania, did not look particularly promising. But when they began digging, they uncovered an extraordinary treasure trove: millions of artefacts, representing the oldest evidence of human habitation in the southern hemisphere.

For more than 40,000 years, the riverbank was an important meeting-place for Tasmanian Aborigines, who converged on a broad floodplain to trade goods, hold ceremonies, and bury their dead. The spot was still being used as late as 1828, 25 years after Europeans first colonised the island.

The dig was ordered after Aboriginal groups voiced concern about plans to construct a bridge across the Jordan, as part of a new four-lane highway. Archaeologists were astounded by what came to light. "It has the potential to give us a glimpse into an unknown part of world history and the spread of Homo sapiens across the earth," said Rob Paton, who led the dig.

Although Dr Paton's report describes the site as being of "extremely high scientific significance", the Tasmanian government is resisting pressure to re-route the bypass road, claiming that the bridge will not destroy or disturb it. Opponents, however, point to concrete pylons which will be sunk into the grassy floodplain, and plans to create a massive in-fill of rocks.

While the ancient campground is internationally significant, it has particular meaning for Tasmanian Aborigines, whose heritage and history were virtually wiped out during the brutal settlement process.

Much of the Jordan valley was home to Aboriginal people, and three major tribal groups congregated regularly on the floodplain through the millennia. Wild cherries and other bush fruits grew in the area, which – as well as offering plentiful water and fish – was full of kangaroos and wallabies to hunt.

Michael Mansell, legal director of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, says: "That's a place that really strikes at our heart, and is about our identity, our past and our future. When you stand down by that levee, you can feel the presence of our ancestors, of the old people and the children."

Archaeologists say the site could rewrite Aboriginal history in Tasmania and Australia. Digging eight test pits, they found 1,440 artefacts – including tools, stones and spear tips – and concluded that three million objects lie buried. "They're stone artefacts, they're used for day-to-day living, cutting and sharpening," says Dr Paton. "It's that day-to-day stuff that really is rarely found. To get a snapshot of what life was like 40,000 years ago is really quite unique, not just for Australia but for hunter-gatherer sites anywhere in the world."

With approval for the bridge expected to be granted soon, conservationists and Aboriginal groups have appealed to the federal government to intervene. One of the independent MPs propping up Julia Gillard's Labor government, Andrew Wilkie, has called for the site to be National Heritage-listed.

Mr Mansell accuses the Tasmanian government of "cultural vandalism", saying: "We thought they would share our excitement about this discovery, but instead they just saw it as a handicap to their highway. They really have no appreciation of anything that's different from their white culture. To them, white heritage is sacrosanct, but Aboriginal heritage, they're happy to build straight on top of it. You wouldn't see them pouring rubble or building a bridge over the top of Port Arthur [the convict heritage site in Tasmania]."

In Tasmania, Aborigines were rounded up and killed or shipped to offshore islands in the early 19th century. One massacre of men, women and children took place in the Jordan River valley, triggered by the spearing of a white shepherd.

Across the island, little trace

Read the rest of this post...
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Oldest evidence of human habitation in the southern hemisphere by Andy B on Sunday, 16 May 2010
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Archaeologists have confirmed an Aboriginal site in the path of a major Tasmanian highway contains the oldest evidence of human habitation in the southern hemisphere.

About 3 million Indigenous artefacts were discovered at the Jordan River levee north of Hobart.

The State Government commissioned archaeologists to examine the site after the Aboriginal community raised concerns that construction of the Brighton bypass could damage it.

The site's archaeological director, Rob Paton, says the final report on the dig confirms some artefacts are about 40,000 years old.

"They're stone artefacts, they're used for day to day living, cutting and sharpening. It's that day-to-day stuff that really is rarely found," he said.

More, with a photo at
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/04/26/2883080.htm?section=business
with thanks to SteveDut for the update
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Re: Aboriginal artefacts near Jordan River levee by Andy B on Tuesday, 23 March 2010
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I'm guessing this site is somewhere round here - amazing location: View Larger Map
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    Re: Aboriginal artefacts near Jordan River levee by bat400 on Saturday, 02 April 2011
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    I've found the area using the detailed maps of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre. See the newly edited location. The area is along a bend in the Jordan river. It appears to be mostly in livestock pasture, except for the northern edge, which has what appears to be a small railroad station (possibly no longer in use or only for freight?)
    By the aerial and street views, the Jordon appears to have a varying breadth, probably depending on the season. The planned bypass bridge will cut across the valley south of the much smaller existing bridges, directly over the site, with the pilings and ballast disrupting the archaeological areas.
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