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Lake Mungo is one of the seventeen lakes within the Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area located in Mungo National Park in Australia. It is located 987 km west of Sydney. Lake Mungo is an important archaeological site. The site at Lake Mungo covered 135 square kilometres and was about 10 metres deep. It existed from 25,000 &endash; 45,000 years ago. The lakes in this area dried up about 14,000 years ago. Many extinct animals such as Tasmanian tigers, giant kangaroos, hairy-nosed wombats and an animal called the zygomaturus have been found at the site. Scientists have carbon dated Aboriginal occupation in the area at about 40,000 years. They have found that mussels, cod and perch from the lake were gathered by the Aborigines as well as the hunting of wallabies, kangaroos and gathering of emu eggs. The area is well known for the amount of human fossils and artifacts that are often uncovered then recovered again because of the winds and the blowing sand. The Aborigines were among the first people to grind flour. Flake tools and sandstone grinders have been found, indicating the grinding of wild grass seeds.These sandstone grinders are reported to have come from at least 100km away, suggesting seasonal migration. For thousands of years Aborigines wandered among the Walls of China, a line of ancient sand and clay landforms stretching for almost 30 kilometres along the eastern edge of Lake Mungo. When the lake, part of the Willandra Lakes region in far south-west NSW, dried up about 10,000 years ago, the bones and relics of the people who once lived on its shores were swallowed up by the desert sands. But 30 years ago, the wind exposed a fragment of history. |
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In 1969, Australian archaeologists unearthed more than 175 bone fragments. Reassembled, they formed the frame of a young adult female, who became known as Mungo Woman. Radiocarbon dating showed she had died between 24,500 and 26,500 years ago. Then, five years later, 500 metres from where Mungo Woman was discovered, the burial site of another ancient human was found. The skeleton uncovered was dubbed Mungo Man. Almost from the moment of his exhumation, Mungo Man has challenged scientific beliefs and divided anthropologists. After 25 years, there is still no agreement on the age of Mungo Man. Some say 30,000 years, others 60,000. Even the skeleton's sex is disputed, although it is generally considered to be male. |
 photo by J.M.Bowler with permission from the Traditional Owners |
 photo by J.M.Bowler with permission from the Traditional Owners |
Ochre found in the area dates back 32,000 years. Due to there being no local source of this ochre, scientists believe that it must have been brought into the area specifically for body decoration. A 28,000 - 30,000 year old burial site has revealed the body of an Indigenous person which has been covered in red ochre. The earliest known human example of cremation has also been found in a 26,000 year old grave, clearly suggesting the presence of spiritual elements to the Indigenous culture. There are still remains of the buildings from the original homestead relating to the sheep station. When squatters first arrived with their sheep in 1840, conflict arose between them and the local Indigenous tribes - the Barkindji, Ngiyampaa and Mutthi Mutthi, descendants of the area's ancient inhabitants. European diseases and the forced removal to a mission at Balranald decimated the Indigenous population. Thankfully, today, their descendants are involved in the management of the park and the handling of the remains of their dead ancestors are treated respectfully. |
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A CD "Windows to Australia's Past" by J.M.Bowler has been designed for teachers' use as a resource document.With more than 700 images of Mungo including geography, archaeology and socio-anthropological issues, it represents by far the greatest document on this special area of Australia. More information and an order form is available at http://www.lakemungo.info/index.html |
