Brief description
The Roonka site was excavated by former SA Museum staff member, Graeme Pretty from 1969 to 1984. This extensive open site excavation began at Roonka Flat on the Murray River, Lower Murray Valley region, South Australia. Excavation focused on a series of low, deflated sand dunes. A significant amount of stone tools, animal bones, shellfish and other organics were retrieved through excavation. Roonka is best known as a burial site and approximately 200 individuals were retrieved from the main excavation trenches. Occupation and burial cluster between 4,000 to 7,000 years ago, but the oldest burial is associated with an OSL date of 20,000BP. The site was occupied into post contact times, as witnessed by the presence of pearl buttons and a clay pipe with one burial.Full description
Prior to 1969 numerous salvages were made by SAM staff of surface material as it eroded from the dune.Notes
'Roonka; fugitive traces and climatic mischief' (2009) edited by Keryn Walshe. Current doctoral investigation of human remains by Rebekah Candy, University of Adelaide, South Australia.Data time period: to
Spatial Coverage And Location
text: Roonka Dune
text: Roonka Flat, Murray River, Lower Murray Valley, South Australia
Subjects
Aboriginal art |
Aboriginal artefacts |
Aboriginal culture |
Aboriginal peoples |
Aboriginal peoples (Australians) |
Animal bones |
Artefacts |
Burial sites |
Burials |
Death |
Excavation Assemblage |
Excavations (Archaeology) |
Graeme Pretty |
Roonka Dune |
Roonka Flat |
archaeological excavation |
archaeology |
burial grounds |
burial site |
clay pipe |
grave goods |
mortuary practices |
organics |
pearl buttons |
post contact |
shellfish |
stone tools |
tools |
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Identifiers
- Local : SAMA 33
