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| Madjedbebe | |
|---|---|
| Name | Madjedbebe |
| Location | Arnhem Land, Northern Territory |
| Region | Australia |
| Type | Rock shelter |
| Epochs | Pleistocene, Holocene |
| Excavations | 1973, 1989–1990, 2012–2017 |
| Archaeologists | Harry Clark, Peter Hiscock, Chris Clarkson, Daryl Wesley) |
Madjedbebe Madjedbebe is a rock shelter in northern Australia noted for early evidence of human presence in Sahul, making it central to debates about Pleistocene occupation, coastal migration, and Paleolithic behaviour. The site has produced extensive assemblages, stratified deposits, and optical and radiometric dates that have implications for models of human dispersal alongside discussions involving institutions such as the Australian National University, the University of Queensland, and collaborators from the Natural History Museum, London.
Madjedbebe lies on the edge of the Arnhem Land plateau within the Kakadu National Park region of the Northern Territory. The shelter is situated near escarpments similar to those at Nauwalabila I and overlooks lowland floodplains comparable to areas around Alligator Rivers Region and Kintore Caves. The geomorphology resembles other Australian sites such as Mungo Lake and Devils Lair, and its sandstone overhang and silcrete surfaces have been compared with contexts at Coomalie Creek and Giants Cave.
Initial survey and collection at the shelter occurred under archaeologists associated with the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and field teams that included researchers from the University of Sydney and the Northern Land Council. Early work in the 1970s involved investigators influenced by methodologies from the British Museum and practitioners like Rhys Jones and John Mulvaney. Later major excavations were directed by teams including Chris Clarkson, Peter Hiscock, and staff from the University of New England and the University of Wollongong, with collaborations involving the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and the Smithsonian Institution.
Research at the shelter has intersected with policy and cultural heritage concerns involving the Anindilyakwa, the Yolngu, and the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 representatives, alongside ethical frameworks endorsed by the Australian Aboriginal Affairs Council and the International Council on Monuments and Sites.
Excavations revealed a deep stratified sequence with layers of aeolian sand, weathered bedrock, and hearth-related lenses comparable to stratigraphic records from Wollongong caves and Lake Mungo lunettes. Sedimentologists on teams from the Australian National University and the University of Wollongong applied techniques used at Herdsman Lake and Lake Eyre to interpret depositional episodes, while micromorphologists with links to the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford analysed thin sections comparable to those from Cueva de los Aviones and Tabun Cave.
Taphonomic studies referenced frameworks developed by scholars at the Max Planck Institute and the British School at Rome and considered influences such as bioturbation observed at Niah Cave, post-depositional disturbance studied at Lake Mungo, and water-table fluctuations seen in Warrnambool coastal systems.
Chronometric analysis combined optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) performed by laboratories like the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and radiocarbon assays undertaken in facilities connected to the Australian National University and the University of Waikato. OSL results were compared with dates from Niah Cave, Cactus Hill, and Ksar Akil to situate the shelter in wider Paleolithic chronologies. Key publications reported ages potentially older than those at Kow Swamp and contemporaneous with early occupations in Sahul discussed in literature from the Max Planck Institute and the Smithsonian Institution.
Debates over the chronology have engaged scholars affiliated with the Australian Academy of Science, the Geological Society of Australia, and international specialists who have applied Bayesian modeling approaches similar to those used in studies at Monte Verde and Blombos Cave.
Excavations recovered stone artefacts, ochre fragments, ground stone implements, and evidence of hafting comparable to finds from Blombos Cave, Pinnacle Point, and Céide Fields. Lithic analysts from the University of Queensland and the University of Sydney compared core reduction sequences to those documented at Devils Lair and Flinders Ranges sites, and used typologies discussed in publications from the British Museum and the Museo Nacional de Antropología.
Organic residues, pigment use, and possible grinding surfaces evoked parallels with artifacts from Altamira, Chauvet Cave, and Pecked Cave traditions, while microscopic use-wear studies used protocols developed at the University of Leiden and the Max Planck Institute.
Faunal remains, charcoals, and microbotanical residues were interpreted in light of comparative faunal records from Kangaroo Island, Tasmania, and the Nullarbor Plain. Zooarchaeologists associated with the Australian Museum and the Queensland Museum compared assemblages to those from Carnarvon Gorge and Lake Mungo, and applied isotope approaches similar to studies at Ngandong and Niah Cave.
Plant exploitation evidence, including possible seed grinding, was contextualized with findings from Wadi Kubbaniya and Cerro de los Santos, while hearth features were compared to combustion structures documented at Monte Verde and Dolní Věstonice.
Madjedbebe is central to models of early human dispersal into Sahul and has influenced debates involving researchers from the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, the Australian National University, and the Max Planck Institute. Interpretations have implications for maritime migration hypotheses endorsed by proponents at the Smithsonian Institution and for technological diffusion discussions advanced by authors affiliated with the British Museum and the Australian Academy of Science.
The site figures in broader narratives engaging comparative Paleolithic sites such as Niah Cave, Devils Lair, Blombos Cave, and Monte Verde, and continues to inform interdisciplinary collaborations among scholars at institutions including the University of Sydney, the University of Queensland, the Australian National University, and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
Category:Archaeological sites in Australia