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| Tjina Rock Shelter | |
|---|---|
| Name | Tjina Rock Shelter |
| Location | Western Desert, Australia |
| Region | Western Australia |
| Type | rock shelter |
| Epochs | Late Pleistocene to Holocene |
| Cultures | Aboriginal Australian |
| Excavation | 20th–21st century |
Tjina Rock Shelter is an archaeological site in the Western Desert region of Australia noted for its stratified deposits, rock art assemblage, and faunal remains that contribute to debates on Pleistocene occupation, Holocene cultural sequences, and desert adaptation. The site has been subject to systematic survey and excavation linking it to regional traditions documented by archaeologists, Indigenous organisations, and environmental scientists.
Tjina Rock Shelter lies within the Western Desert near desert dune fields, located in proximity to Great Victoria Desert, Nullarbor Plain, Lake Eyre Basin, Simpson Desert, and Gibson Desert. The shelter sits on a sandstone outcrop associated with the Ayers Rock (Uluru) region drainage divide and is influenced by the climatic regimes described for Kimberley region, Pilbara, Goldfields-Esperance and the broader South Australia arid zones. Nearby geographic references include the Nullarbor National Park, Maralinga Tjarutja lands, Ngaanyatjarra Lands, Outback, and transport routes such as the Great Central Road and historical tracks tied to explorers like Ernest Giles and John McDouall Stuart.
Initial recording of the shelter was undertaken by survey teams affiliated with the Australian National University, Western Australian Museum, South Australian Museum, CSIRO, and university archaeology departments including University of Sydney, University of Western Australia, Monash University, and University of Adelaide. Excavations were led in stages by archaeologists connected to projects funded through the Australian Research Council, collaborations with Indigenous corporations such as Ngaanyatjarra Council, Maralinga Tjarutja, and heritage bodies including Aboriginal Affairs Victoria and Department of Aboriginal Affairs (Western Australia). Stratigraphic control and radiometric dating were achieved using laboratories at ANSTO, Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory (University of Waikato), and international facilities that have worked with teams from British Museum, Smithsonian Institution, and Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
Chronological frameworks at the shelter integrate radiocarbon dates, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages, and comparative typologies from sites such as Cuddie Springs, Kenniff Cave, Devils Lair, Koonalda Cave, and Lake Mungo. Cultural sequences have been correlated with regional technologies including backed microliths akin to assemblages at Puritjarra, grindstone traditions observed at Mungo National Park, and hafting practices seen in collections from Warratyi. Links to oral histories maintained by groups including Pitjantjatjara, Ngaanyatjarra, Pintupi, Warlpiri, and Yankunytjatjara have been incorporated into interpretive models about continuity and change during transitions from Terminal Pleistocene into Early, Middle, and Late Holocene phases recorded at sites like Port Augusta and Flinders Ranges.
The shelter preserves motifs in pigment and engraving comparable to traditions studied at Bradshaw rock paintings (Gwion Gwion), Kimberley rock art, Burrup Peninsula petroglyphs, and shelters catalogued by AIATSIS. Motif types include anthropomorphs, fauna representations similar to depictions at Kakadu National Park, geometric panels seen at Murujuga, and transient motifs paralleling sequences at Arnhem Land. Associated material culture includes ground stone artefacts, backed blades related to typologies from Lake George (New South Wales), ochre fragments comparable to sourcing studies tied to Wilgie Mia, bone awls and modified shells like those recorded at Coobool Creek, and ochre palettes akin to collections in the National Museum of Australia.
Faunal assemblages recovered from the shelter contain macropod remains comparable to fauna from Riversleigh, small marsupial taxa resembling assemblages at Nyang Mountains, and bird bones paralleling records from Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre. Botanical macrofossils, phytoliths, and pollen studies link to regional palaeoecological reconstructions developed for Holocene Climate Optimum research, with comparative datasets from Lake George, Lake Eyre, Lake Frome, and dune records examined by teams from Geoscience Australia and Bureau of Meteorology. Evidence for subsistence includes hunting and processing strategies comparable to those inferred at Cuddie Springs and plant exploitation paralleled in ethnobotanical records compiled by Tindale and researchers associated with AIATSIS.
Heritage management at the shelter involves partnerships among Indigenous custodians represented by Ngaanyatjarra Council, statutory agencies such as Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage (Western Australia), museums including Western Australian Museum and South Australian Museum, and national frameworks under Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 listings and registers maintained by Australian Heritage Council. Conservation actions draw on best practice from programs at Purnululu National Park, Kakadu National Park, and rock art conservation teams that have collaborated with international bodies like ICOMOS and UNESCO for World Heritage guidance.
Tjina Rock Shelter contributes to debates on early human occupation of Australia alongside key sites such as Madjedbebe, Lake Mungo, Devils Lair, and Cuddie Springs. Interpretations of the site inform discussions on mobility, technological adaptation, artistic expression, and responses to climate change considered in syntheses by scholars tied to Australian Archaeological Association, ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, and international comparative studies involving Pleistocene archaeology teams from University of New England and University of Oxford. The shelter’s multi-proxy dataset continues to influence models of desert prehistory, Indigenous cultural continuity, and heritage stewardship across the Australian arid zone.
Category:Archaeological sites in Western Australia Category:Aboriginal cultural sites