New data and syntheses for the zooarchaeological record from the Lower Murray River Gorge, South Australia: Applying a ngatji lens

Abstract

Abstract This article provides new data and syntheses for the zooarchaeological record of the Lower Murray River Gorge region in South Australia. The contribution of original data from Murrawong, Kangerung and Pomberuk provides rigorous and complementary records for the region. In particular, we supply new and detailed identifications for terrestrial vertebrate fauna and comment on prior published taxonomic identifications and methods. Using the Ngarrindjeri concept of ngatji we have also created a new lens with which to view the faunal assemblages. This new reading includes considerations of Lower Murray River Gorge diets in the Mid to Late Holocene, the presence/absence of certain species (inclusive of potential cultural influences) as well as the effects of European colonisation on animals (some now extinct or threatened) and the concomitant impacts for Ngarrindjeri people.