The Torres Strait Islander bone mounds are the subject of much speculation and research. The connection between the mounds and the Islanders who created them has formed the core of discussions on this subject. In this essay I will examine the usage of both archaeological practices and archaeological theory in relation to animal bone discovery. My focus will be on dugong bones in particular; looking at the pattern of sustainability their hunting has endured over time. I will assess the methods used to deconstruct the meaning of midden mounds in the Torres Strait Island, as well as the relationship between the dugongs and humans. Ultimately I will argue that through multiple archaeological methods and surveys of different island sites, archaeologists have been able to find ritualistic meaning and reconstruct a fascinating aspect of the past.
Firstly I will assess the methods of archaeological theory and analysis used to draw connections between the people of the Torres Strait Islands and dugongs. I find that Ian …show more content…
They speak to the ancient subsistence practice, which can be used to construct everything from man-animal interactions to the ancient environment and trade that existed (Fillios and Blake, 2015: 134). The human-animal divide is also described as being permeable and liminal (McNiven 2015, 215). Structuralism is also used to point out dialect opposites in nature, particularly that of humans and animals in an ethnographic context. Hunting encounters are revealed through ethnographic research to almost always have spiritual and ritual dimensions (McNiven, 2015:216). On-site observation is another key part of an archaeological survey, one that can be applied to the discovery of mounds of bones in the Torres Strait Islands (O’Connor and Barrett, 2006:270; McNiven,
Firstly I will assess the methods of archaeological theory and analysis used to draw connections between the people of the Torres Strait Islands and dugongs. I find that Ian …show more content…
They speak to the ancient subsistence practice, which can be used to construct everything from man-animal interactions to the ancient environment and trade that existed (Fillios and Blake, 2015: 134). The human-animal divide is also described as being permeable and liminal (McNiven 2015, 215). Structuralism is also used to point out dialect opposites in nature, particularly that of humans and animals in an ethnographic context. Hunting encounters are revealed through ethnographic research to almost always have spiritual and ritual dimensions (McNiven, 2015:216). On-site observation is another key part of an archaeological survey, one that can be applied to the discovery of mounds of bones in the Torres Strait Islands (O’Connor and Barrett, 2006:270; McNiven,