Climate change link as Indigenous remains uncovered by record king tide

The remains of an Aboriginal woman, who lived hundreds or possibly thousands of years ago, have been unearthed on a Torres Strait Island beachfront hit by a record king tide this year.

An ancient burial site has been unearthed on Cape York. Picture: Shavi Kanagaratnam

The remains of an Aboriginal woman, who lived hundreds or possibly thousands of years ago, have been unearthed on a Torres Strait Island beachfront hit by a record king tide this year.

Archaeologists believe the woman, in her 20s, had been murdered then buried on Prince of Wales Island (Muralug), just off the tip of Cape York, between 200 and 3000 years ago.

Further testing with ground-penetrating radar has identified four other possible burial pits.

University of Queensland archaeologist Michael Westaway said record high sea levels that caused significant coastal erosion were observed on neighbouring Thursday Island in February, before the remains were found.

“This is the first archaeological investigation in Australia to uncover a direct link between rising seas and the destructive impact of climate change on an ancient burial,” he said. “When we uncovered and examined the remains, we found they were of a young Aboriginal woman, in her mid to late 20s, who had been carefully and respectfully buried most likely before significant European colonisation.’’

Dr Westaway and state archaeologist Stephen Nichols led the rescue excavation to help local Kaurareg people rebury the ancestral remains in a ceremony.

Kaurareg ranger Saliman Bin Juda said it was the first time in at least 60 years anyone could remember the water levels this high.

“On the beach you can see everything is eroded away. Where there used to be a metre of sand, it is all gone, washed out to sea,” he said.

“All the erosion is coming from all the rough weather we have had here, the high tides, the rain. Trees have fallen, and human remains – our ancestors – are coming up.

“It’s important that we do something better here – we move these remains and put them somewhere else, because next year it may be worse. We need more funding for the repatriation of the remains of our ancestors before they are lost.”

In a statement, state Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Minister Craig Crawford said the discovery and work were significant.

“For hundreds and possibly thousands of years, the perfectly preserved skeleton of this young woman lay undisturbed in an ancient burial ground. Until it was unearthed for the first time by king tides in February this year.

“This dedicated effort by the state’s top experts to forensically investigate her death, to do carbon dating, to piece together her diet, to work out her movements on the island through isotope analysis, is a wonderful example of truth-telling on the path to Treaty. And it reveals the inconvenient truth of climate change.”