Juukan Gorge artefacts ‘cultural and scientific discoveries’

More braided human hair, the tooth of a Tasmanian devil and quartz artefacts held together by resin are among finds underneath what remains of ancient WA caves that were blasted for iron ore in 2020.

The Juukan Gorge in Western Australia. Picture: AFP / PKKP Aboriginal Corporation

More braided human hair, the tooth of a Tasmanian devil and quartz artefacts held together by resin are among finds underneath what remains of ancient West Australian caves that were blasted for iron ore in 2020.

Traditional owners of Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara will reveal interim results of the excavation project this weekend at the ­Society for American Archaeology conference in New Orleans.

The current dig began almost two years ago as part of a 2022 “remedy agreement” signed by the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura Aboriginal Corporation and Rio Tinto in the wake of the shock and outrage that arose over the destruction of the caves at the Brockman 4 mine, about 1500km north of Perth.

While Tasmanian devils are known to have existed on the Australian mainland thousands of years ago, there has never been evidence until now that they lived in the northwest of Australia.

Before the site was blasted, two excavations had established the site’s significance. Conducted in 2008 and 2014, those excavations unearthed a length of braided human hair dated to up to 5000 years old. It was DNA tested to demonstrate a genetic link between the sample and Aboriginal people living in the Pilbara today.

A kangaroo bone sharpened into a point and thousands of other significant cultural materials such as stone artefacts and animal remains were also found at the site before the blast. Those items were removed and stored in preparation for the blasting.

In the fallout over the caves’ destruction, Rio Tinto and the PKKP people, through their corporation, agreed to create the Juukan Gorge Legacy Foundation to support the cultural, social, educational and economic aspirations of the traditional owners.

The foundation, which is led and controlled by traditional owners, will enable delivery of broader benefits through commercial partnership opportunities.

Under the agreement, Rio Tinto has pledged to “provide fin­ancial support to the foundation to progress major cultural and social projects including a new keeping place for storage of important cultural materials”.

In the latest excavation, a shell bead and special stone artefacts that are crescent-shaped were also discovered.

Chair of the Puutu Kunti Kurrama Land Committee, Burchell Hayes, said since the destruction of Juukan Gorge, the PKK community had requested several outcomes to remediate such a special place, and to help rebuild a relationship with Rio Tinto to ensure it never happens again.

“One of those outcomes was the archaeological excavation of the remaining cultural deposit at Juukan 2. The finds that we will present at the conference further demonstrate the extreme cultural and scientific significance of Juukan Gorge,” Mr Hayes said.

“I am proud our requirements have led to these significant discoveries, which have the potential to rewrite what we know about the deep past of the Pilbara.”

Terry Hayes, a PKK traditional owner and lead excavation specialist, said: “I’m glad we’ve been able to get in here and reclaim the site so we could find this amazing material.

“It’s been a hard road since 2020, but now that we’ve made this progress, it feels like we’ve moved to the next step.”