New evidence reveals a millennium-old dingo was ritually buried, and cared for, in Australia
Researchers say generations of Barkindji people added mussel shells to the grave for about 500 years, marking the first clear archaeological evidence of a grave-feeding ritual.
- Researchers published a study in Australian Archaeology detailing a 1,000-year-old dingo burial in Kinchega National Park, where the male animal, Garli, was buried in a riverside midden by Barkindji ancestors.
- Lead author Dr. Loukas Koungoulos noted the animal's healed injuries and advanced age indicate it 'lived a long life alongside people,' confirming Indigenous Australians formed deep bonds with dingoes long before European arrival.
- Maintained for centuries, the burial site features a 'feeding' ritual that honored the dingo as an ancestor, with archaeologists reporting the site was treated with 'great care,' reflecting the animal's esteemed position.
- Data from the study reveals dingoes were 'tamed and lived alongside people as part of the community,' and project lead Dr. Amy Way stated the discovery provides 'new details on the depth of that relationship' between Barkindji and dingoes.
- Studies of the Curracurrang archaeological site, south of Sydney, reinforce these findings, revealing dingoes were buried alongside humans as far back as 2,000 years ago, underscoring that long-standing bonds existed prior to European colonisation.
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38 Articles
In the Kinchega National Park, near the Menindee lakes in New South Wales, Australia, the skeleton of a dingo lived about a thousand years ago was discovered, ritually buried inside a deposit of river shells. The discovery, as told by Sky TG24, offered a new proof of the deep bond between the Aboriginal populations Barkindji and these animals.
950-year-old burial of a pet dingo is first clear archaeological evidence of humans ritually 'feeding' a grave anywhere in the world
Archaeologists have excavated the remains of a dingo that was buried by ancestors of the Australian Aboriginal Barkindji people and "fed" for the next 500 years with river mussels.
New evidence reveals a millennium-old dingo was ritually buried, and cared for, in Australia
A millennium-old dingo deliberately buried by Barkindji ancestors along the Baaka, or Darling River, is offering rare insight into the depth of relationships between First Nations people and dingoes in western New South Wales, Australia.
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