Garli: A millennium-old dingo burial on the Baaka (Darling River), Kinchega National Park, Menindee Lakes, western New South Wales

Abstract

The deliberate burial of dingoes by Aboriginal people is a widespread and significant Late Holocene practice in Australia, yet the details of this practice remain poorly understood, in part due to the scarcity of well-documented archaeological excavations. Here, we report on the excavation of a dingo burial in Kinchega National Park on Barkindji Country, in the Menindee Lakes region of western New South Wales. First identified by Barkindji Elders in the eroding face of a road cut, the skeletal remains were excavated and examined at the request of the Menindee Aboriginal Elders Council. The Garli (Barkindji for dingo) represents the first published dingo burial from the Baaka (Darling River) region. Buried nearly 1,000 years ago, the Garli was interred within a riverside midden that continued to be added to by Barkindji Ancestors for approximately 500 years thereafter. This finding extends the known northern and western limits of pre-colonial dingo burial practices in the Murray–Darling Basin. Analysis of the dentition and postcranial skeleton suggests the dingo was tamed: it was male, of advanced age for a dingo (4–7 years), consumed a diet with relatively high abrasive content, and had healed traumatic injuries to the ribs and lower leg. Lesion-like features at several limb joints, along with other superficial modifications, suggest a complex taphonomic history following burial. This excavation provides new insights into dingo burial practices in Australia and attests to the close relationship between Aboriginal ancestors and their dingoes.