To the Islands: The archaeology of the archipelagos of NW Australia and its implications for drowned cultural landscapes

Abstract

In this chapter we consider the archaeological records of islands from three archipelagos lying off NW Australia and their implications for the submerged landscapes of which they were once a part. We draw attention to unique human-landscape configurations from circa 42,000 cal BP to 7500 cal BP, for which there may not be analogues in modern cultural landscapes. A holistic understanding of the genesis of maritime cultures is currently based on a truncated record in which the most significant part (the drowned landscapes) is usually missing. Here we make the case for renewed investigation of the drowned landscapes of the NW Shelf, in order to better understand the role of islands, archipelagos and coastlines in human history.