GPR, aboriginal cultural heritage and community capacity strengthening

Abstract

This paper reports on the use of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) in locating and delineating sites of Aboriginal cultural heritage on Wadawurrung Country in the southern Australian state of Victoria. Current use of GPR in Victoria's Aboriginal communities is limited. Communities in Victoria who have used GPR are often dependent upon non-Indigenous specialists to operate equipment and interpret data. This reliance on non-Indigenous specialists is not appropriate for both cultural and economic reasons. The pilot program discussed worked with Traditional Owners to gauge the value of GPR in identifying and confirming cultural heritage sites. The pilot project investigated the value of GPR to identify subsurface cultural sites of significance in two different regions of Wadawurrung Country. For both sites (a burial site and a stone arrangement), GPR data respectively represented anomalies requiring further investigation and distinct reflections of material change. Data indicated sites of cultural significance to Aboriginal communities. The paper also reports on how a community-based project approach to working with GPR provides a culturally appropriate curriculum for people wanting to reengage with formal education, a culturally appropriate way to undertake sensitive heritage work and an economically sustainable way of ensuring that Aboriginal communities have access to GPR equipment.