The Moreton Regional Archaeological Project (MRAP) stage II: an outline of objectives and methods

The Moreton Region Archaeological Project (MRAP) was initiated as a long-term multi-stage regional project which sought to coordinate archaeological investigations being undertaken in S.E. Queensland.  Since the project officially began in 1977 (see Hall 1980a), it has been successful in directing and integrating the work of numerous researchers, most of whom were students at the University of Queensland.  MRAP is designed as a flexible research program comprised of three areal components (subcoastal zone, coastal zone and offshore island zone) and a number of stages.  Stage I sought to identify the archaeological record of the study area and, through excavation and surface collection of materials from selected sites in all zones, develop a regional chronology and to identify patterns and questions relevant to the reconstruction of past settlement-subsistence patterns.  This work was satisfactorily completed in 1987 and Stage II research, which essentially concerns the delineation and explanation of perceived changes in the region's archaeological record, has now been initiated.  Thus, this paper, after setting the stage with a description of the environment and ethnohistory of the study area, summarizes the results of Stage I research and follows with a discussion of the objectives, methods, questions and approaches relevant to Stage II.