User:Chattrrboxx/John Mulvaney

Theory of Complex Cultures
In 1929 on the Murray River was Devon Downs which answered John Mulvaney’s theory of complex cultures and societies of Aboriginal people. The excavation was done by Norman Tindale who found several layers of evidence of cultural change. Mulvaney himself was brought to a site ten kilometers away from Devon Downs where tall limestone cliffs hung over a sandy floor called Fromm’s Landing.

Fromm’s Landing
The start of Mulvaney's fieldwork began at Fromm’s Landing in 1956. Returning to the site in 1958, his findings had challenged historical and anthropologists to accept Aboriginal history and archeological records. The excavation work was used to support the date people originated in Australia. He later wrote "Proceeding of the Prehistoric Society" in 1961 which still went against the general historic ideas with the new concept of culture to not be dismissed. Fromm’s landing has evolved into a training site for future archeologists to learn. Mulvaney worked on another site with Herbert Tindale which differed in societal and cultural succession from Fromm’s Landing meaning to understand time and stone tools, there needed to be more diverse measuring techniques.

Victoria
With his team in 1957, Mulvaney went to Glenelg River in Victoria with the primary focus on stratified cave deposits. His work led to the use of systemic field work and reporting methods which the change additionally influenced the Aboriginal conservation in Victoria. Located on the Otway coast, Glen Aire Mulvaney worked on two shelters to accumulate more fieldwork in Victoria. The remains of an Aboriginal man were found in the upper deposit of the shelter which Mulvaney concluded to be a Gundbanud man in the 1840’s.

Kenniff Cave
Located in eastern central Queensland, Kenniff Cave is a sandstone shelter with a 1.0 meter by 1.2 meter deposit which was later changed to a 1.0 meter by 1.4 meter deposit. Mulvaney and his partner Bernie Joyce changed the deposit depth due to the site’s loose and sandy surface as it became an issue in measuring the stratigraphy of artifacts. His conclusion after excavating a variety of tools in the same sediment was that additional types of tools were used 5000 and 25000 years ago, Mulvaney has greatly contributed towards the stratigraphic effort of Kenniff Cave in providing the data and photographing the site.

Political Activism
As more archeological works began to be published, a problem arose to Mulvaney. Aboriginal people became overshadowed from the European and historical ideals leading to "the lack of Aboriginal representation." This began his political activism journey and in Glenelg River, it was made clear of the importance of stratified cave deposits to promote the conservation of Aboriginal antiques. At the start of his career Australia was viewed as simple and ideas were rigid with no representation of Aboriginal archeology. Becoming an activist after contributing to the archeological record himself was a way for him to solve this issue.