Precious finger traces from First Nations ancestors revealed in a glittering mountain cave in Australia

[Judi Lynn]

Published: July 28, 2025 3:03am EDT



Mal and Dylan Siely examine finger grooves at Waribruk with GunaiKurnai Elder Uncle Russell Mullett. Photo by Jess Shapiro, courtesy of GunaiKurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation


Australia’s First Nations history stretches back many tens of thousands of years, rich in depth and diversity.

Archaeological research has revealed much about this deep past, but it has rarely captured the gestures of the ancestors – their movements, postures and physical motions. Material traces like tools and hearths tend to survive; fleeting movements usually do not.

Newly published research in the journal Australian Archaeology has revealed something different: traces of hand movements preserved in soft rock deep within GunaiKurnai Country.

In a limestone cave in the foothills of the Victorian alps, a team of researchers led by the GunaiKurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation in partnership with Monash University and international archaeologists from Spain, France and New Zealand studied finger impressions dragged into the walls and ceilings. They reveal the hand movements of ancestors from thousands of years ago.



The research team entering the cave. Photo by Bentley Dean, courtesy of GunaiKurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation

More:
https://theconversation.com/precious-finger-traces-from-first-nations-ancestors-revealed-in-a-glittering-mountain-cave-in-australia-260932

[Bayard]

1. Preserve and protect

Thanks, Judy Lynn.