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Koey Ngurtai: the emergence of a ritual domain in Western Torres Strait
Author(s) -
DAVID BRUNO,
McNIVEN IAN J.,
CROUCH JOE,
BADULGAL MURA,
SKELLY ROBERT,
BARKER BRYCE,
COURTNEY KRIS,
HEWITT GEOFFREY
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
archaeology in oceania
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1834-4453
pISSN - 0728-4896
DOI - 10.1002/j.1834-4453.2009.tb00040.x
Subject(s) - seascape , geography , archaeology , magic (telescope) , ethnology , colonialism , history , anthropology , sociology , ecology , habitat , physics , quantum mechanics , biology
Koey Ngurtai is a small, uninhabited island located midway between the residential islands of Badu and Mabuyag in western Torres Strait. In 2003 and 2004, 100% surveys of the islet revealed 166 cultural sites. Fifty archaeological excavations were undertaken, revealing a rich history of islet use culminating with the emergence of Koey Ngurtai as a ritual centre after 550–700 cal BP, and a proliferation of ritual structures focused on dugong hunting magic after 350–550 cal BP. Shortly after the arrival of colonial powers in Torres Strait in the 1870s, including pearl shelling and missionary activity, Koey Ngurtai's ritual status was again transformed. This paper reports on these archaeological investigations and historicises Koey Ngurtai as a ritual land‐and‐seascape.