THE BUDJ BIM Deep Time History

CULTURAL LANDSCAPE of Australia

LEARNING INTENTION
 Students will examine the significance of the Budj Bim Cultural
Landscape.
BRAINSTORM
Talk to your elbow partner and discuss:
 What makes something significant/important to people?
 What are some places or things that are significant to you?
 THE BUDJ BIM
CULTURAL
LANDSCAPE
The Budj Bim Cultural Landscape on Gunditjmara Country is evidence of
an extensive aquaculture system established more than 6600 years ago
to trap eels.
Budj Bim is the only World Heritage site that is recognised purely for its
relationship with First Nations peoples.
It meets two criteria for World Heritage listing:
 (iii) 'bears a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural
tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared’
 (v) ‘outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-
use representative of a culture ...’

Definition:
Aquaculture: breeding, raising, and harvesting fish, shellfish,
and aquatic plants. Aquatic farming.
WORLD HERITAGE
NOMINATION - BUDJ BIM
CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCax40gFvrE
 FORMING A
HYPOTHESIS
When we study history, we need to look at what we already know,
and try and figure out what we need to understand better.
When studying Ancient civilisations, we often don’t have a lot of
evidence to work with.
This means we need to make inferences about the past.
Historian’s create theories based around what evidence is
available, and as they research test the theory by seeing whether
the theory still holds up when combined with new evidence. This
is called a Hypothesis.

Reminder
Inference: a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning

Hypothesis: a proposed explanation made on the basis of limited

evidence as a starting point for further investigation.
 Note:
CREATING You may be able to make
INFERENCES multiple inferences based on
each source
ABOUT THE PAST
Over the next few slides, you will be presented with some sources that describe or show
evidence of First Nations societies in the Budj Bim cultural landscape.
Draw the table to your right in your books
You will need to look at each piece of evidence and:
1. Write down if it is a primary, or secondary source.
2. Explain what it may tell us about the First Nations peoples who lived around Budj Bim.
You may discuss your answers with your elbow partner.
Name of source Primary or Secondary What does it tell us about the Gundtijmara people?
THE BUDJ BIM What can we infer from
CREATION this source?

STORY
“In their Dreamtime legend, four creators were sent by
the Great Creator to construct the Australian landscape.
Three left and went to the north and east. But Budj Bim
stayed, emerging as a violently erupting volcano, creating
the mountain called Budj Bim (also called Mt. Eccles)
and other nearby mountains

The mountain is believed to be Budj Bim’s forehead, the

scoria deposits (dark basalt containing vesicles made by
air bubbles) produced by the volcano represent his teeth,
and the lava flows are thought to be his blood that spilled
over the plain, creating the wetlands that have supported
the vitality of the Gunditjmara through millennia”
A modern recreation of an eel trap, made from
spear grass and hand woven into complex shapes
 What can we infer from
STONE HOUSES AT these artefacts?
TYRENDARRA
“Stones from the lava flow were used to
create the walls of their circular houses,
estimated to have been one metre high.
Domed roofs were then constructed from a
frame of upstretched wooden timber
sourced from woodland knolls. These could
have been woven together by spear grass,
echoing the technology used in
manufacturing the eel nets. For weather
proofing, the people would have clad the
roof with clay or the plentiful tussock
grass.”
Modern recreations of the stone houses found at
Tyrendarra
STONE DAMS, What can we infer from
WEIRS AND this artefact?
WATER
CHANNELS
“First Nations people are pioneers of
aquaculture and there are examples
across the Country of sophisticated fish
trapping systems that are thousands of
years old.
The Gunditjmara people managed the
water flow from Lake Condah, creating
dams and blockages to ensure the water
flowed as they needed it. These dams
also led fresh water eels towards woven
basket traps.”
One of the stone walls that the Gunditjmara
people used to control the flow of water.
 What can we infer from
WOVEN EEL TRAPS this artefact?

“The Budj Bim eel traps have been in

use since the Dreaming and throughout
this time they have been rebuilt as
needed.
As western science is still young and
catching up to the complex systems we
have used since time immemorial, the
eel traps have been dated back to over
6000 years ago.”

A modern recreation of an eel trap, made from

spear grass and hand woven into complex shapes
 What can we infer from
SMOKING TREES this artefact?

“the Gunditjmara built stone and wattle–

and–daub type huts for permanent
settlement.
Eels and other fish were smoked in
‘smoking trees’ and traded as well as being
stored and consumed locally”

A hollowed out ‘smoking tree’ where the Gunditjmara

people would light small fires and preserve eels and
other fish by smoking them. These were then stored
or traded.
TICKET OUT THE DOOR
How did the Gunditjmara people who lived around the modern Budj
Bim Cultural landscape, adapt to their landscape by inventing tools,
and developing special knowledge in order to survive?

1. Using evidence from the table, write 3-5 full sentences in response
to the question above.