Traces of grass used in Indigenous rituals 25,000 years ago unearthed in Victorian cave
Archaeologists have discovered evidence that the GunaiKurnai people used grasses for ritualistic fire practices in a Victorian cave 25,000 years ago. The findings combine physical evidence with traditional cultural knowledge to provide insight into ancient spiritual practices.
Why it matters
This discovery provides significant new evidence regarding the sophistication and antiquity of Indigenous Australian ritual practices during the Ice Age.
GunaiKurnai elder Uncle Russell Mullett at the cave entrance of Cloggs Cave where there is evidence of ritualistic burning dating back 25,000 years. ( Supplied: Jess Shapiro/GunaiKurnai Land and Waters Corporation )
Evidence of ancient grasses being used by the GunaiKurnai people for fire rituals has been unearthed in Cloggs Cave in Victoria.
Dating of plant "skeletons" indicates grasses in the cave were burnt at least 25,000 years ago during the last Ice Age.
GunaiKurnai cultural history indicates the cave was used by mulla-mullung, learned men and women, for magic, healing, cursing and spiritual practices
Link copied Share Share article For thousands of years, GunaiKurnai ancestors burnt grasses inside a cave in Eastern Victoria, potentially to undertake magic, healing and other ritual practices.
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