Kutikina Cave (or Kuti Kina or Fraser Cave) is a

rock shelter A rock shelter (also rockhouse, crepuscular cave, bluff shelter, or abri) is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff. In contrast to solutional caves (karst), which are often many miles long or wide, rock shelters are alm ...

located on the

Franklin River The Franklin River is a major perennial river located in the Central Highlands (Tasmania), Central Highlands and Western Tasmania, western regions of Tasmania, Australia. The river is located in the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park at ...

in the South West Wilderness, a World Heritage Area in the Australian state of

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. Originally referred to as Fraser Cave, it was important in the establishment of the antiquity and range of Aboriginal occupation in Tasmania during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

Archaeological results

The cave was discovered in 1977 by

geomorphology Geomorphology () is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features generated by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or near Earth's surface. Geomorphologists seek to understand wh ...

student, Kevin Keirnan and investigated by a team led by archeologists Don Ranson and Rhys Jones in the 1980s. Excavations were undertaken in 1981 by Jones and Kiernan at the height of the protests over the proposed Franklin Dam construction. The cave has important archaeological deposits relating to human occupation in the

, with evidence of

wallaby A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized Macropodidae, macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same Taxonomy (biology), taxon ...

hunting at a time the landscape was an open

tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...

and it was the most southerly human occupation in the world during the last ice age. The archaeological evidence showed that this was one of the richest artefact deposits ever found, in Tasmania and in Australia. over 250,000 fragments of bone and 75,000 stone artefacts were recovered from a relatively small excavation area comprising only 1% of the artefact-bearing deposit in the cave. The bone fragments were predominantly Bennets Wallaby long bones which had been split along their length to extract the marrow.

Politics and conservation

Kutikina played an important role in the Franklin Dam controversy. It was initially named "Fraser Cave" by Kieran, after

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, and is the fourth List of ...

, with the aim of drawing attention to the significance of the Tasmanian wilderness and

, which were under threat from a dam proposed by

Hydro Tasmania Hydro Tasmania, formerly the Hydro-Electric Commission (HEC), is a Tasmanian Government business enterprise which is the main electricity generator in Tasmania, Australia. Originally oriented towards hydro-electricity, owing to Tasmania's dr ...

References

{{Authority control Indigenous Australians in Tasmania Caves of Tasmania Franklin River, Tasmania Rock shelters in Tasmania Pleistocene Australia

Archaeological results

Politics and conservation

See also

References