Wunjunga midden: Late Holocene change, site preservation and open midden sites on the Central Queensland Coast

Abstract

This paper presents excavation results from a midden site on the central Queensland coast at Wunjunga, dating to 1,500 BP, and examines the implications for Late Holocene coastal occupation and open site preservation. We propose that although there is clear evidence for environmental factors such as cyclonic events having heavily impacted open midden sites in the region in the Late Holocene, the apparent proliferation of post-500 BP sites in this part of the central coast is not solely a signature of a post-cyclonic landscape but may also be linked to broader socio-cultural changes.