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Russell Mullett, Traditional Custodian — Kurnai, Indigenous Knowledge

Precious finger traces from First Nations ancestors revealed in a glittering mountain cave in Australia

Mal and Dylan Siely examine finger grooves at Waribruk with GunaiKurnai Elder Uncle Russell Mullett. Photo by Jess Shapiro, courtesy of GunaiKurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation

Australia’s First Nations history stretches back many tens of thousands of years, rich in depth and diversity.

Archaeological research has revealed much about this deep past, but it has rarely captured the gestures of the ancestors – their movements, postures and physical motions. Material traces like tools and hearths tend to survive; fleeting movements usually do not.

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