ANU archaeologists have uncovered the earliest known evidence of mummification, dating back more than 10,000 years.

The study analysed bones from 54 pre-neolithic burials at 11 sites in southern China and Southeast Asia. One in northern Vietnam was radiocarbon-dated to 14,000 years ago.

Researchers discovered that ancient hunter-gatherer communities honoured the dead by folding and binding the corpse and hanging it over a smoky fire for a long time.

In arid climates such as Egypt, central Asia and the Andes, bodies dry out naturally, but this would be impossible in humid monsoonal Southeast Asia.

This “smoke-dried” mummification allowed the dead to be kept on view for years in dwellings, caves, and rock shelters.

“This type of smoke-drying is, so far, the oldest demonstrated method of the intentional preservation of corpses that we have on record anywhere in the world,” co-author Emeritus Professor Peter Bellwood said.

“All human societies, ancient and modern, have respected their beloved ancestors. So, it follows naturally to want to keep those ancestors around in some form after death, either through the creation of a tomb or as a mummified corpse — free, at least for a time, from any decay and corruption.” 

Indigenous communities in Australia and the New Guinea Highlands at European contact also practiced smoke-dried mummification, lead author Dr Hsiao-chun Hung said. Burials found at Broadbeach on the Gold Coast in the 1960s show strikingly similar bundled postures, for example.

“Our findings link ancient hunter-gatherer populations in Southeast Asia with more modern Indigenous communities in New Guinea and Australia,” she said.

“Archaeological evidence suggests this tradition of smoked mummification may have been known among hunter-gatherer societies across a vast region for many millennia — extending from northeastern Asia and Japan to western Oceania and Australia.”

Discover Canberra through public art trails

As Floriade blooms, locals and visitors can follow a Canberra City Public Art Walking Trail to see a selection of the more than 150 artworks reflecting our history, culture, and transformation.

There are three routes suitable for all ages and fitness levels. They include the city’s first commissioned public artwork, Ethos in Civic Square, created in 1961 by sculptor Tom Bass; Les Kossatz’s 2001 aluminium sculpture Ainslie’s Sheep, a satirical take on the ACT’s rural past; and Glorious Wally, a larger-than-life sculpture of the ACT’s floral emblem, the royal bluebell (Wahlenberger gloriosa), by Andres Saita (Dionysus) and Ironbark Metal Design, next to the Civic merry-go-round.

artsACT has published a Tuggeranong Public Art guide. It features Dream Lens for the Future, which Japanese sculptor Oushi Zokei carved from a single piece of stone. The work was relocated to the Lake Tuggeranong foreshore earlier this year and is best viewed in the early morning light.

“Public art plays a central role in reflecting our community’s values and inspires us with new stories and experiences,” arts minister Michael Pettersson MLA said. “Pairing the public art trail with your Floriade visit is an excellent way to experience Canberra’s vibrant culture and history.”

Maps for the trails are available from the Visitor’s Information Centre or online at Public Art – artsACT. 

Liberals call for more funding for DPP and Legal Aid

The Canberra Liberals claim the ACT justice system is being undermined by a lack of funding for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and Legal Aid ACT, and called for the government “to urgently provide … the resourcing they need to provide their fundamental service to ensure justice”.

During Budget Estimates hearings, the DPP reported a 50 per cent increase in family violence prosecutions and a 130 per cent increase in sexual violence cases, Shadow Attorney-General Jeremy Hanson MLA observed.

Mr Hanson said the DPP was strained because of the exponential growth in criminal matters it had to prosecute, but was unfunded for extra cases, and the government had not responded to repeated calls for more funding.

“If the ACT DPP is not adequately funded, community safety is at risk,” he quoted the DPP as saying.

Likewise, LegalAid faced rising demand but support had not kept pace, or had even gone backwards, Mr Hanson said.

The ACT Government agreed that more funding was needed. This year’s budget includes digital investment for the DPP, a tenth magistrate with additional prosecutors, and extra resourcing for Legal Aid, including duty lawyers and liaison officers.

“We will be doing as much as we can in partnership with our justice sector to effectively right an imbalance that has been in place for several decades now,” Attorney-General Tara Cheyne MLA said.