Editing Lizard Island (section)

== Archaeology ==
The oldest [[occupation layer]]s on the island date to 6510–5790 [[cal BP]], which shows that Jiigurru was the earliest offshore island occupied on the northern part of the [[Great Barrier Reef]].<ref name=ulm2024/> There are numerous [[shell midden]]s, stone arrangements, and art sites on the island, showing signs of occupation of the island for thousands of years. In the 1990s, two [[Aboriginal rock art]] sites were observed in [[Rock shelter|rockshelters]] formed by large granite boulders, in which [[red ochre]] was used.<ref name=":1"/>

===Site 17===
Site 17 is an archaeological site located on a hill above Freshwater Beach (also known as One Tree Coconut Beach)<ref>{{cite web | title=Figure 4. View to the west over Mangrove Bay and Freshwater Beach,... | website=[[ResearchGate]] | url=https://www.researchgate.net/figure/View-to-the-west-over-Mangrove-Bay-and-Freshwater-Beach-Lizard-Island-The-location-of_fig4_318986456 | access-date=12 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web  | title=species: Derris trifoliata in Lizard Island Field Guide (Lizard Island Field Guide) | website=Field guide (Lizard Island Field Guide)|publisher= [[Australian Museum]] | url=https://lifg.australian.museum/Group.html?hierarchyId=PVWrQCLG&groupId=DpIi3ojC | access-date=12 April 2024}}</ref> of Lizard Island, which was found to contain granite-derived, [[quartz sand]] temper. The midden is quite large, covering a total area of {{cvt|7000|m2}}. Site 17 was first observed by Jim Specht in 1978-9, then excavated by Robynne Mills in 1992. The site was further excavated by a team including Specht in 2009, who created a {{cvt|100|cm}} X {{cvt|50|cm}} x {{cvt|150|cm}} trench, and identified six [[Stratigraphic section|stratigraphic layers]]. It was observed through [[radiocarbon dating]] that the [[basal layer]] (6) produced a range of 3358-2929 cal BP on charcoal found at the {{cvt|120–130|cm}} depth. In October 2009 Lentfer, Specht, and a representative of the Dingaal people, Johnathan Charlie, began excavating a new trench {{cvt|2|m}} east of Mills trench. This new trench was {{cvt|60|cm}} x {{cvt|40|cm}} x {{cvt|140|cm}}, and showed six layers of stratigraphy similar to Mills trench. There were recovered pieces of quartz, granite, and [[pumice]] discovered from the basal levels of layer number 6, which using radiocarbon dating were dated to be from 3815-3571 cal BP to 3206-2959 cal BP.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Lentfer |first1=Carol J. |last2=Felgate |first2=Matthew W. |last3=Mills |first3=Robynne A. |last4=Specht |first4=Jim |date=2013-02-12 |title=Human history and palaeoenvironmental change at Site 17, Freshwater Beach, Lizard Island, northeast Queensland, Australia |url=https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/31950/1/lentfer_etal_2013_qar.pdf |journal=Queensland Archaeological Research |language=en |volume=16 |pages=141–164 |doi=10.25120/qar.16.2013.227 |issn=1839-339X|doi-access=free }} [https://journals.jcu.edu.au/qar/article/view/227/222 pdf]}</ref>

===Mangrove Beach===
In 2006, New Zealand archaeologist Matthew Felgate found pottery in an [[intertidal zone]] by chance when he was on holiday on the island,<ref name=bowler2024>{{cite web | last=Bowler | first=Jacinta | title=Oldest Aboriginal pottery discovered in Far North Queensland, say researchers | website=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]] | date=11 April 2024 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2024-04-10/aboriginal-pottery-jiigurru-lizard-island/103681662 | access-date=12 April 2024}}</ref> on Mangrove Beach. This was the first pottery found, and was reported in a 2010 study by Felgate; however, it could not be reliably dated at that time.<ref name=":1" /> Later, Sean Ulm, [[distinguished professor]] at [[James Cook University]], and Ian J. McNiven, professor at [[Monash University]], both of whom were operating under the auspices of the [[Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage]] (CABAH), co-led a team<ref name=ansto2024>{{cite web | title=Discovery of Australia's oldest pottery rewrites understanding of Aboriginal marine history | website=[[ANSTO]] | date=11 April 2024 | url=https://www.ansto.gov.au/news/discovery-of-australias-oldest-pottery-rewrites-understanding-of-aboriginal-marine-history | access-date=12 April 2024}}</ref> including Kenneth McLean, chair of Walmbaar Aboriginal Corporation, and other members of the Dingaal and Ngurrumungu communities,<ref name=hinchcliffe2024/> that excavated several more pieces of pottery from the site in 2009, 2010, and 2012. Initial analysis showed local materials were used in the manufacture. However, the age of the pottery could not be established.<ref name=ulmconv/>

The Ulm team revisited Jiigurru and excavated a [[shell midden]] not far from the pottery site, discovering that the site had been settled at least 4,000 years previously, but no pottery was found. The same team started working with the Indigenous owners and excavated a different midden and found a lot of pottery. Digging deeper, cultural material was found nearly {{cvt|2|m}} metres below ground level, which was radiocarbon-dated to around 6,500 years ago; the earliest evidence of use of an island on the northern Great Barrier Reef.<ref name=ulmconv/> The resulting study, published in April 2024 and involving many scientists, working with traditional owners, determined that sherds found on the island were the oldest securely dated [[ceramic]]s found in Australia. The data showed that local raw materials were used and that the pottery was made on the island, which showed  that the people who lived there were involved in the ancient maritime networks in the vicinity, including the possession of sophisticated [[canoe]] travel technology and skills in navigating on the ocean, which enabled them to connect with other peoples across the [[Coral Sea]]. The dating showed that it was created between 2950–2545 cal BP and 1970–1815 cal BP, which overlaps with the late [[Lapita culture|Lapita]] and post-Lapita traditions of southern [[Papua New Guinea]].<ref name=ulm2024>{{cite journal | last1=Ulm | first1=Sean | last2=McNiven | first2=Ian J. | last3=Summerhayes | first3=Glenn R. | last4=Wu | first4=Pei-hua | last5=Bunbury | first5=Magdalena M.E. | last6=Petchey | first6=Fiona | last7=Hua | first7=Quan | last8=Skelly | first8=Robert | last9=Lambrides | first9=Ariana B.J. | last10=Rowe | first10=Cassandra | last11=Lowe | first11=Kelsey M. | last12=Reepmeyer | first12=Christian H. | last13=Maclaurin | first13=Cailey | last14=Woo | first14=Katherine G.P. | last15=Harris | first15=Matthew | last16=Morgan | first16=Sarah B. | last17=Turner-Kose | first17=Kayla L. | last18=Slater | first18=Sarah A. | last19=Connelly | first19=Joshua D. | last20=Kneppers | first20=Michael C. | last21=Szabó | first21=Katherine | last22=Fairbairn | first22=Andrew | last23=Haberle | first23=Simon G. | last24=Hopf | first24=Felicitas | last25=Bultitude | first25=Robert | last26=Ash | first26=Jeremy | last27=Lewis | first27=Stephen E. | last28=Beaman | first28=Robin J. | last29=Leon | first29=Javier Xavier | last30=McDowell | first30=Matthew C. | last31=Potter | first31=Martin | last32=Connelly | first32=Benjamin | last33=Little | first33=Chris | last34=Jackson | first34=Scott | last35=McCarthy | first35=John | last36=Nothdurft | first36=Luke D. | last37=Zhao | first37=Jian-xin | last38=Bird | first38=Michael I. | last39=Felgate | first39=Matthew W. | last40=Cobus | first40=Brian    |display-authors=2 | title=Early Aboriginal pottery production and offshore island occupation on Jiigurru (Lizard Island group), Great Barrier Reef, Australia | journal=[[Quaternary Science Reviews]] | publisher=[[Elsevier BV]] | date=9 April 2024 | issn=0277-3791 | doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108624 | page=108624|others=Authors of the study include Matthew Felgate.| volume=333 | doi-access=free | bibcode=2024QSRv..33308624U | url=https://research.monash.edu/files/597943717/590743015_oa.pdf }} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]] Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Attribution 4.0 International  (CC BY 4.0)] licence.</ref> Co-author Quan Hua of [[Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation|ANSTO]] is an expert in radiocarbon dating.<ref name=ansto2024/> The significance of the study lies in the fact that it is the first pottery in Australia to have been found and reliably dated, and that it shows that the people of Australia were not geographically isolated, but involved with other seafaring peoples.<ref name=ulmconv>{{cite web | last1=Ulm | first1=Sean | last2=McNiven | first2=Ian J. | last3=McLean | first3=Kenneth | title=Aboriginal people made pottery and sailed to distant offshore islands thousands of years before Europeans arrived  | date=10 April 2024 | url=https://theconversation.com/aboriginal-people-made-pottery-and-sailed-to-distant-offshore-islands-thousands-of-years-before-europeans-arrived-226391 | access-date=12 April 2024|website = [[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]]}}</ref> There is conclusive evidence that the pottery is not of Lapita origin, and it is also proof of continuous seasonal occupation of the island by Aboriginal people. It is not known by newer sherds were not found on that site, and further research is necessary.<ref name=hinchcliffe2024/> There has been a paucity of research done on the eastern side of Cape York Peninsula.<ref name=ulmconv/>