Kaurna and other mainland Aboriginal peoples, including Ngarrindjeri and Ramindjeri, call Kangaroo Island “Karta Pintingga,” the island of the dead. In one account, the ancestral figure Narungga pursues his wives to the island, floods the strait behind them and turns them to stone. Patrick Nunn and Nicholas Reid argue that the story’s geography fits the submerged land bridge and sea-level record: rising seas cut Kangaroo Island off from the mainland roughly 10,000 years ago. They documented the account in 2016. 🌏
Researchers link Aboriginal oral history to Kangaroo Island’s 10,000-year separation
Key facts
- Kaurna and other mainland Aboriginal peoples, including Ngarrindjeri and Ramindjeri, call Kangaroo Island “Karta Pintingga,” meaning “Island of the Dead.” Narungga is an ancestral figure in the story, not an Aboriginal group.
- The account describes Narungga pursuing his wives to the island, flooding the strait behind them and turning them to stone.
- Rising seas cut Kangaroo Island off from the mainland roughly 10,000 years ago.
- Researchers Patrick Nunn and Nicholas Reid argue that the story’s geography is consistent with the sea-level record and submerged land bridge; the oral narrative itself is not independently dated to 10,000 years ago.
- The researchers’ surname is Reid, not Reed. They documented the account in 2016.
Sources
Kangaroo Island | Environmental Sciences | Research Startersebsco.com
Aboriginal people called the island Karta Pintingga, the “Island of the Dead,” and remained on the island until about 2,000 years ago. The Kaurna and ...
Lake mud reveals 7,000 years of Kangaroo Island's complex fire historytheconversation.com
Indigenous oral histories also describe the departure of people from the island following isolation from the mainland. Archaeological work ...
karta (the island of the dead) - james tylor.jamestylor.com
This series explores the dark human history of Karta Pintingga (Kangaroo Island) from Nunga Aboriginal and European Australian perspectives.
Kangaroo Island Aboriginal history is shrouded in mystery.tourkangarooisland.com.au
Oral histories from mainland Aboriginal people also corroborate the evidence of habitation found on Karta Pintingga. This oral history evidence confirms that ...
Lake mud reveals 7000 years of Kangaroo Island's complex fire historyuow.edu.au
Indigenous oral histories also describe the departure of people from the island following isolation from the mainland. Archaeological work ...
Karta: Island of the Dead - Kangaroo Islandausthrutime.com
Karta: Island of the Dead - Kangaroo Island. On the island there is plenty of evidence of occupation in prehistoric times.
History of Kangaroo Islandcabn.life
... Karta, or the “Island of the Dead.” Oral traditions passed down by Aboriginal women and Elders recount that spirits of the dead traveled to Karta after death.
22nd Biennale of Sydney: NIRIN - Overviewnsmithgallery.com
Karta Pintingga (The Island of the Dead) is a silent mono-chromatic film about Karta Pintingga Kangaroo Island in South Australia.
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