Kow Swamp Archaeological Site

The Kow Swamp archaeological site comprises a series of late Pleistocene burials within the lunette of the eastern rim of a former lake known as Kow Swamp. The site is located 10 km south-east of Cohuna in the central Murray River valley, in northern Victoria, at 35°57′13″S 144°19′05″E / 35.953553°S 144.318123°E / -35.953553; 144.318123. The site is significant for archaeological excavations by Alan Thorne between 1968 and 1972 which recovered the partial skeletal remains of more than 22 individuals.

The name of Kow Swamp is derived from an Aboriginal word in the Yorta Yorta language, (Ghow), which refers to the white gypsum soil found in the area. Kow Swamp is now a permanent water body, due to its use for irrigation storage, 15 kilometres in circumference, with an average depth of 3 metres. Originally a low lying swamp, it was filled when the Murray River is in flood or running at high levels, while Bendigo creek provides a smaller amount of water.

There is evidence of recent Aboriginal occupation of the area from canoe trees and middens, while early settlers' records describe an Aboriginal ceremonial site on the north side of the swamp. The most notable evidence was the discovery in 1925, on the west side of the swamp, of the Cohuna Cranium by a local earthmoving contractor. The editor of the local newspaper Cohuna Farmers Weekly notified authorities and the significance of the discovery was realised. In the 1960s, Alan Thorne also identified archaic bone from the collection at the Museum of Victoria, and traced the find spot to Kow Swamp. Archaeological excavations were undertaken between 1968 and 1972 by Thorne for the Australian National University in Canberra. Further remains were found around the swamp by an interested local resident, Gordon Spark. By 1972 the remains of at least forty individuals had been excavated and studied. These discoveries helped establish the diversity of Aboriginal genetic history and have been interpreted as representing different waves of immigrants to Australia before European discovery.

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