Ancient Dingo Burial Reveals 500-Year Barkindji Feeding Ritual

A nearly 1000-year-old dingo skeleton unearthed in Kinchega National Park, New South Wales, shows evidence of being cared for by the Barkindji people after being kicked by a kangaroo. The animal, known as "garli" in the Barkindji language, was deliberately buried between 916 and 963 years ago in a riverside midden. For nearly 500 years after its death, the Barkindji continued to add river mussel shells to the site as a feeding ritual, honoring the dingo. The skeleton was first discovered around 2000 or 2001 by Barkindji elder Uncle Badger Bates and archaeologist Dan Witter. Recently, at the request of the Menindee Aboriginal Elders Council, archaeologists excavated the remains to prevent erosion. The dingo's healed broken ribs and leg suggest it survived only because the community nursed it. Lead author Loukas Koungoulos states dingos were "embedded in daily life." Barkindji custodian David Doyle notes that some Barkindji still carry the dingo as their totem. After research, the remains were returned to Barkindji land.