Glossary Heritage and Culture
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
Aborigine
Comes from meaning “from the beginning” or “origin”
Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972
The Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 (AHA) was introduced in Western Australia in 1972 to make provision on behalf of the community for the preservation of places and objects customarily used by traditional to the original inhabitants of Australia or their descendants.
Aboriginal Heritage Regulations 1974
The Aboriginal Heritage Regulations 1974 are regulations applying to any Aboriginal site or protected area or land held subject to a convenant in favour of the Minister in relation to which the Minister has a duty under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972.
Aboriginal Heritage Survey Report
A report of an archaeological, ethnographic, anthropological or other type of heritage survey prepared for the purposes of the AHA. Aboriginal heritage survey reports constitute a significant portion of the Register of Aboriginal Sites. There are a number of different types of heritage survey reports. These include Desk Top Surveys, Site Identification Surveys, Work Area Clearance Surveys and Site Avoidance Surveys. Guidelines about the type of information to be included are available on the Forms and Publications page. [link]
Aboriginal lore
The term ‘lore’ refers to the customs and stories the Aboriginal peoples learned through the Dreamtime. Aboriginal lore passes through generations through song, story, art, language and dance and it governs all aspects of traditional life. Prior to the establishment of British law in Australia, Aboriginal people had their own complex systems often referred to as “traditional law” or "the lore". There were no formal courts under traditional law, instead problems regarding traditional law were handled by elders - the oldest and most knowledgeable people in the community.
Aboriginal site
Aboriginal sites are places of importance and significance to Aboriginal people and to the cultural heritage of Western Australia. Aboriginal sites are significant because they link Aboriginal cultural tradition to place, land and people over time. Aboriginal sites are as important today as they were many thousands of years ago and will continue to be an integral part of the lives of Aboriginal people and the heritage of Western Australia. Sites can be a diverse range of places. They can be put into two basic but overlapping categories:
Archeological sites – places or objects where material remains associate with past Aboriginal land use.
Anthropological sites – places of spiritual importance and significance to Aboriginal people.
Aboriginal Site Recording Form
DIA has developed a form for recording Aboriginal sites. The Aboriginal site recording form is available in A3 or A4 format here or from the Registrar.
ACMC - Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee
The Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee (ACMC) advises the Minister for Indigenous Affairs on matters relating to Aboriginal heritage. The Committee comprises Aboriginal men and women from different parts of Western Australia to ensure that culturally appropriate decisions are made about sensitive material or sites. The Committee also has representatives from the Department of Indigenous Affairs, WA Museum and Landgate, with the advice of a specialist anthropologist.
Additional documents
Additional documents are documents such as maps, photographs, descriptive information, etc. They can be clipped or added to applications, heritage survey reports and site recording forms so that further information can be supplied to the Registrar and the ACMC. It is beneficial if all documents are numbered or labelled in a manner that identifies the total number of documents, photographs, maps, etc, submitted as additional information.
Adze
A chiselling or gouging tool used for shaping and trimming wooden artefacts. [link to image]
AGD84/AMG84
Australian Geodetic Datum 1984 / Australian Map Grid 1984. AGD66 is the datum used in older maps.
Agent
An agent is a party authorised by the applicant to make an application.
Anthropology
The study and recording of human kind.
Applicant
The owner of land who gives "notice in writing" to the ACMC as the applicant who wishes to get consent to use land on which an Aboriginal site is located. This term includes agents who give "notice in writing" on behalf of owners of land.
Archaeological mitigation
The process of minimizing impact to Aboriginal sites by recording detailed information regarding them and/or collecting the material cultural remains.
Archaeological site
A collection of tools, bones etc. together in a small area that are the product of human activities.
Archaeology
The methodological process by which archaeologists collect information about the location, distribution and organisation of past human cultures across an area of land.
Artefact
Any object made or modified by human kind. In the Australian context, stone tools especially.
Artefact concentration
A concentration of artefacts is where there is a greater number of physical remains in a given area compared with the number or density of remains in a surrounding area.
Artefact scatter
A group of artefacts (especially stone tools) located on the ground surface.
Auguring
The process of test excavation in which a core sample is removed to rapidly assess the potential for subsurface archaeological remains.
B
Buffer Zone
Buffer zone is a term sometimes used to describe an area around a site that must be included inside its registered boundary to ensure the protection of a site. When mapping site boundaries DIA ignores buffer zones and maps only the information supplied by the recorder in relation to the site boundary or extent of a site. If a recorder believes it necessary to include an area that ensures the protection of a site within a site boundary the recorder should include a description of this area in Part 9.
C
Cadastre
The official register showing details of ownership, boundaries, and value of property, managed by Landgate.
Closed
DIA gives access to 'Closed' sites only where the written approval of appropriate informant's is presented. DIA maps the locations of all sites, including Closed sites, as accurately as the information submitted to the Department allows. However, to preserve the confidentiality of Closed sites their locations are published within one or more 2 km square boxes. These 2 km boxes act as indicators for the presence of sites rather than as the exact boundaries of the sites.Consolidation Report.
A heritage survey report that brings together, in a consolidated manner, the results, conclusions and recommendations of other heritage surveys conducted over the same project development area but involving different heritage consultants and/or Aboriginal informants.
Consultation
There is no specific provision in the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 that requires developers/landowners (or their agents such as anthropologists or consultants) to undertake consultation with Aboriginal people. Nevertheless it is the policy of DIA to encourage any landowner who seeks its advice to consult with relevant Aboriginal people. The ACMC also insists that evidence of consultation is provided with any application to use land containing a site.
For matters relating to applications to be submitted under section 18, it is the policy of the ACMC that persons to be involved in Aboriginal heritage surveys should include those who hold native title as determined by the Federal Court, persons named as informants on Aboriginal site recording forms held in the Register of Aboriginal Sites at DIA, and persons identified, by professional heritage consultants, as having a known demonstrable knowledge or claimed interest in an area.
Persons included in these latter categories may be part of a group in the process of claiming native title, or persons who may have a historical connection with country through birth, familial death or long periods of employment. Persons with these histories often have a rich and intimate connection with country and a comprehensive appreciation of its heritage values. Although not included in the native title process they are able to make a valuable contribution to the ethnographic texture of heritage interpretation.
Coordinate
A combination of numbers or letters that indicate the location of a place. It is easy to understand the basic mathematics of coordinate planes. When applied to coordinates on maps of the earth, it is necessary to account for distortion introduced by projecting a spherical shape on to a flat surface.
Crown land
Crown land is a general term for all lands owned by the State of Western Australia and controlled by the government. In effect, crown land is land that is not privately owned and has remained in public ownership.
D
Dangerous
With reference to sites the term 'dangerous' applies to sites where it may be harmful for persons who do not have appropriate cultural knowledge to visit. This information is usually included in descriptions of a site or where recorders have noted informant restrictions about a site.
Datum
A datum is a framework that enables us to define coordinate systems. Geodetic datums define the size and shape of the earth and the origin and orientation of the coordinate systems used to map the earth.
The underlying premise of differential GPS (DGPS) is that any two receivers that are relatively close together will experience similar atmospheric errors. DGPS requires that a GPS receiver be set up on a precisely known location. This GPS receiver is the base or reference station. The base station receiver calculates its position based on satellite signals and compares this location to the known location. The difference is applied to the GPS data recorded by the second GPS receiver, which is known as the roving receiver. The corrected information can be applied to data from the roving receiver in real time in the field using radio signals or through postprocessing after data capture using special processing software.
DIA
Department of Indigenous Affairs
E
Essential
Each part of the site recording form is identified as being either essential or not essential to complete, according to the type of information recorded in each part. Some parts are necessary to complete to enable a site to be registered. Other parts are necessary to complete to enable ACMC to carry out its function under the Act. For some parts it is necessary to complete for both registration and assessment. Where it is necessary, this is indicated by the term essential which is highlighted in bold type.
Ethnographic
Description of a culture, usually based on the method of participant observation.
Ethnography
The study and recording of human cultures.
Ethology
A subset of cultural anthropology concerned with the comparative study of contemporary cultures, with a view to deriving general principles about human society.
F
Field Code
An abbreviation of a full name for a site. The Field Code can be entered on the DIA Aboriginal Site recording form.
G
Geodetic Datum of Australia / Map Grid of Australia 1994. For most practical purposes GDA94 is equivalent to WGS84. WGS84 is the datum which all GPS units use internally.
GDA 94 compliant
Spatial information based on the GDA94 datum.
GPS - Global Positioning System
GPS is a satellite navigation system. GPS provides specially coded satellite signals that can be processed in a GPS receiver, enabling the receiver to compute position, velocity and time. To learn more about GPS, click here.
Grid
A system to portray the surface of the earth or a portion of the earth on a flat surface.
H
A style for citing sources or referencing texts.
A report of an archaeological, ethnographic, anthropological or other type of heritage survey that needs to be prepared when you lodge an application to use land. It should provide all relevant information about the importance and significance of any Aboriginal sites on the land. There are a number of different types of heritage survey reports. These include Desk Top Surveys, Site Identification Surveys, Work Area Clearance Surveys and Site Avoidance Surveys.
I
Indigenous
Used to describe both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and means “native to place”.
Informant
A person who provides information about his or her culture to an anthropologist, archaeologist or other heritage consultant.
Insufficient Information
Information lodged with the Registrar that does not have sufficient information to complete an assessment of a place under the terms of section 5 of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972. Previously the term Interim Register referred to these places in addition to Lodged data. The provisions of the AHA apply to these places until they are assessed as places to which the AHA does not apply.
International Federation of Rock Art Organisations (IFRAO) codes
This Code of Ethics describes general guidelines that IFRAO recommends to its members.
L
Land
With reference to an application to use land the term 'Land' applies to the area of land about which the applicant is giving the ACMC a notice in writing and seeking consent from the Minister.
Landowner
For the purpose of the AHA, the term ‘owner of land’ includes:
- Those with Crown leases
- Those holding rights under any mining tenement or privilege
- Those with rights conferred by the Petroleum Act 1967
Latitude
The angular distance north or south of the earth's equator, measured in degrees along a meridian, as on a map or globe.
Lodged Data
Lodged data comprises information reported to the Registrar about places and objects which have not yet been assessed under section 5 of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972. Previously the term Interim Register referred to these places in addition to places with a status of Insufficient Information. The provisions of the AHA apply to these places until they are assessed as places to which the AHA does not apply.
Longitude
Angular distance on the earth's surface, measured east or west from the prime meridian at Greenwich, England, to the meridian passing through a position, expressed in degrees (or hours), minutes, and seconds.
M
Map Sheet Reference
The numbers and names of published maps.
MGA Zone 50
Mapping zones relate to the way in which the spherical earth is projected onto a flat surface in the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) System. Western Australia has four zones, 49, 50, 51 and 52. These can be seen on a map for zones throughout the world.
Mining tenement
The Department of Industry and Resources (DoIR) receives applications and allocates titles giving legal rights to explore for and mine minerals in Western Australia. DoIR is involved in land use planning to ensure access to land for exploration and mining development.
It is also responsible for liaison with industry and other stakeholders on Aboriginal matters and for the negotiation of mineral and petroleum title applications through the Native Title Act 1993 (Cwlth).
The Minister
The Minister for Indigenous Affairs who is responsible for the administration of the Aboriginal Heritage Act. The Minister's duties under the Act include:
…to ensure that so far as is reasonably practicable all places in Western Australia that are of traditional or current sacred, ritual or ceremonial significance to persons of Aboriginal descent should be recorded on behalf of the community, and their relative importance evaluated so that the resources available from time to time for the preservation and protection of such places may be coordinated and made effective.
N
Native Title Act
Native title describes the rights and interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in land and waters, according to their traditional laws and customs, that are recognised under Australian law.
The High Court's 1992 Mabo decision overturned the idea that the Australian continent belonged to no one at the time of Europeans' arrival. It recognised for the first time that Indigenous Australians may continue to hold native title.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can apply to the courts to have their native title rights recognised under Australian law.
Native title holders have the right to be compensated if governments acquire their land or waters for future developments.
Native Title Representative Body (NTRB)
An Aboriginal community organisation, for example a Land Council with status under the Native Title Act (1993 - Cth) to deal with native title issues.
Not Essential
The Aboriginal Site Recording Form is designed to facilitate the recording of Aboriginal Sites within the terms of the Act, particularly for the purposes of submitting s18 Notices. Within this framework each Part of the site recording form is identified as being either essential or not essential to complete. For s18 Notices some parts are necessary to complete to enable a site to be adequately registered and some parts are necessary to complete to enable ACMC to carry out its evaluative function under the Act. However, where identified, it is not necessary to complete other parts for either registration and assessment. Where it is not necessary, this is indicated by the the term not essential which is highlighted in bold type. Information identified as not essential is often useful in providing further descriptive or other identifying information about a site.
Notice
Notice submitted to the Registrar under Section 18 of the Act. Also referred to as an application.
Notice Template
When lodging an application to use land (s18) DIA encourages applicants to use this format.
O
Open
This access code includes the majority of the sites listed in the Sites Register. Site information is not restricted in any way and the site's location and extent are shown on all maps produced.
Other Informants
Other informants are persons who contribute information or knowledge about a site but are not recognised as primary informants or custodians for the site.
P
Polygon
A polygon is a closed figure made by joining line segments, where each line segment intersects exactly two others. In geometry, any closed curve consisting of a set of line segments (sides) connected such that no two segments cross. The simplest polygons are triangles (three sides), quadrilaterals (four sides), and pentagons (five sides).
Primary Informant
The primary informant is the person or persons who are considered by the consultant to be the most knowledgeable about a site at the time of making the site recording.
R
Recorder
The recorder is the person or persons who visit the site and record details about the site on the site recording form or other format.
Recorder's Signature
This signature acts as a statement from the recorder that the information recorded about the site is accurate at the time of recording to the best of their knowledge.
Recording Accuracy
This term refers to the spatial accuracy used by the recorder to define the site boundary or site extent. A statement such as, "site recorded using hand held GPS using GDA94 datum", is a statement of spatial accuracy. It is assumed that handheld GPS give a spatial accuracy of ±10 metres and the datum is known. A statement such as, "site recorded using map", is not sufficient as the scale of the map is not known nor is its datum.
Registrar of Aboriginal Sites
An officer of the Department of Indigenous Affairs with responsibility to administer the day to day functions of the ACMC and other delegated duties including maintaining the Register of Aboriginal Sites.
Register of Aboriginal Sites
The register of protected areas, Aboriginal cultural material and other places and objects to which the Act applies, which is maintained by the Registrar.
Registered Site
The Registered Site includes only those places or objects which have been assessed as sites under Sections 5 and 39 of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972.
Relevant Aboriginal People
DIA recommends applicants consult all relevant Aboriginal persons when conducting heritage surveys for applications to use land on which an Aboriginal site may be present. Relevant Aboriginal persons may include people with an interest in, knowledge of, or rights to and responsibilities for, an Aboriginal site or sites within an area and with an interest in protection of Aboriginal heritage.
Where a registered or unregistered claim under the Native Title Act 1993 (NTA) exists over the land, consultations should include, but not be confined to, those claimants.
Reporting Aboriginal Sites and objects
The Act (under section 15) places an obligation on all persons in Western Australia to report anything that they believe may be a site or object to which the Act applies, unless they have reasonable cause to believe that the existence of the thing or place in question is already known to the Registrar.
DIA encourages persons wishing to report sites to use the A3 or A4 versions of the Aboriginal Site Recording Form which can be downloaded from the this website. This Form contains the type of information suitable for the ACMC to carry out their functions under section 39 of the Act.
Representative Body
An Aboriginal community organisation, for example a Land Council with status under the Native Title Act (1993 - Cth) to deal with native title issues.
Rockshelter
A small cave or rock overhang. Such places were used by Aboriginal people for shelter and may contain deep archaeological/cultural deposits that can be excavated and dated, providing information on past Aboriginal lifeways.
S
Sample Square
A square within a survey area used as a sample of the contents of the site. For example, a square is treated as a sample of a site. In most surveys there are a number of sample squares investigated to obtain an representative sample.
Section 5 - s5
The section of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 that defines the places to which the Act applies.
Section 18 - s18
Section 18 of the Aboriginal Heritage Act that provides the mechanism to seek the consent of the Minister to use, for a purpose, the land upon which an Aboriginal site exists or might exist.
Section 18 Applicant
An owner of land (who may also be a development proponent) seeking the consent of the Minister to use land.
Section 18 Notice / Application
Section 18 of the Act that provides the mechanism to seek the consent of the Minister to use, for a purpose, the land upon which an Aboriginal site exists or might exist. The Application is the written request by the owner of the land (applicant) for consent from the Minister to use the land for a purpose within the terms of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972.
Section 39 - s39
The section of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 that defines the functions of the Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee.
Selective Availability
Selective Availability, or SA, is the intentional degradation of GPS signals which directly effect the accuracy of all GPS receivers which use these satellite signals. The US government discontinued the use of Selective Availability and the GPS system became much more accurate.
Shovel test-pitting
Very small holes are dug (shovel sized) to rapidly assess the potential for subsurface archaeological remains.
Site Access
Site access relates to details about the physical access to the site in the field. Site access is distinct from Access to Site File Information which only relates to the details about access to the information held in the site file.
Site Assessment
The process involved in assessing the information provided about a place or object with reference to Sections 5 and 39(2) of the Act to determine the status of a place or object as a site under the terms of the Act. Click here for more details.
Site Boundary / Extent
A site boundary is the line delineating where the site is recognised or observed to end by the recorder at the time of recording. The extent is the outer limit of the recognised or observable area for the site. The boundary as displayed in the Register of Aboriginal Sites is a representation of a reported extent. DIA does not take responsibility, or accept liability, for the spatial accuracy of reported information.
Site Custodian
The site custodian is the person or persons who are considered to be responsible for the knowledge related to a site.
Site Location Map
A site location map is a diagram, (hand drawn, annotated copy of a published map or fully attributed GIS map), indicating the general location of the site and should contain enough information to locate a site or number of sites. A location map should contain information about road access and should have a coordinate for at least one site.
Site File
A site file is a collection of information about a site maintained in hard copy as part of the Register of Aboriginal Sites.
Site Plan
A site plan is a detailed sketch, drawing or map of a place. A site plan is a close up view which details the key elements of the place and shows the extent of the place. A site plan should provide a clear indication of the geographical layout of a site.
Site Recording Form
A standardized format for the recording of Aboriginal sites in Western Australia. An A3 and an A4 version of the form is available to download.
Site Registration
The process involved in assigning a site identification number to a place, making a site file for the place, entering information on the electronic register and mapping the boundaries of the place.
Site Status
The term 'site status' refers to the assessment outcome of a place Lodged with the Registrar under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972.
The Register has seven types of site status. These are:
- L = Lodged: Lodged with the Registrar, placed on the Register, not assessed.
- I = Insufficient Information: Lodged with Registrar, placed on Register, assessed as having insufficient information to complete an assessment within the terms of Section 5 of the AHA.
- R = Registered Site: Lodged with Registrar, placed on Register, lodged information is assessed as meeting the terms of Section 5 of the AHA.
- S = Stored Data: Lodged with Registrar, placed on Register, lodged information is assessed as not meeting the terms of Section 5 of the AHA.
- IA = Information Assessed (as assessed by Site Assessment Group)
Site Assessment Group (SAG)
Sites lodged with the Department are assessed under the direction of the Registrar of Aboriginal Sites. These are not to be considered the final assessment. Final assessment will be determined by the Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee (ACMC).
Spatial
Pertaining to or involving or having the nature of space. For example, "all sites in the register have a spatial dimension".
Stored Data
Sites deemed by the ACMC not to fulfil any of the criteria under Section 5 of the Act are entered in the Stored data index. This is also the case for those places which the ACMC finds do not have any Aboriginal association. Stored or Archived Data is retained so that these places either need not be referred to the ACMC for assessment if they are reported again later or can be re-assessed if further information is submitted at a later date.
Stratified archaeological deposit
An archaeological sequence in which the order in which individual occupation layers that are deposited over time are preserved intact
Supporting Information
Terms for places that are often used to describe in more detail aspects of an area associated with a type of site. For example a man made structure may be found near a watersource. In this example, the site type is the man made structure. The watersource is the supporting information that gives more descriptive context to the man made structure.
T
Taphonomy
the study of the burial, decay and preservation processes that are involved in the formation of archaeological sites.
Tenement
Property, such as land, rents, or franchises, held by one person leasing it from another.
Test pit
The first stage of excavation, normally undertaken to investigate the way a site formed and sometimes to estimate the population parameters of artifacts. A pit is a unit excavated to determine the presence or absence of an archaeological site, or the nature of the deposits.
Topographic Maps
Maps that graphically delineate, in detail, natural and man-made features of a place or region especially in a way to show their relative positions and elevations. There are a number of types of published topographic maps.
Transect
A linear sampling method, often used in archaeology to survey an area of interest.
Type of Site
Type of Site is a generally descriptive term for a category of place/s to which the terms of s5 of the Act are applicable. The definitions and descriptions provided are are only to assist people in understanding different characterisations. They do not have any legal status of their own. For example, if the class or variety of places fits within the Type of Site, "Historical", an individual place could have other more detailed supporting descriptions, such as Mission or Camp. These more detailed supporting descriptions can be added in Part 8.
U
Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM)
The Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) projection is used to define horizontal, positions world-wide by dividing the surface of the Earth into 6 degree zones, each mapped by the Transverse Mercator projection with a central meridian in the center of the zone. UTM zone numbers designate 6 degree longitudinal strips extending from 80 degrees South latitude to 84 degrees North latitude. UTM zone characters designate 8 degree zones extending north and south from the equator. Click here for more detail.The Universal Transverse Mercator projection is used to define horizontal, positions world-wide by dividing the surface of the Earth into 6 degree zones, each mapped by the Transverse Mercator projection with a central meridian in the center of the zone. UTM zone numbers designate 6 degree longitudinal strips extending from 80 degrees South latitude to 84 degrees North latitude. UTM zone characters designate 8 degree zones extending north and south from the equator.
Z
Zone
Mapping zones relate to the way in which the spherical earth is projected onto a flat surface in the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) System. Western Australia has four zones, 49, 50, 51 and 52. These can be seen on a map for zones throughout the world.
For further information, glossaries or reference resources, click here.