A site catchment analysis: Walkunder Arch Cave, near Chillagoe, North Queensland

Abstract

Walkunder Arch Cave, is a rich archaeological site with evidence of repeated human occupation during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene.  It is located at the central base of Cape York Peninsula, North Queensland (144º 31'E and 17º 13'S) some 10km south of the township of Chillagoe.  The site lies at the southern end of a belt of fossiliferous limestone towers which extends about 100km northwards into the Palmerville district. Numerous art sites have been discovered in the Chillagoe-Palmerville area but the Walkunder Arch region is particularly rich in archaeological campsites.