Rapid advances in marine geophysics are transforming the detection and mapping of submerged prehistoric landscapes across the Indo-Pacific. Yet, these approaches often remain epistemologically disconnected from Indigenous knowledge systems that encode deep-time relationships with sea Country. This paper presents results from the Ngambaa-focused survey conducted aboard the CSIRO RV Investigator, which sought to actively weave Indigenous songlines with high-resolution geophysical and archaeological investigation.
Working in partnership with Ngambaa Traditional Owners, the project integrated multibeam bathymetry, sub-bottom profiling, and targeted ground-truthing by means of deep-towed camera within an Indigenous-led interpretive framework. Rather than treating Indigenous knowledge as supplementary, it structured survey design, feature prioritisation, and the interpretation of marine landscapes. This approach enabled the identification of culturally meaningful submerged features, including palaeochannels, relict shorelines, and potential occupation surfaces, reframed as lived and storied landscapes rather than purely geomorphological formations.
We propose “weaving” as both a methodological and conceptual model for submerged landscape archaeology in Australia—one that recognises the co-production of knowledge across scientific and Indigenous domains. This has significant implications for reconstructing human–environment interactions, as well as for heritage governance in contexts of accelerating sea-level rise and climate change.