Likely Kicked by a Kangaroo, This Dingo Healed a Millennium Ago Thanks to Help From an Aboriginal Community That Continued to Honor It for 500 Years
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Recent research has revealed that a nearly 1000-year-old dingo was buried with care by the Barkindji people in Australia. The dingo, which suffered injuries likely from a kangaroo, was honored with river mussel shells for centuries after its death. This practice highlights the deep connection and respect the Barkindji community had for the animal, which continues to this day.
- ▪The dingo was buried between 916 and 963 years ago and was likely between 4 and 7 years old at the time of death.
- ▪The Barkindji people added river mussel shells to the burial site for nearly 500 years as part of a feeding ritual.
- ▪The dingo had suffered injuries consistent with being kicked by a kangaroo and was cared for by the Barkindji community before its death.
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| Original publisher | Smithsonian Magazine |
| Canonical URL | https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/likely-kicked-by-a-kangaroo-this-dingo-healed-a-millennium-ago-thanks-to-help-from-an-aboriginal-community-that-continued-to-honor-it-for-500-years-180988768/ |
| Publication time | Tue, 19 May 2026 21:06:11 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-19T21:19:58.178Z |
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Likely Kicked by a Kangaroo, This Dingo Healed a Millennium Ago Thanks to Help From an Aboriginal Community That Continued to Honor It for 500 Years New research shows how the ancestors of the Barkindji people in Australia ritually added river mussel shells to a burial site for centuries after the dingo died, suggesting they cared for it deeply Sarah Kuta | Daily Correspondent May 19, 2026 5:06 p.m. ShareCopy linkEmailSMSFacebookXRedditLinkedInBlueskyPrintAdd as preferred source The skeleton first emerged from an eroded road cut in 2000 or 2001. Amy Way / Australian Museum Archaeologists in Australia unearthed the remains of a nearly 1000-year-old dingo that appears to have been buried with care and “fed” river mussel shells for roughly five centuries after it died.
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