Archaeology of Ancient Australia

357 Pages·2007·3.62 MB·English

by  Peter Hiscock

Archaeology of Ancient Australia
Australia has been inhabited for 50,000 years. This clear and compelling book
shows how it is possible to unearth this country’s long human history when our
historicalrecordsarelimitedtothefewhundredyearssinceitsEuropeandiscovery.
BeginningwiththefirsthumancolonizationandendingwithEuropeancontact
in the eighteenth century, Peter Hiscock traces the ever-changing and sometimes
turbulent history of the Australian Aboriginal peoples and their ancestors. While
theyremainedhuntersandgatherersthroughoutthistime,theirculturecontinually
evolved, with their changes in economics, technology, cosmology, beliefs and
sociallife.
Hiscockshowshowthishumanpastcanbereconstructedfromarchaeological
evidence in easy-to-read style and without unnecessary jargon or detail, yet
reflecting the weight of scientific research. Including information from genetics,
environmentalsciences,anthropologyandhistory,thisbookencompassesthewide
variety of disciplines in the sciences and humanities which contribute to an
archaeologicalinvestigation.
World-renowneddiscoveriessuchasthehumanbodiesatLakeMungo,theice-
age art sites of Arnhem Land, the deformed human skulls from Kow Swamp, the
early ornaments and paintings from remote desert caves, and the puzzling giant
shellmoundsofthenorthcoast,arediscussedandextensivelyillustrated.
The result is not only a comprehensive and understandable introduction for
beginners in archaeology, but also a challenging and absorbing view about the
richnessandvarietyofancienthumancivilization.
PeterHiscockisaReaderattheAustralianNationalUniversitywhereheteachesthe
archaeologyofAustralia.HisworkonAustraliansiteshasconcentratedonancient
technology but has also explored human exploitation of coastal and desert
landscapes.

Archaeology of
Ancient Australia
Peter Hiscock
Firstpublished2008
byRoutledge
2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144RN
SimultaneouslypublishedintheUSAandCanada
byRoutledge
270MadisonAve,NewYork,NY10016
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007.
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collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
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©2008PeterHiscock
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedor
reproducedorutilizedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,
mechanical,orothermeans,nowknownorhereafterinvented,
includingphotocopyingandrecording,orinanyinformation
storageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfrom
thepublishers.
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ISBN 0-203-44835-9 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN978–0–415–33810–3(hbk)
ISBN978–0–415–33811–0(pbk)
Contents
Listoffigures vii
Preface xiii
Noteaboutthecasestudies xv
Noteonterminology xvi
Acknowledgements xvii
1 TheveilofAntipodeanpre-history 1
2 ThecolonizationofAustralia 20
3 EarlysettlementacrossAustralia 45
4 ExtinctionofPleistocenefauna 63
5 WhowerethefirstAustralians? 82
6 LifeinPleistoceneAustralia 102
7 Tasmaniaisolated 129
8 TechnologyintheHolocene 145
9 CoastaleconomiesintheHolocene 162
10 InlandeconomiesintheHolocene 182
11 AridzoneeconomiesintheHolocene 199
12 Populationgrowthandmobility 219
vi Contents
13 SocialidentityandinteractionduringtheHolocene 245
14 Theethnographicchallenge:changeinthelastmillennium 268
Appendix:Radiocarbondating 286
References 290
Index 330
Figures
1.1 ArtisticimageoflifeatLakeMungo 6
1.2 Averageannualrainfallagainsttheterritorialareaof123
historicallyrecordedAboriginal‘tribes’ 11
1.3 Smallpoxpustulesonthefaceandbody 13
2.1 Indicationsofclimaticchangeoverthepast140,000years,
showingtheOxygenIsotopeStages 22
2.2 GreaterAustralia(atsealevelof–130metres)anditsrelationship
tomodernAustralia,NewGuineaandpartsofMelanesiaand
southeastAsia 23
2.3 Birdsell’shypotheticalroutestoAustraliaattimesoflowersea
levelandthedistributionofthemainTobaashfall 24
2.4 Someofthedistinctivefeaturesfoundonstoneartefacts 32
2.5 SchematicstratigraphicprofilesoftheexcavationsbyJonesand
SmithatNauwalabilaandMalakunanjaII,showingthereported
stratigraphy,lowestartefacts’luminescencedatesinthousands
ofyears 36
2.6 SchematicstratigraphicsectionthroughtheLakeMungolunette
alongtheMungoIIItransect 38
2.7 BaseoftheShawcrosstrenchatLakeMungo 40
2.8 Shawcross’sexcavationBanditsrelationshiptoBowler’s
summarystratigraphicsection 41
3.1 MapoftheSahullandmass(at–150metres)anditsrelationship
tomodernAustralia 46
3.2 ViewofPuritjarraduringMikeSmith’s1988excavation 48
3.3 DeepexcavationofthemaintrenchatPuritjarrarockshelter 48
3.4 PhotographsillustratingVeth’sthreelandscapecategories 50
3.5 ThemodernAustralianlandmassshowingVeth’sbiogeographic
zonesandthelocationsofsitesmorethan35,000yearsold 51
3.6 Computersimulationsofpopulationgrowthfromasmallinitial
groupsize,illustratingthepotentialvariabilityindemographic
trends 55
3.7 ThereductionofsealevelsduringOIS2 57
3.8 ViewoftheoasisatLawnHillandthevegetationitsupports 59
viii Figures
3.9 ChangesintheoriginsofochredepositedatPuritjarra 62
4.1 ExamplesofanimalsdiscussedinChapter4 64
4.2 Locationofkeysitesindebatesabouttheroleofhumansinthe
extinctionofAustralianmegafauna 69
4.3 Numberofage-estimatesonsamplesofextinctmegafauna
per10,000years 72
4.4 CuddieSpringsclaypan 73
4.5 ExcavationsatCuddieSpringsrevealingadenseconcentration
oflimbbonesfromextinctGenyornis 73
4.6 ApproximatetimespansofselectedextinctspeciesatCuddie
Springs 75
4.7 OxygenisotopecurveforStages1–3showingthevariablebutdirectional
trendinclimatefrombefore50,000untiltheLGM 77
4.8 Thetimingofamajorchangeinthedietofemus(Dromaius
novaehollandiae) 78
5.1 AcastoftheTalgaiskull 82
5.2 SoutheasternmainlandAustraliashowingthesitesmentioned
inChapter5 84
5.3 Guidetotheterminologyofsomefeaturesonthehumanskull 85
5.4 CraniumofWLH3exposedontheLakeMungolunette 86
5.5 SideviewoftheCohunaskull 89
5.6 FrontalviewoftheCohunaskull 89
5.7 AmanfromtheterminalPleistoceneperiod,basedonCoobool
Creekskeletons 90
5.8 Pardoe’sanalysisoftheWillandrahominidsrelationshipbetween
thesexandtherobustnessofindividualskeletons 94
5.9 Lateralcontoursofskullsshowingtheshapeofundeformed
skullsandofskullsdeformedbywrappingwithsoftmaterials
orconstrictedatthefrontandbackwithhardobjects 96
5.10 Sizereductionincranialandmandibledimensionsofhumans
livingintheMurrayRivercorridorduringtheterminalPleistocene
andlate-Holocene 99
5.11 Geneflowmodelforregionswitharichriverinecorridorand
lessresource-richhinterland 101
6.1 PleistoceneAustraliashowingarchaeologicalsitesmentioned
inChapter6 103
6.2 ImplementtypesrecognizedinPleistocenedeposits:‘Horse
hoof’,‘Corescraper’and‘Flakescraper’ 104
6.3 Peckedandheavilyweatheredartpanelsassignedtothe
‘Panaramitee’stageofAustralianart 105
6.4 Imageofthe‘typologicalevolution’proposedbyJones 107
6.5 Maintenanceandreworkingcreatingmorphologicalvariation
instoneartefacts 108
6.6 EngravingsfromtheMountIsaregionshowingelaborate
curvedlines 109
Figures ix
6.7 Pecked‘archaicfaces’recordedfromavarietyofsitesincentral
Australia 110
6.8 AxerecoveredfromPleistocenelevelsofMalangangerr,Arnhem
Land,approximately25,000–30,000yearsold;thespecimen
wasweatheredandbroken,andhasbeenpiecedtogether 111
6.9 DynamicfiguresfromwesternArnhemLand 112
6.10 PaintingoftherianthropeandhumanfromtheDynamicperiod
ofwesternArnhemLand 114
6.11 NunamiraCaveduringexcavation 116
6.12 Smallstonetoolscalled‘thumbnailscrapers’fromthePleistocene
rocksheltersofsouthernTasmania 117
6.13 Chronologicalchangesinoccupationofthecentralplateauof
southwesternTasmania 119
6.14 Fracturethroughthesamerock,beforeandafterheattreatment 121
6.15 ExcavationofWLH3atLakeMungoshowingthedarkredstain
ofochreplacedonandaroundthebodyinthegrave 126
6.16 Morse’sreconstructionoftheshellbeadsfromManduMandu
Creekasanornament 127
7.1 TasmaniaandBassStraitIslandshowinglocalitiesmentioned
inChapter7 130
7.2 TheentrancetoRockyCapeNorthCavein1965 131
7.3 RhysJonesandHarryLourandosdrawingthecomplex
stratigraphyatRockyCapeNorthCavein1965 131
7.4 StratigraphicsequencesatRockyCape 132
7.5 Relationshipbetweenabundanceoffishremainsandbone
pointsintheRockyCapesequence 135
7.6 ExcavationsatWarragarraShelter 143
8.1 AbackedartefactfromtheSydneyBasin 145
8.2 MapofAustraliashowingthesitesmentionedinChapter8 147
8.3 Knowngeographicaldistributionofbackedartefactsand
bifacialpoints 149
8.4 TwobifacialpointsfromnorthernAustralia 151
8.5 WorkerssievingandsortingsieveresiduesatCapertee3during
McCarthy’s1960excavation 153
8.6 BackedartefactfromCapertee3displayingresinstaining 155
8.7 Battleshipcurvesofbackedartefactabundanceinthree
excavatedsitesineasternAustralia 157
9.1 MapsofnorthAustraliancoastalregionsandsitesdiscussedin
Chapter9 164
9.2 Stratigraphyandchangingabundanceofmaterialsinsquares
H50andG50inNaraInlet1 167
9.3 ViewfromthequarryonSouthMolleIslandtoWhitsunday
IslandanddebrisfromartefactmanufactureontheSouthMolle
Islandquarry 168
9.4 Three-phasemodeloflandscapeevolutionproposedfortheSouth
AlligatorRiverValley 173