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. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness ©2008PeterHiscock Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedor reproducedorutilizedinanyformorbyanyelectronic, mechanical,orothermeans,nowknownorhereafterinvented, includingphotocopyingandrecording,orinanyinformation storageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfrom thepublishers. BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData Acatalogrecordforthisbookhasbeenrequested 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