Archaeobotany in Australia and New Guinea: practice, potential and prospects

Archaeobotany is the study of plant remains from archaeological contexts. Despite Australasian research being at the forefront of several methodological innovations over the last three decades, archaebotany is now a relatively peripheral concern to most archaeological projects in Australia and New Guinea. In this paper, many practicing archaeobotanists working in these regions argue for a more central role for archaeobotany in standard archaeological practice. An overview of archaeobotanical techniques and applications is presented, the potential for archaeobotany to address key historical research questions is indicated, and initiatives designed to promote archaeobotany and improve current practices are outlined

Archaeobotany in Australia and New Guinea: practice, potential and prospects

Archaeobotany is the study of plant remains from archaeological contexts. Despite Australasian research being at the forefront of several methodological innovations over the last three decades, archaebotany is now a relatively peripheral concern to most archaeological projects in Australia and New Guinea. In this paper, many practicing archaeobotanists working in these regions argue for a more central role for archaeobotany in standard archaeological practice. An overview of archaeobotanical techniques and applications is presented, the potential for archaeobotany to address key historical research questions is indicated, and initiatives designed to promote archaeobotany and improve current practices are outlined

Changing perspectives in Australian archaeology, part VIII. Burins, bones and base camps: a re-analysis of Aire Shelter 2, Glenaire, southern Victoria

Archaeological studies often conclude that some sites are neatly identifiable as base camps, stopovers or tool specific locales. Task reconstruction and interpretation of on-site activities affect our understanding of mobility patterns and subsistence and our ability to distinguish reconfigured land-use and population change. A re-analysis of Aire Shelter 2 is presented here to consider the potential of usewear and residue studies for evaluating site function, in the context of coastal wetlands in southwestern Victoria. Traces of use were found on 242 stone artefacts. Identified tools include finely retouched flint scrapers and snapped flakes with burin edges associated with graving bone. The usewear and faunal analyses indicate an atypical prehistoric assemblage that implies an alternative site function to that originally proposed. Rather than a base camp, the site is an infrequently used locale associated with hunting and the manufacture of bone points. Although theoretical reconstructions of land use suggest population contraction into winter base camps situated around coastal wetlands, there is no compelling evidence that such a site has been found at Aire Shelter 2, although nearby dune shell midden sites are likely candidates

Stones, stories and science

[extract] The following was presented as the Keynote Address at \u27Archaeological Science Under a Microscope: A symposium in honour of Tom Loy\u27, held in Emmanuel College, The University of Queensland, on 19 August 2006. Tom Loy died suddenly in October 2005. He left behind unfinished books and ongoing research projects mostly related to prehistoric residue analyses in collaboration with students working at the University of Queensland. A year or so down the track, several of these projects have come to fruition (as theses and numerous publications), and new directions have emerged. It is therefore appropriate and timely that the organising committee (Gail Robertson, Alison Crowther, Luke Kirkwood, Michael Haslam and Sue Nugent) pulled together this symposium, primarily to honour Tom, but also to reflect on the discipline he left behind, to ask about its latest developments and to examine where it\u27s headed. This is the task of this symposium. My purpose here is not to put Tom\u27s life under a microscope, but to briefly reflect on three strands of knowledge he pioneered: stone tool function, the stories and reconstructions based on them, and archaeological science

Aboriginal settlement during the LGM at Brockman, Pilbara Region, Western Australia

This paper describes the results and implications of recent excavations on the Hamersley Iron Brockman 4 tenement, near Torn Price, Western Australia. Results concentrate on two rock shelters with Aboriginal occupation starting at least 32,000 years ago and extending throughout the Last Glacial period. Preliminary observations are proposed concerning the nature of Aboriginal foraging patterns as displayed in the flaked stone and faunal records for the Brockman region

Starch residues on grinding stones in private collections: a study of morahs from the tropical rainforests of NE Queensland

Morahs are incised grinding stones from the tropical rainforests of Far North Queensland. They are made from grey slate, are roughly ovate to rectangular in shape, and have distinctive incised parallel grooves running transversely across the body of the stone. The region in which they are found is also known for the processing of toxic starchy plants by Aborigines. The process involves a relatively complex processing schedule, including cooking, pounding and leaching before consumption. Ethnographic studies have documented the processing of a number of rainforest species with starchy kernels in which morahs may have been used for pounding these kernels before leaching. A selection of morahs from private collections were analysed to determine their potential for starch residue studies. The results show that incised grooves act as residue traps for starch. In some cases the starch recovered from these grindstones enabled starch identifications of economically important endemic rainforest species, particularly Beilschmiedia bancroftii (Yellow walnut) and Endiandra insignis (Hairy_Walnut). The uneven surface created by the incised grooves may facilitate the breakup of the starchy kernels, and this proposal is supported by use-wear studies on similar artefacts where soft plant processing is indicated

Changing ecological concerns in rock-art subject matter of north Australia\u27s Keep River region

The Keep River region has a complex body of engraved and painted rock-art, distinct from but with links to regions to the east, west and south. At least four major periods of figurative rock-art have been identified with differing subject matters and ages. Significant changes in depictions of human figures and animals are evident, reflecting shifts in emphasis associated with ecological concerns and environmental change. We flesh out the relative rock-art chronology by highlighting these changes, from worlds dominated by humans to those dominated by mammals and birds, and finally to a recent world of reptiles and humans. Symbolic aspects of the imagery are also considered within a larger ecological approach