Tool-use experiments to determine the function of an incised ground stone artefact with potential symbolic significance

Ground stone implements are found across most Australian landscapes and are often regarded as Aboriginal tools that were used for processing or modifying other items such as plant foods, plant fibres, resins, bone points, pigments and ground-stone axes and knives. Less common are ground stones modified for non-utilitarian, symbolic purposes; for example, polished and carved stone ornaments; ritual implements such as cylcons and tjuringa sacred stones; and unused, well-crafted ground-stone axes. In this paper, we report on the function and potential significance of an unusual ground stone artefact from a site near Bannockburn, southwestern Australia. A set of regularly spaced, shallow grooves has been cut into the surface of each side of the stone. Use-wear, residues and experimental replica tools indicate that the grooves were probably made with a stone flake and then used to shape or sharpen wooden implements such as spear points or the edges of boomerangs or other weapons. The microscopic wear outside the grooves indicates contact with soft wood or other plant material, possibly a soft plant fibre bag. We suggest that the Bannockburn artefact primarily functioned as a woodworking tool, but the even spacing of the incisions suggests that they were intentionally placed, perhaps to convey a special meaning, perhaps as a tally system or other form of communication

Tool-use experiments to determine the function of an incised ground stone artefact with potential symbolic significance

Ground stone implements are found across most Australian landscapes and are often regarded as Aboriginal tools that were used for processing or modifying other items such as plant foods, plant fibres, resins, bone points, pigments and ground-stone axes and knives. Less common are ground stones modified for non-utilitarian, symbolic purposes; for example, polished and carved stone ornaments; ritual implements such as cylcons and tjuringa sacred stones; and unused, well-crafted ground-stone axes. In this paper, we report on the function and potential significance of an unusual ground stone artefact from a site near Bannockburn, southwestern Australia. A set of regularly spaced, shallow grooves has been cut into the surface of each side of the stone. Use-wear, residues and experimental replica tools indicate that the grooves were probably made with a stone flake and then used to shape or sharpen wooden implements such as spear points or the edges of boomerangs or other weapons. The microscopic wear outside the grooves indicates contact with soft wood or other plant material, possibly a soft plant fibre bag. We suggest that the Bannockburn artefact primarily functioned as a woodworking tool, but the even spacing of the incisions suggests that they were intentionally placed, perhaps to convey a special meaning, perhaps as a tally system or other form of communication

Holocene LSA archaeology from Equus Cave, Buxton-Norlim Limeworks, South Africa : an analysis of the bone tool assemblage

Abstract: Equus Cave, Buxton-Norlim Limeworks, near Taung, North West Province, South Africa, was first excavated between 1978 and 1982. While the site dates to the terminal Pleistocene and Holocene the precise age of the different layers is debated, as is the technological assignment of the deepest deposits, which are said to contain both Later or Middle Stone Age elements. While the faunal assemblage and some of the human remains have been published, the archaeology has never been fully analysed or reported. New excavations in 2012 revealed numerous artefacts including ochre, something not previously noted for this site. Comparison of total lithic artefact counts versus faunal NISPs and MNIs shows that the height of human occupation occurred during the Holocene, with preliminary analysis of the >6000 lithic assemblage indicating a dominance of notched artefacts, which, coupled with the presence of 16 bone points, is characteristic of other HoloceneWilton (Later Stone Age) sites in the region. The focus of this paper is the 16 bone points, which include projectile points and link-shafts, and how these items were manufactured and used. The results provide one of the first detailed descriptions of Later Stone Age bone tools, including rare specimens that are mostly complete or still preserve the tips, making an important contribution to our limited understanding of Later Stone Age bone tool technology

Targeting DNA Damage Response and Replication Stress in Pancreatic Cancer

Background and aims: Continuing recalcitrance to therapy cements pancreatic cancer (PC) as the most lethal malignancy, which is set to become the second leading cause of cancer death in our society. The study aim was to investigate the association between DNA damage response (DDR), replication stress and novel therapeutic response in PC to develop a biomarker driven therapeutic strategy targeting DDR and replication stress in PC. Methods: We interrogated the transcriptome, genome, proteome and functional characteristics of 61 novel PC patient-derived cell lines to define novel therapeutic strategies targeting DDR and replication stress. Validation was done in patient derived xenografts and human PC organoids. Results: Patient-derived cell lines faithfully recapitulate the epithelial component of pancreatic tumors including previously described molecular subtypes. Biomarkers of DDR deficiency, including a novel signature of homologous recombination deficiency, co-segregates with response to platinum (P < 0.001) and PARP inhibitor therapy (P < 0.001) in vitro and in vivo. We generated a novel signature of replication stress with which predicts response to ATR (P < 0.018) and WEE1 inhibitor (P < 0.029) treatment in both cell lines and human PC organoids. Replication stress was enriched in the squamous subtype of PC (P < 0.001) but not associated with DDR deficiency. Conclusions: Replication stress and DDR deficiency are independent of each other, creating opportunities for therapy in DDR proficient PC, and post-platinum therapy

Refitting a past: A comparison of late Pleistocene and Terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene stone tool technology at Lake Mungo, southwestern New South Wales, Australia

Submission note: A thesis submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the School of Humanities, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University, Bundoora

An unusual, incised ground stone artefact from southwestern Victoria, Australia: its function and potential symbolic significance

An unusual, incised sandstone artefact recovered during an archaeological salvage program in Bannockburn, southwestern Victoria, has been uniformly ground and contains sets of regularly spaced, shallow grooves on either side. Microscopic study indicates that the grooves were incised with stone and used to sharpen or shape the edges of wooden implements. The wear outside the grooves indicates contact with soft wood or other plant material, possibly a soft plant bag. When compared with other examples that are similar, the regularity and distribution of the grooves suggest a symbolic meaning, perhaps tally marks or other form of communication

How a stone wedged in a gum tree shows the resilience of Aboriginal culture in Australia

Trees marked by Aboriginal cultural practices are a distinctive part of the Australian landscape. A recent discovery on Wiradjuri country in New South Wales shows some of these “culturally modified trees” may be much younger than anybody thought..

Quartz Archaeology Project

The Quartz Archaeology Project is creating open-access datasets for quartz occurrences in a variety of archaeological and natural contexts to improve our understanding of the significance of quartz in the deep and recent past. This project will investigate the physical characteristics of quartz pieces at natural outcrops, archaeological sites, and locations of more recent industrial activities. It will also involve the creation of experimental assemblages of quartz fractured using different methods, such as knapping, mechanical crushing, and handheld tools. Analysis and comparison of the attributes of fractured quartz from natural, archaeological and experimental assemblages will generate information about the ‘signature’ of quartz pieces from these different contexts. The resulting datasets, excluding those derived from Aboriginal places, will be made freely available online. This will facilitate development of integrated and collaborative approaches to the identification and characterisation of quartz artefacts in archaeology and cultural heritage management. The citation for this project (including datasets) is Spry, C., E. Foley, R. Kurpiel, J. Turnbull and P. Penzo-Kajewski 2020 Quartz Archaeology Project. http://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/N8CWR, Open Science Framework, Accessed 22 July 2020. For more information about this project, please see: Spry, C., R. Kurpiel, E. Foley and P. Penzo-Kajewski 2021 Revisiting the “Quartz Problem” in Lithic Studies: A Review and New, Open-access, Experimental Dataset. Lithic Technology. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01977261.2021.1981655 Spry, C., R. Kurpiel, E. Foley, J. Turnbull and P. Penzo-Kajewski 2021 Disentangling activity traces on Australian goldfields: an experimental study of quartz assemblages derived from knapping and gold prospecting. Australian Archaeology. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03122417.2021.1885109. Spry, C., E. Foley, R. Kurpiel and J. Turnbull 2019 Identifying quartz artefacts in archaeology and cultural heritage management: issues, approaches and a new open-access project. In Spry et al. (eds), Excavations, Surveys and Heritage Management in Victoria, pp. 77-83. Melbourne: La Trobe University: http://arrow.latrobe.edu.au:8080/vital/access/manager/Repository/latrobe:43467

The first preliminary report of the Khirbat Umm al-Ghuzlān Excavation Project: investigating an EB IV olive processing site in north Jordan

The evidence from Khirbat Umm al-Ghuzlān suggests that this enclosure site served a specialised economic purpose in the Early Bronze Age (EB) IV (ca 26/2500-2000BC). Given the site’s location, it is likely that it was used as a processing centre for upland horticultural crops such as olive, which grow better in the well-drained slopes of the rift escarpment than on the flood-prone Jordan Valley floor. The site may have been enclosed to protect seasonally-produced caches of high-value oil jars before their distribution through the settlement systems of the rift escarpment, or to population centres on the Jordan Valley floor

Outcome, morbidity, and prognostic factors in post-prostatectomy radiotherapy: An Australian multicenter study

Objectives. To report the outcome and morbidity data for patients treated with post-prostatectomy radiotherapy (PPRT) in a multicenter collaboration