Absence of evidence or evidence of absence? Understanding the chronology of Indigenous occupation of western New South Wales, Australia

Holdaway, Simon; Fanning, Patricia; Shiner, Justin

doi:10.1002/j.1834-4453.2005.tb00584.x

Cited by 49 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…In the past, these hearths were constructed by Aboriginal people as shallow pits in which a fire was lit and stone heat retainers added, the pit then being used as an oven to cook a variety of food stuffs ( [18], [19]). At ND, we obtained sufficient charcoal for radiocarbon age determinations from eight of these hearths ( Table 5).…”

Section: Radiocarbon Dating Of Charcoal: Methods and Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Stud Creek at Tibooburra [17], Sandy Creek at Belarabon [32], and Faulkanhagan Creek near White Cliffs [33]. Although the continent of Australia is broadly described as geologically ancient, regional and local geomorphic landscape change has created a mosaic of differently aged surfaces many of which lie adjacent to one another [19]. This poses challenges to archaeologists interested in either reconstructing settlement systems or in proposing adaptive strategies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the past ten years, the Western New South Wales Archaeology Program (WNSWAP) has been developing not only new ways of recording and analysing this extensive surface (i.e., open site) record ( [5], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15], [16]), but also a chronology of occupation based on radiocarbon dating of charcoal from the hearths and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating of the surfaces on which the archaeological record now rests ( [17], [18], [19]). As indicated in Figure 1, we have studied these surface artefact assemblages from a number of locations across a large area of western NSW.…”

Section: Location and Description Of The Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

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A geomorphic framework for understanding the surface archaeological record in arid environments

2007

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We present data from Australian study areas that support episodic nonequilibrium as a suitable model for developing a theoretical and methodological framework for interpreting the surface archaeological record. According to this model, long periods of little or no geomorphic activity are punctuated by catastrophic events that erode or deposit sediments, and hence remove or cover up surface stone artefact deposits discarded by Indigenous people in the past. We demonstrate the impact of a single rainfall event on the surface archaeological record at one of our western New South Wales study locations. We then use the results of Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) of sediments underlying the artefact deposits and radiocarbon dating of associated heat-retainer hearths to suggest that both landscape chronology and the surface archaeological record are reflections of a series of episodic events such as this rain event. We conclude that, at least in our study area, the archaeological record is discontinuous in time because geomorphic events have removed the record equating to particular time periods. This process is cumulative so that the record of recent times is much more common when compared to that from earlier times. The episodic nature of geomorphic processes also has an effect on human behaviour, such that occupation of place is discontinuous. The methods by which the archaeological record is surveyed and interpreted need to take into account these spatial and temporal landscape discontinuities.

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Section: Radiocarbon Dating Of Charcoal: Methods and Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Location and Description Of The Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

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A geomorphic framework for understanding the surface archaeological record in arid environments

2007

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“…This method relies upon ethnographic parallels that allow past population densities to be estimated from modern or historical information concerning the relationship between house size and population density (Hassan 1981, Kolb 1985 or settlement size and population density (Wiessner 1974). An important assumption is that higher frequencies of dated sites represent higher population densities (Brantingham et al 2004, Holdaway et al 2005. Temporal frequency distributions, however, may be affected by taphonomic bias where the loss of data increases with time, which Surovell and Brantingham (2007) suggested may be largely responsible for the positive curvilinear frequency distributions often observed in archaeological, paleontological, and geological data.…”

Section: A Population Prehistory Of Sanak Islandmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Introduction to the Biocomplexity of Sanak Island, Western Gulf of Alaska

et al. 2009

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The Sanak Biocomplexity Project is a transdisciplinary research effort focused on a small island archipelago 50 km south of the Alaska Peninsula in the western Gulf of Alaska. This team of archaeologists, terrestrial ecologists, social anthropologists, intertidal ecologists, geologists, oceanographers, paleoecologists, and modelers is seeking to understanding the role of the ancient, historic, and modern Aleut in the structure and functioning of local and regional ecosystems. Using techniques ranging from systematic surveys to stable isotope chemistry, long-term shifts in social dynamics and ecosystem structure are present in the context of changing climatic regimes and human impacts. This paper presents a summary of a range of our preliminary findings.

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“…We can argue that the majority of its components were likely to have been deposited during the last 4000-5000 years, but there is little evidence to discern whether the artefacts accumulated steadily over this period or whether the intensity of artefact deposition was punctuated by discrete events (e.g. Holdaway et al 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The significance of Levallois and discoidal technology in the Arcadia Valley, south central Queensland

Cochrane

2014

QAR

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<p>An analysis of stone artefacts from the Arcadia Valley in south central Queensland is used to develop a core reduction sequence model for the region. During the initial construction of this model, core types are identified that reflect phases or end points in reduction trajectories. The model shows that core reduction methods employed in the Arcadia Valley during the mid-to-late Holocene included Levallois, discoidal, prismatic and burin blade core methods, along with less formal reduction strategies. In recognition of the equifinality of many reduction processes, the model has a flexible structure. Hence the prevalence of the various core reduction methods, and their relationships to each other, may be the subject of a range of hypothetical scenarios which can be tested by employing multiple lines of additional evidence. Following this procedure, it is concluded that Levallois and discoidal methods may account for close to half of the artefact assemblage, while less formal methods were also very common.</p>

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Absence of evidence or evidence of absence? Understanding the chronology of Indigenous occupation of western New South Wales, Australia

Abstract: Abstract

Cited by 49 publications

References 21 publications

A geomorphic framework for understanding the surface archaeological record in arid environments

A geomorphic framework for understanding the surface archaeological record in arid environments

An Introduction to the Biocomplexity of Sanak Island, Western Gulf of Alaska

The significance of Levallois and discoidal technology in the Arcadia Valley, south central Queensland

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