Holocene grinding stones at Madjedbebe reveal the processing of starchy plant taxa and animal tissue

Hayes, Elspeth; Field, Judith; Coster, Adelle C.F.; Fullagar, Richard; Matheson, Carney; Florin, S. Anna; Nango, May; Djandjomerr, Djaykuk; Marwick, Ben; Wallis, Lynley A.; Smith, Mike; Clarkson, Chris

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102754

Cited by 14 publications

(23 citation statements)

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“…Three of the grinding stones listed in Table S5 have had analyses published elsewhere (L49, GS3 and UPGS2, Fig. 6 a–c, e), and the analyses demonstrated the presence of waterlily ( Nymphaea violacea ), cheeky yam ( Amorphopallus galbra ), long yam ( Dioscorea transversa ) and possibly kapok bush ( Cochlospermum fraseri ) 55 . The remaining artefacts in this study from Phases 2–7 (n = 21) yielded much lower frequencies of starch (Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

65,000-years of continuous grinding stone use at Madjedbebe, Northern Australia

Hayes

Fullagar

Field

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Grinding stones and ground stone implements are important technological innovations in later human evolution, allowing the exploitation and use of new plant foods, novel tools (e.g., bone points and edge ground axes) and ground pigments. Excavations at the site of Madjedbebe recovered Australia’s (if not one of the world’s) largest and longest records of Pleistocene grinding stones, which span the past 65 thousand years (ka). Microscopic and chemical analyses show that the Madjedbebe grinding stone assemblage displays the earliest known evidence for seed grinding and intensive plant use, the earliest known production and use of edge-ground stone hatchets (aka axes), and the earliest intensive use of ground ochre pigments in Sahul (the Pleistocene landmass of Australia and New Guinea). The Madjedbebe grinding stone assemblage reveals economic, technological and symbolic innovations exemplary of the phenotypic plasticity of Homo sapiens dispersing out of Africa and into Sahul.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

65,000-years of continuous grinding stone use at Madjedbebe, Northern Australia

Hayes

Fullagar

Field

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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“…West, on the Arnhem Plateau, increased intensities of rockshelter use and burning activities began 8000–6000 years ago (see Shine et al, 2015 and references therein). Shine et al (2015) suggest rockshelter occupation and fire use enabled foraging in establishing mid‐Holocene resource habitats, including peak site activity once hydrological environments stabilised (see also Hayes et al, 2021 for the Holocene use of habitats and plant taxa on the Arnhem Plateau).…”

Section: Interpretation and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…ities began 8000-6000 years ago (seeShine et al, 2015 and references therein) Shine et al (2015). suggest rockshelter occupation and fire use enabled foraging in establishing mid-Holocene resource habitats, including peak site activity once hydrological environments stabilised (see alsoHayes et al, 2021 for the Holocene use of habitats and plant taxa on the Arnhem Plateau). Anthropogenic burning at Marura, based on cross-landform mobility and resource use, is a consideration based on regional archaeology.…”

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confidence: 99%

Holocene climate–fire–vegetation feedbacks in tropical savannas: Insights from the Marura sinkhole, East Arnhem Land, northern Australia

Rowe

Rehn

Brand

et al. 2022

J Vegetation Science

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Aims: Informed management of savanna systems depends on understanding determinates of composition, structure and function, particularly in relation to woody-plant components. This understanding needs to be regionally based, both past and present. In this study, Holocene plant patterns are explored at a site within the eucalypt savannas of northern Australia. Australian savannas are the least developed globally and uniquely placed to track ecological change. Location: Northern Territory, Australia. Methods: Palynological analyses were undertaken on a 5-m sediment core, spanning the last 10,700 calendar years. Pollen was categorised to capture vegetation type, classified further according to plant function and/or environmental response. Detrended Correspondence Analysis was used to quantify ecological dissimilarities through time. Results: At the Pleistocene transition, grasses were abundant then declined and remained low relative to increased woody cover from the mid-late Holocene. Savanna composition gradually transitioned from Corymbia to Eucalyptus dominance until significantly disturbed by a phase of repeated, extreme climate events. Highest nonsavanna variability in terrestrial and wetland plant types formed mixed vegetation communities through the mid-Holocene. Conclusions: Savannas are not homogeneous but the product of plant changes in multiple dimensions. In the Northern Territory, dynamic though restricted noneucalypt shifts are embedded within larger, slower eucalypt change processes.Primary climate-vegetation relationships determine the long-term fire regime. The role of large but infrequent disturbance events in maintaining savanna diversity are significant, in degrees of impact on tree-grass turnover, its form and the extent of Journal of Vegetation ScienceROWE et al.

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“…Boulanger, Miller and Fisher 2021;Lin et al 2010), non-flaked stone artefacts (e.g. Furey et al 2020;Hayes et al 2021;Pedergnana et al 2021), and non-artefactual stone tools (e.g. Benito-Calvo et al 2015;Haslam et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More commonly, models have also been used for illustrative purposes, replacing or supplementing scientific illustrations or photographs of stone artefacts (e.g. Hayes et al 2021;Perston et al 2022;Sano et al 2020;Schmid et al 2019, see also Barone et al 2018;Felicísimo, Polo and Peris 2013;Magnani 2014 for discussion on 3D models as an alternative to illustration and photography).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

After the Revolution: A Review of 3D Modelling as a Tool for Stone Artefact Analysis

Wyatt-Spratt

2022

Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology

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With over 200 peer-reviewed papers published over the last 20 years, 3D modelling is no longer a gimmick but an established and increasingly common analytical tool for stone artefact analysis. Laser and structured light scanning, photogrammetry, and CT scanning have all been used to model stone artefacts. These have been combined with a variety of different analytical approaches, from geometric morphometrics to custom reduction indices to digital elevation maps. 3D lithic analyses are increasingly global in scope and studies aim to address an ever-broadening breadth of research topics ranging from testing the functional efficiency of artefacts to assessing the cognitive capabilities of hominid populations. While the impact of the computational revolution on lithic analysis has been reviewed, the impact of 3D modelling on lithic analysis has yet to be comprehensively assessed. This paper presents a review of how 3D modelling in particular has impacted the field of stone artefact analysis. It combines a quantitative bibliometric analysis with a qualitative review to assess just how "revolutionary" 3D modelling has been for lithic analysis. It explores trends in the use of 3D modelling in stone artefact analysis, its impact on the wider lithic analysis field, and methodological, regional and theoretical gaps which future research projects could explore.

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Holocene grinding stones at Madjedbebe reveal the processing of starchy plant taxa and animal tissue

Cited by 14 publications

References 50 publications

65,000-years of continuous grinding stone use at Madjedbebe, Northern Australia

65,000-years of continuous grinding stone use at Madjedbebe, Northern Australia

Holocene climate–fire–vegetation feedbacks in tropical savannas: Insights from the Marura sinkhole, East Arnhem Land, northern Australia

After the Revolution: A Review of 3D Modelling as a Tool for Stone Artefact Analysis

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