Home Is Where the Hearth Is: Anthracological and Microstratigraphic Analyses of Pleistocene and Holocene Combustion Features, Riwi Cave (Kimberley, Western Australia)

Abstract

The manipulation of fire is a technological act. The identification of the archaeological signatures of the controlled use of fire has important implications not only for the estimations of the origins and functions of the first fireplaces but also for our understanding of prehistoric technological development and resource use. At Riwi (Kimberley region, Western Australia), excavations over two field seasons have revealed a discontinuous occupation sequence over the past 45 ka, showing numerous, different combustion features interspersed within the deposit. Anthracological and micromorphological investigations at Riwi Cave indicate that the combustion features at the site can be categorised into three types: flat combustion features (type A), dug combustion features (type B) and thick accumulations of mixed combustion residues (type C). These provide evidence for two kinds of combustion practice: (i) fires lit directly on the ground and most likely not re-used and (ii) ground ovens, the latter appearing some 10,000 years after the first evidence for occupation of the site. A comparison of the wood species identified within these combustion features with those from equivalent scattered context levels, enables an exploration of the potential factors influencing wood selection and fire use through time at the site. A detailed understanding of the relationship between wood charcoal remains and archaeological context yields significant information on changes to environmental context and site occupation patterns over time.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s10816-017-9354-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Long‐term occupation on the edge of the desert: Riwi Cave in the southern Kimberley, Western Australia

“…Whitau et al . () and Vannieuwenhuyse () described three types of hearths at Riwi, all of which are clearly visible in section (Figure ). Type A hearths are flat and were lit directly onto the deposit surface; they are only type found in deposits older than 34 kya.…”

“…Square 3 has a more strongly differentiated stratigraphic pattern in bone quantities (Figure ), with a huge spike in 5 mm bone quantities between XUs 5 and 10, where hearth features F2, F4, F5 and F8 have been identified (Whitau et al . ). Below XU 10, there are three lesser peaks centred on XUs 16–18, XUs 22–24 and XUs 27–30 that contain hearths and correspond to a similar distribution of other archaeological materials (Figure ).…”

“…Instead, the variation in burning composition most probably reflects variation in human behaviour through time or across the site, especially the concentration of calcined bone in the upper part of the deposit, where the most hearth evidence is found (Whitau et al . ).…”

“…The distribution of hearths (Figure ) is more even, although the thick ashy layer across the deposit in SU 2 probably represents several superimposed combustion events (Whitau et al . ) and so might suggest a Holocene peak in hearth making associated with the peaks in other materials.…”

What happened after the Last Glacial Maximum? Transitions in site use on an arid inland island in north‐western Australia

“…Most hearths at Yurlu Kankala are “low‐investment” open hearths (Galanidou ), or “flat combustion features” (Type A of Whitau et al . ) where fires are lit directly on the shelter floor. Whitau et al .…”