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

Abstract

Aboriginal people occupied Riwi, a limestone cave in the south-central Kimberley region at the edge of the Great Sandy Desert of WesternAustralia, from about 46000 years ago through to the historical period. The cultural materials recovered from the Riwi excavations provide evidence of intermittent site use, especially in climatically wet periods. Changes in hunting patterns and in hearth-making practices about 34000 years ago appear to accompany a change to drought resistant vegetation in the site surrounds. Occupation during the Last Glacial Maximum highlights variation in aridity trends in the broader environmental record. The most intensive use of the cave was during a wet period in the early to middle Holocene, when people appear to have received marine shell beads from the coast through social networks. While there is less evidence for late Holocene occupation, this probably reflects deposition processes rather than an absence of occupation. RÉSUMÉLes fouilles archéologiques de Riwi, une grotte karstique au sud du Kimberley (région situéeà la lisière nord du Great Sandy Désert en Australie-Occidentale) ont permis de mettre enévidence des traces d'occupation aborigène datées entre 46000 ans jusqu'à la période historique. Le matériel découvert et les analyses paléoenvironnementales démontrent une utilisation intermittente du site, avec une préférence pour les périodes humides. Autour de 34000 ans, on observe un changement des pratiques liéesà la chasse et la construction de foyers associéà l'expansion d'une végétation xérophile (adaptéeà la sécheresse). La présence de niveaux datés du dernier maximum glaciaire démontre une fois de plus qu'il existe une grande variabilité au sein même des enregistrements environnementaux datés de cetté epoque. La période d'occupation la plus intense se situe durant une période humide au début de l'Holocène moyen au cours de laquelle on observe aussi deséchanges culturels de longues distances mis enévidence par la présence de perles de coquillages marins provenant de régions costales. L'occupation datant de l'Holocène tardif est discrète, probablement dueà un changement de dynamique sédimentaire dans la grotte.

Retouched, rejuvenated, recycled and occasionally hafted as projectiles: stone points of Holocene Australia

“…The Riwi excavation (Balme et al . ) recovered nine points, none with DIF. A convergent flake with DIF burin scar propagating along the right margin was recovered, which also contained polish on the ventral proximal surface (Figure b).…”

“…Each of the excavated samples’ lithic assemblages have been published elsewhere, including all associated radiocarbon dates (Balme et al . ; Maloney et al . , , , ; O'Connor ; O'Connor et al .…”

“…The convergent flake sample from square five ( n = 141) [stratigraphic unit 1 of square 5 (Balme et al . : 40‐41)], which contained all of the sites’ points, revealed no other DIF or resin staining. A single burin core with spalls initiated from a transverse snap reveals recycling of at least one broken unifacial point.…”

“…Sites with points include Mount Behn ( n = 137), Riwi ( n = 9), Widgingarri 1 and 2 ( n = 42), Carpenters Gap 3 ( n = 9), Carpenters Gap 1 ( n = 2), Djuru ( n = 3), Brooking Gorge ( n = 1), and Moonggaroonggoo ( n = 14) – see Figure (Balme et al . ; Maloney et al . , , , , , ; O'Connor ; O'Connor et al .…”

An Introduction to Aboriginal Fishing Cultures and Legacies in Seafood Sustainability

“…Together, the Aboriginal Peoples of Australia are the "longest surviving continuous culture in the world" [73]. A limestone cave (Riwi), in the south-central Kimberley region, Western Australia, showed occupancy~46,000 years ago [74], and in Kakadu, Australia, the Madjedbebe rock shelter shows evidence of human activity~60,000-50,000 years ago [75]. Scientific records of the fish and animal extinction which may have occurred preceding the European settlement of Australia are obviously limited.…”