Rock shelters as indicators of mobility patterns in the inland <scp>P</scp>ilbara

Bird, Caroline; Rhoads, James W.

doi:10.1002/arco.5055

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Brown ; Nicholson & Crane ; Veth ; but cf. Bird & Rhoads ) in suggesting that caves or rock shelters such as this were only used very occasionally, presumably for a range of purposes, for short periods of time. People visited Yurlu Kankala very occasionally, bringing with them locally sourced tool‐stone.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Reynen

Vannieuwenhuyse

Morse

et al. 2018

Archaeology in Oceania

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The presence of Aboriginal people in interior refuges as climate conditions deteriorated with the onset of glacial aridity is now well documented in the Australian arid zone. Further excavation at Yurlu Kankala, a large rock shelter located on an island of high land in the inland Pilbara, demonstrates repeated human occupation from at least 47-43 cal ka BP through the Last Glacial Maximum to the mid-Holocene. Despite the continued presence of bone representing human food remains and an increased occurrence of hearths, after 18-17 cal ka BP there is a dramatic reduction in stone artefact numbers, suggesting that use of the site changed markedly. In exploring the drivers behind this change, we investigate the role of rock shelters in Aboriginal land-use systems in the Pleistocene Pilbara. Yurlu Kankala makes a substantive contribution to answering questions on changing rock shelter and landscape use during the post-LGM movement of people into the wider Pilbara uplands. RÉSUMÉ La présence de population de chasseurs-cueilleurs dans les zones refuges de la zone aride australienne au coeur du dernier maximum glaciaire est aujourd'hui bien documentée. La séquence de Yurlu Kankala, un grand abri sous roche dans les terres intérieures du Pilbara, a révélé une occupation humaine débutantà 47-43 cal BP et persistantà travers le dernier maximum glacière jusqu'au milieu de l'Holocène. Les restes de faune retrouvées et un nombre important de foyers suggèrent des occupations brèves mais répétées au cours du Pléistocène. Cependant, après 18-17 cal BP, une réduction importante de l'industrie lithique suggère un changement d'utilisation du site. En explorant les différents facteurs possiblesà l'origine de ce changement, nous essayons de mieux comprendre le rôle des abris sous roche dans les systèmes d'occupation du territoire dans le Pilbara au Pléistocène. Yurlu Kankala apporte ainsi une contribution importante aux problématiques archéologiques régionales tels que les changements de type d'occupation des abris sous roche au cours du temps mais aussi l'occupation et l'utilisation du territoire dans le Pilbaraà la suite du dernier maximum glaciaire.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Reynen

Vannieuwenhuyse

Morse

et al. 2018

Archaeology in Oceania

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Tracing pathways: writing archaeology in Nyiyaparli country

Bird

Hook

Rhoads

2019

Archaeology in Oceania

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The Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 (WA) uniquely placed Aboriginal perspectives at the heart of assessing significance and protecting Aboriginal places, alongside “historical, anthropological, archaeological and ethnographic” interests. In practice, however, archaeological and anthropological assessments have been routinely separated in development surveys. A narrow “scientific” paradigm has come to provide the overarching model for significance assessments and, thereby, archaeological survey and site recording. Arguably, WA Aboriginal heritage management now embodies an impoverished discourse that depersonalises the archaeological record and undervalues Aboriginal archaeological places. In this paper, we explore alternative ways to weigh up archaeological evidence through an interweaving of Aboriginal understandings about archaeology, sites and country with our own archaeological understandings. We describe and analyse connections between different components of the archaeological record along Kakutungutanta Creek in Nyiyaparli Country in the eastern Chichester Range. This analysis suggests an alternative approach to assessing the significance of these sites, based on landscape and Ingold's (1993) concept of the “taskscape”. This, we argue, better reflects Nyiyaparli and archaeological understandings of place and provides a sound basis for communicating the significance and meaning to clients, government and the wider community.

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