Bone artifacts from Riwi Cave, south-central Kimberley: Reappraisal of the timing and role of osseous artifacts in northern Australia

Abstract

Here, we describe eight bone artifacts recovered from Pleistocene and Holocene contexts at Riwi, a cave site located in Mimbi country of the south-central Kimberley. These artifacts reflect a range of activities occurring at the site—including the manufacture of plant-fiber items, the processing of spinifex resin, and fish or bird hunting. As the oldest four artifacts were found within the Pleistocene deposit and therefore date to older than 35,000 cal. BP, these tools represent some of the most ancient bone technologies thus far identified in northern Australia. Such rare finds are helping to rewrite stories surrounding the innovation and use of osseous technologies on the Australian continent.