Bone artifacts from Riwi Cave, south-central Kimberley: Reappraisal of the timing and role of osseous artifacts in northern Australia
Author(s)
Langley, Michelle C
Balme, Jane
O'Connor, Sue
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2021
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
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 ...
View more >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.
View less >
View more >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.
View less >
Journal Title
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology
Note
This publication has been entered in Griffith Research Online as an advanced online version.
Subject
Medical anthropology
Archaeology
Geology
Anthropology
Science & Technology
Social Sciences
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Anthropology