Are the widespread scatters of stone artefacts on dune surfaces in southeastern arid Australia really late Holocene in age

Bibliographic Data

ID11955679
AuthorsPhilip D Hughes (0000-0002-8284-0219, Flinders University, corresponding author), Philip Hughes (0000-0001-7928-5229, Department of Archaeology, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia), Amy M Way (0000-0001-8896-1815, Geoscience and Archaeology, Australian Museum, Sydney, NSW, Australia), Marjorie Sullivan (0000-0001-9856-2375, Department of Archaeology, School of Philosphical and Historical Inquiry, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia)
Year2020
Volume87
Issue1
Pages75-83
Publication date2020-10-20
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAustralian Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0312-2417 • E-ISSN: 2470-0363
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03122417.2020.1826625
OpenAlexW3094507990
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited18

Vast numbers of stone artefact clusters (commonly called artefact scatters) occur on dune surfaces throughout southeastern arid Australia, virtually all of them undated. They were interpreted by researchers in the 1980s and 1990s as being mainly of late Holocene age on the basis of their surface or near-surface locations and the composition of their assemblages, which include backed artefacts, tulas and unifacial points. In this article, we analyse dated archaeological sites in the Roxby dunefield to test the reliability of this interpretation. Our analyses indicate that we can be confident that most of the artefacts in the many thousands of other recorded but undated sites in this dunefield are of late Holocene age. Throughout the region, the post-LGM geomorphic histories of dunes in relation to their archaeological records were broadly similar, allowing us to conclude that, on the balance of probabilities, earlier researchers working throughout the southeast arid zone were correct to conclude that the sites on the surfaces of these dunes were essentially late Holocene in age. Abbreviations: BA+T+UP: backed artefacts, tulas and unifacial points combined; ENSO: El Niño Southern Oscillation; LGM: last glacial maximum; OH&S: occupational health and safety

Archaeology · Arid · Geography · Glacial period · Holocene · Last Glacial Maximum · Physical geography · Aeolian processes and effects · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Geology · Paleontology

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