Fibre technologies in Indigenous Australia
Evidence from archaeological excavations in the Kimberley region
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9398412 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jane Balme (0000-0003-1387-9379, The University of Western Australia, corresponding author), Sue O''Connor (0000-0001-9381-078X, Australian National University), Tim Maloney (0000-0002-1167-4743, Griffith University), K Akerman (0000-0001-5823-7818, The University of Western Australia), Ben Keaney (0000-0002-8225-6944, Australian National University), India Ella Dilkes‐hall (0000-0002-6487-0043, The University of Western Australia) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 88 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 115-128 |
| Publication date | 2022-04-20 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Australian Archaeology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0312-2417 • E-ISSN: 2470-0363 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/03122417.2022.2054510 |
| OpenAlex | W4224223324 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 37 |
The extent to which fibre technology was used in the past is difficult to assess because soft organic remains rarely preserve well. The oldest direct evidence for twisted fibre cordage is dated to between 41 and 52 ka in western Eurasia but indirect evidence suggests that it may have a much greater antiquity. The diverse use of string made from fibres of plants, animal and human hair by Indigenous Australians is well documented but poorly represented in archaeological sites. No fibre remains have been recovered from Pleistocene contexts and they are only rarely recorded in later deposits, usually as isolated fragments. Nineteen pieces of twisted fibre recovered from deposits in two limestone caves, Carpenter’s Gap 1 and Riwi in the southern Kimberley, are made from a variety of raw materials and manufacturing techniques. These same techniques and raw materials are documented in anthropological and historical records and in museum collections, demonstrating a continuity of spun fibre practice from the Mid-to-Late Holocene to the present. A comparison of the archaeological twisted fibres with Kimberley objects incorporating string held in the Western Australian Museum, provides further insight into the technology used by Indigenous Australians before the arrival of Europeans
Archaeological evidence · Archaeological record · Archaeology · Biology · Cave · Excavation · Geography · Holocene · Indigenous · Pleistocene · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · History · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Ecology
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Environmental history of northwest Australia based on phytolith analysis at Carpenter's Gap 1
Archaeology of the recent
People-plant interaction and economic botany over 47,000 years of occupation at Carpenter’s Gap 1, south central Kimberley
Direct dating of resin hafted point technology in Australia
Archaeobotany of Aboriginal plant foods during the Holocene at Riwi, south central Kimberley, Western Australia
Year record of food plants in the Southern Kimberley Ranges, Western Australia
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| Citations per year | 1.25 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2022 - 2026 (5) |
| Highly cited | No |