- Film Analysis, Handedness, Lithics, Geometric Morphometrics, Apprenticeship Learning, Evolutionary Psychology, and 25 moreCognitive Science of Religion, Horror Film, Chaîne Opératoire, Residue Analysis (Archaeology), Evolution of Hominin and Human Behaviour, Agent-based modeling, Agent Based Simulation, Agent-Based Computational Economics, Agent Based Modeling and Simulation, Lithic Technology, Antiquarianism, Lithic Refitting, Middle Palaeolithic, Mousterian, Ancient DNA of Human Populations, Photogrammetry, Digital Photogrammetry applied to Archaeology, Pareidolia, The Origin of the Hebrew god Yahweh and the adoption of monotheism., Autism Spectrum Disorders, Amnesia, Memento, Anterograde Amnesia, Long Term Memory, and Memory (Cognitive Psychology)edit
- As an archaeologist my research involves syntheses of Australian prehistory, studies of Palaeolithic transitions in E... moreAs an archaeologist my research involves syntheses of Australian prehistory, studies of Palaeolithic transitions in Europe and Africa, creation of methods for inferring lithic artefact reduction, and studies of the public image of archaeology. Increasingly I advocate for improved workplace understanding of and opportunity for people with ASD and ADHD.edit
Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of agriculture, but the extent, trajectory, and implications of these early changes are not well understood. An empirical global assessment of land use from... more
Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of agriculture, but the extent, trajectory, and implications of these early changes are not well understood. An empirical global assessment of land use from 10,000 years before the present (yr B.P.) to 1850 CE reveals a planet largely transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers, and pastoralists by 3000 years ago, considerably earlier than the dates in the land-use reconstructions commonly used by Earth scientists. Synthesis of knowledge contributed by more than 250 archaeologists highlighted gaps in archaeological expertise and data quality, which peaked for 2000 yr B.P. and in traditionally studied and wealthier regions. Archaeological reconstruction of global land-use history illuminates the deep roots of Earth’s transformation and challenges the emerging Anthropocene paradigm that large-scale anthropogenic global environmental change is mostly a recent phenomenon.
This book is an introduction to the archaeology of Australia from prehistoric times to the eighteenth century AD. Lucidly written, it shows the diversity and colourfulness of the history of humanity in the southern continent. The... more
This book is an introduction to the archaeology of Australia from prehistoric times to the eighteenth century AD. Lucidly written, it shows the diversity and colourfulness of the history of humanity in the southern continent. The Archaeology of Ancient Australia demonstrates with an array of illustrations and clear descriptions of key archaeological evidence from Australia a thorough evaluation of Australian prehistory. Readers are shown how this human past can be reconstructed from archaeological evidence, supplemented by information from genetics, environmental sciences, anthropology, and history. The result is a challenging view about how varied human life in the ancient past has been.
This won the John Mulvaney Book Award:
http://www.australianarchaeologicalassociation.com.au/book_award/#hiscock
The nominators described this book as being the first wide-ranging overview of problems in Pleistocene and Holocene Australian history for many years. Rather than a bald account of sites and dates, it grapples with the evidence and puts each problem into a coherent, well-argued framework, thus making the book a scholarly, scientific introduction for students and ensuring it will become a starting point for other scholars. Writing from an archaeological perspective, Hiscock argues strongly and cogently, for the need to deal with the archaeological data as free-standing, and the long duree as the basic structure, suitable for the dating methods and accumulative and taphonomic process of most of the Australian record. He doesn’t dismiss ethnography, but recognises its limitations. Stemming from the foregoing, is that Australian history becomes a story of continuous dynamic change and adaptation. Hiscock’s study really shines in the way he views the archaeological record as one which must be seen as partial and incomplete and it is only in understanding the nature of that partiality and incompleteness that we can see beyond it into history. Quellenforschung, the historians call it, source criticism, and it has rarely been better done in archaeology. Through this book we can see where we stand on solid ground, and where the known unknowns lie.
This won the John Mulvaney Book Award:
http://www.australianarchaeologicalassociation.com.au/book_award/#hiscock
The nominators described this book as being the first wide-ranging overview of problems in Pleistocene and Holocene Australian history for many years. Rather than a bald account of sites and dates, it grapples with the evidence and puts each problem into a coherent, well-argued framework, thus making the book a scholarly, scientific introduction for students and ensuring it will become a starting point for other scholars. Writing from an archaeological perspective, Hiscock argues strongly and cogently, for the need to deal with the archaeological data as free-standing, and the long duree as the basic structure, suitable for the dating methods and accumulative and taphonomic process of most of the Australian record. He doesn’t dismiss ethnography, but recognises its limitations. Stemming from the foregoing, is that Australian history becomes a story of continuous dynamic change and adaptation. Hiscock’s study really shines in the way he views the archaeological record as one which must be seen as partial and incomplete and it is only in understanding the nature of that partiality and incompleteness that we can see beyond it into history. Quellenforschung, the historians call it, source criticism, and it has rarely been better done in archaeology. Through this book we can see where we stand on solid ground, and where the known unknowns lie.
Research Interests:
Hiscock, P. and V. Attenbrow 2005 Australia's Eastern Regional Sequence revisited: Technology and change at Capertee 3. British Archaeological Reports. International Monograph Series 1397. Oxford:Archaeopress. ISBN 1 84171 836 X. This... more
Hiscock, P. and V. Attenbrow 2005 Australia's Eastern Regional Sequence revisited: Technology and change at Capertee 3. British Archaeological Reports. International Monograph Series 1397. Oxford:Archaeopress. ISBN 1 84171 836 X.
This monograph represents a new step in Australian archaeology. It presents a detailed quantitative, technological analysis of flaked stone artefacts, of a kind not published previously in Australia. The detailed nature of the analysis reflects the measurement of a large number of variables on each specimen, as well as the use of those measurements in an extended study of the archaeological patterns. The detail of these analyses can be judged by the fact that the monograph deals with only one archaeological assemblage: the stone artefacts from Capertee 3, a site excavated in the Blue Mountains immediately west of Sydney. This volume develops and tests models of artefact variation and production to an extent not seen before in Australia. More importantly, the analysis of data involves the statistical interrogation of quantitative measurements and is designed to reveal the magnitude and direction of morphological variation within the assemblage. The technological approach adopted allows for the first time in Australian archaeology an evaluation of the nature of changes in the manufacture of retouched flakes in a sequence spanning the entire Holocene. This evaluation enhances current understanding of cultural change in Holocene eastern Australia by allowing the testing of a number of propositions about the rate and uniformity of change in archaeological assemblages. In particular these analyses initiate a review of models of the Eastern Regional Sequence by creating a record of the stoneworking processes in one of the key archaeological sites that define the purported Eastern Regional Sequence.
This monograph represents a new step in Australian archaeology. It presents a detailed quantitative, technological analysis of flaked stone artefacts, of a kind not published previously in Australia. The detailed nature of the analysis reflects the measurement of a large number of variables on each specimen, as well as the use of those measurements in an extended study of the archaeological patterns. The detail of these analyses can be judged by the fact that the monograph deals with only one archaeological assemblage: the stone artefacts from Capertee 3, a site excavated in the Blue Mountains immediately west of Sydney. This volume develops and tests models of artefact variation and production to an extent not seen before in Australia. More importantly, the analysis of data involves the statistical interrogation of quantitative measurements and is designed to reveal the magnitude and direction of morphological variation within the assemblage. The technological approach adopted allows for the first time in Australian archaeology an evaluation of the nature of changes in the manufacture of retouched flakes in a sequence spanning the entire Holocene. This evaluation enhances current understanding of cultural change in Holocene eastern Australia by allowing the testing of a number of propositions about the rate and uniformity of change in archaeological assemblages. In particular these analyses initiate a review of models of the Eastern Regional Sequence by creating a record of the stoneworking processes in one of the key archaeological sites that define the purported Eastern Regional Sequence.
Research Interests:
Desert Peoples: Archaeological Perspectives provides an issues-oriented overview of hunter-gatherer societies in desert landscapes that combines archaeological and anthropological perspectives and includes a wide range of regional and... more
Desert Peoples: Archaeological Perspectives provides an issues-oriented overview of hunter-gatherer societies in desert landscapes that combines archaeological and anthropological perspectives and includes a wide range of regional and thematic case studies.
* Brings together, for the first time, studies from deserts as diverse as the sand dunes of Australia, the U.S. Great Basin, the coastal and high altitude deserts of South America, and the core deserts of Africa
* Examines the key concepts vital to understanding human adaptation to marginal landscapes and the behavioral and belief systems that underpin them
* Explores the relationship among desert hunter-gatherers, herders, and pastoralists
* Brings together, for the first time, studies from deserts as diverse as the sand dunes of Australia, the U.S. Great Basin, the coastal and high altitude deserts of South America, and the core deserts of Africa
* Examines the key concepts vital to understanding human adaptation to marginal landscapes and the behavioral and belief systems that underpin them
* Explores the relationship among desert hunter-gatherers, herders, and pastoralists
Research Interests:
Change in Holocene Australia is typically depicted as establishing greater control over the environment, with heightened prosperity, growth of social complexity, status competition, intergroup congregation, and population. Endogenous... more
Change in Holocene Australia is typically depicted as establishing greater control over the environment, with heightened prosperity, growth of social complexity, status competition, intergroup congregation, and population. Endogenous social processes altered Australian forager life yielding, on average, increased per capita output. Those claims were named Intensification. We critique that concept, re-evaluate evidence, and conclude there is no evidence for release from environmental constraint or heightened prosperity. Our model is more capable of explaining change in Holocene Australia. This Red Queen model claims cultural changes reflect unfavourable alterations in economic opportunity, driven by coevolution with dingos during worsening environmental conditions. Restructured environments with fewer high ranked foods led to greater diet breadth, expansion into marginal landscapes, and focus on atypical resource rich spots. By increasing their labour groups sought to maintain population size, this strategy reducing the likelihood of neighbouring groups seizing resource hot spots. Foragers responded to tensions with neighbours over resource access by magnifying social defence, offering limited use of resources in return for maintenance of territorial control. Those political negotiations constructed moderately stable alliances. We test the Red Queen model and show it, not Intensification, explains the emergence of ethnographically identified social interactions, economy and settlement systems.
Research Interests:
A detailed quantitative analysis of flake retouching at Capertee 3, a site excavated in the Blue Mountains immediately west of Sydney, reveals the magnitude and direction of technological change in eastern Australia. Our analyses contain... more
A detailed quantitative analysis of flake retouching at Capertee 3, a site excavated in the Blue Mountains immediately west of Sydney, reveals the magnitude and direction of technological change in eastern Australia. Our analyses contain four revelations: i) there are a small number of artefactual classes, ii) morphological variation in retouched flakes is related to the amount of reduction, iii) parallel technological change occurs in different retouching systems, and iv) technological change is complex and multi-directional rather than uni-directional and stadial. These conclusions provide a novel depiction of prehistoric technology and technological change in this region, and offer support to adaptive rather than diffusionist models of technological change in Australia
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Unresolved questions about the nature and coherence of microlithic production in Sri Lanka underlay many discussions about the microlith tradition in this region as well as the origins of those technologies and norms. Previous studies... more
Unresolved questions about the nature and coherence of microlithic production in Sri Lanka underlay many discussions about the microlith tradition in this region as well as the origins of those technologies and norms. Previous studies have not examined whether there were changes over time in the form of the microliths themselves, and in this paper, we conduct a geometric morphometric (GM) assessment of the shape differences over time at the Batadomba-lena site in the Wet Zone of Sri Lanka, excavated by Deraniyagala and Perera. We show that there were complex shifts in microlith shapes, with diversification of forms over time. This finding challenges conventional typological depictions of sameness within microliths and introduces a new approach to studying the evolution of microlith form.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Signalling is a critical capacity in modern human cultures but it has often been difficult to identify and understand on lithic artefacts from pre-literate contexts. Often archaeologists have minimized the signalling role of lithic tools... more
Signalling is a critical capacity in modern human cultures but it has often been difficult to identify and understand on lithic artefacts from pre-literate contexts. Often archaeologists have minimized the signalling role of lithic tools by arguing for strong form-function relationships that constrained signalling or else imposed ethnographic information on the archaeological patterns with the assumption they assist in defining the signalling carried out in prehistory. In this paper I present a case study for which it can be shown that function does not correlate with form and that the technology fell out of use 1000–1500 years ago. This means that neither presumptions of continuity in social practice nor reference to tool use provide strong explanations for the size, shape standardization and regional differentiation of Australian microliths. Sender-receiver signalling theory is harnessed to motivate a new synthesis of these microliths, and I demonstrate that not only were these ar...
Research Interests:
Normative depictions of reduction created by unquantified studies of core classifi cations often lead analysts to infer rigid, linear sequences. Normative depictions of core reduction enable, perhaps even encourage, some researchers to... more
Normative depictions of reduction created by unquantified studies of core classifi cations often lead analysts to infer rigid, linear sequences. Normative depictions of core reduction enable, perhaps even encourage, some researchers to believe that they are observing design. This proposition is evaluated using quantitative measurements of refi tted sequences of core reduction from the Gulf of Carpentaria. The results demonstrate that cores were discarded at similar sizes and shapes even though they began the reduction process in radically different states, and conversely, cobbles of similar sizes and shapes produced distinctly different discarded cores. The inability to predict outcomes in any simple way is a product of the contingency of the complex process of knapping. The existence of situationally-determined (or evoked) shifts in knapping behaviour and artefact morphology may confound inferences about all phases of the manufacturing process based on a simple analysis of end products. This conclusion emphasises the importance of not only studying process rather than static discard products, but also the need to examine the nature and magnitude of variation in reduction rather than developing normative depictions of knapping processes with the presumption that core morphologies reflect predetermined plans in some simple way.
Research Interests:
Convergence in stone-tool technology, much like in biology, was likely a recurring phenomenon throughout the last three million years of human evolution, where functional and economic constraints exerted strong selection on tool size and... more
Convergence in stone-tool technology, much like in biology, was likely a recurring phenomenon throughout the last three million years of human evolution, where functional and economic constraints exerted strong selection on tool size and form as well as other characteristics of technological systems. Some of the best examples of convergent stone working include the Nubian Levallois method (Will, Mackay, and Phillips 2015); overshot flaking of Solutrean and Palaeoindian points (Eren, Patten, O’Brien, and Meltzer 2013b; chapter 1, this volume); fluting on Palaeoindian and southern Arabian points (Crassard 2009); ground-edge axe technology in Pleistocene Australasia, Japan, and multiple Neolithic societies (Clarkson et al. 2015; Hiscock, O’Connor, Balme, and Maloney 2016; Takashi 2012); pressure blade technology in Mesoamerica and Eurasia (Crabtree 1968; Pelegrin 2003); and punch flaking on Danish and Polynesian adzes (Shipton, Weisler, Jacomb, Clarkson, and Walter 2016; Stueber 2010). Likewise, countless more or less identical tool forms appear around the globe in different times and places as the product of seemingly independent invention to meet local needs, be they burins, end scrapers, blades, or discoidal cores. The question is not whether convergence took place, but whether it was common and widespread or took place only under exceptional circumstances. There are many reasons for thinking it was the former, but providing compelling evidence for independent origins without contact between regions, as well as deriving robust evolutionary explanations, are ongoing challenges for archeology. Multiple lines of evidence are required to test such arguments, and these might typically involve experimentation, modeling selective environments, and developing appropriate means of analyzing archeological and environmental data to determine the context of autochthonous development rather than cultural transmission from other populations. Here we propose that the backing of microliths—applying steep, blunting retouch along one edge—is a highly evolvable trait that emerged many times in different places around the world for the specific advantages it conferred in certain contexts. This view contradicts a popular notion that the microlithic technology emerged once in Africa, then spread as a package with modern humans to neighboring regions of Europe and Southwest Asia and eventually to Asia and Australia (Mellars 2006)—an idea that replicates much earlier attempts to use microliths to track population movements across these continents (Brown 1899). To deconstruct that idea, we briefly review the record of microlith origins worldwide, illustrating that microlithic technology occurs not only on separate continents at vastly different time periods but also among different hominin species. We argue that this is because backing was both highly discoverable and advantageous, and as such the trait evolved into near-identical lithic industries in many parts of the world, despite a lack of any recent historical connections. To better frame this argument, we consider the issue of what is, in fact, advantageous and evolvable about backing. We present experimental results that show the existence of key properties shared by backed microliths that may have been selected multiple times in the past—some of which are functional constraints created by the backing itself, whereas others are desirable properties that likely conveyed certain advantages to their users.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This monograph represents a new step in Australian archaeology. It presents a detailed quantitative, technological analysis of flaked stone artefacts, of a kind not published previously in Australia. The detailed nature of the analysis... more
This monograph represents a new step in Australian archaeology. It presents a detailed quantitative, technological analysis of flaked stone artefacts, of a kind not published previously in Australia. The detailed nature of the analysis reflects the measurement of a large number of variables on each specimen, as well as the use of those measurements in an extended study of the archaeological patterns. The monograph deals with only one archaeological assemblage: the stone artefacts from Capertee 3, a site excavated in the Blue Mountains immediately west of Sydney. This volume develops and tests models of artefact variation and production to an extent not seen before in Australia. More importantly, the analysis of data involves the statistical interrogation of quantitative measurements and is designed to reveal the magnitude and direction of morphological variation within the assemblage. The technological approach adopted allows for the first time in Australian archaeology an evaluation of the nature of changes in the manufacture of retouched flakes in a sequence spanning the entire Holocene. This evaluation enhances current understanding of cultural change in Holocene eastern Australia by allowing the testing of a number of propositions about the rate and uniformity of change in archaeological assemblages. In particular these analyses initiate a review of models of the Eastern Regional Sequence by creating a record of the stoneworking processes in one of the key archaeological sites that define the purported Eastern Regional Sequence.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Abstract Geographical variation in backed artefact size and morphology has long been recognised in Australia. This paper evaluates a novel measure of symmetry that can quantify regional and continental-scale geographic patterns in backed... more
Abstract Geographical variation in backed artefact size and morphology has long been recognised in Australia. This paper evaluates a novel measure of symmetry that can quantify regional and continental-scale geographic patterns in backed artefact forms. The result indicates that we can construct new depictions of regional differences in Australian backed artefacts, and that evolutionary explorations of those differences are worthwhile.
Research Interests:
Abstract The distinctive tool called 'tula'is an endemic adaptation, which was adopted by Aboriginal people across central and western Australia, encompassing some two-thirds of the continent. The tula is a hafted tool... more
Abstract The distinctive tool called 'tula'is an endemic adaptation, which was adopted by Aboriginal people across central and western Australia, encompassing some two-thirds of the continent. The tula is a hafted tool used for working hardwoods as well as other tasks including butchery and plant-processing. The geographic spread of tulas appears to have been rapid and no antecedent form has been identified. The sudden appearance of tulas was coincident with the onset of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions. While we ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT Throughout the Palaeolithic and across the globe small, regular cores were made using bipolar techniques, in which the object was placed between an anvil and hammer. While there has been much discussion about whether they might... more
ABSTRACT Throughout the Palaeolithic and across the globe small, regular cores were made using bipolar techniques, in which the object was placed between an anvil and hammer. While there has been much discussion about whether they might have been used as tools or were debris from a manufacturing process it is likely that both are true in different locations and at different times. What is distinctive about the bipolar technique is that it allows knappers to work artefacts down to a very small size, and this may facilitate the extension of both core life and tool life. In this article a model of that miniaturization process is evaluated against Holocene material from Australia and Middle Stone Age material from South Africa. It is likely that the capacity to miniaturize lithic artefacts would have been valuable in a variety of Palaeolithic contexts.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Can archaeologists describe human population size and population growth in prehistoric Australia? This question is at the heart of some of the most intense debates about Australian prehistory: investigations into the spread of people into... more
Can archaeologists describe human population size and population growth in prehistoric Australia? This question is at the heart of some of the most intense debates about Australian prehistory: investigations into the spread of people into Australia, the rate of dispersal of people across the continent and the impact of colonisers on the environment. Australian researchers have proposed explicit models of population change based on measurements of quantities of “things” as proxies for regional and continental-wide demographic change, the most common being numbers of habitation sites and/or numbers of artefacts per millennium. Recent researchers have focused on the number of radiometric dates as the proxy for numbers of people. This paper offers an overview of existing models, concluding with a brief critique of the proposition that number of dates per unit time must be reflecting demographic patterns. We suggest that alternative and novel interpretations of large compiled radiometric databases be considered, as these data can contribute to research questions beyond those of demography. Expanding the range of research agendas that employ radiometric datasets may repay the labour invested in their compilation while allowing exploration of the diverse questions about the Australian past that remain unanswered.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Page 1. Ancient Australia Peter Hiscock Page 2. Archaeology of Ancient Australia Australia has been inhabited for 50,000 years. This clear and compelling book shows how it is possible to unearth this country's long human... more
Page 1. Ancient Australia Peter Hiscock Page 2. Archaeology of Ancient Australia Australia has been inhabited for 50,000 years. This clear and compelling book shows how it is possible to unearth this country's long human history ...
Research Interests: Geography and Archaeology
Notes on Contributors.1. Global Deserts in Perspective: Mike Smith, Peter Veth, Peter Hiscock and Lynley A. Wallis (National Museum of Australia Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies The Australian National... more
Notes on Contributors.1. Global Deserts in Perspective: Mike Smith, Peter Veth, Peter Hiscock and Lynley A. Wallis (National Museum of Australia Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies The Australian National University The Australian National University).Part I: Frameworks:.2. Theoretical Shifts in the Anthropology of Desert Hunter-Gatherers: Thomas Widlok (University of Heidelberg).3. Pleistocene Settlement of Deserts from an Australian Perspective: Peter Hiscock and Lynley A. Wallis (both at The Australian National University).4. Arid Paradises of Dangerous Landscapes: A Review of Explanations for Paleolithic Assemblage Change in Arid Australia and Africa: Peter Hiscock and Sue O'Connor (both at The Australian National University).Part II: Dynamics:.5. Evolutionary and Ecological Understandings of the Economics of Desert Societies: Comparing the Great Basin USA and the Australian Deserts: Douglas W. Bird and Rebecca Bliege Bird (both at University of Maine).6. Cycles of Aridity and Human Mobility: Risk Minimization amongst Late Pleistocene Foragers of the Western Desert, Australia: Peter Veth (Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies).7. Archaic Faces to Head-Dresses: The Changing Role of Rock Art across the Arid Zone: Jo McDonald (Jo McDonald Cultural Heritage Management Pty Ltd).8. The Archaeology of the Patagonia Deserts: Hunter-Gatherers in a Cold Desert: Luis Alberto Borrero (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas and the Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina).Part III: Interactions:.9. Perspectives on Later Stone Age Hunter-Gatherer Archaeology in Arid Southern Africa: Anne I. Thackeray (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa).10. Long Term Transitions in Hunter-Gatherers of Coastal Northwest Australia: Kathryn Przywolnik (Department of Environment and Conservation (NSW), Sydney, Australia).11. Hunter-Gatherers and Herders of the Kalahari during the Late Holocene: Karim Sadr (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa).12. Desert Archaeology, Linguistic Stratigraphy, and the Spread of the Western Desert Language: Mike Smith (National Museum of Australia).13. People of the Coastal Atacama Desert: Living between Sand Dunes and Waves of the Pacific Ocean: Calogera M. Santoro, Bernardo T. Arriaza, Vivien G. Standen, and Pablo A. Marquet (Universidad de Tarapaca Arica, Chile University of Nevada, Las Vegas Universidad de Tarapaca Arica, Chile Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago).14. Desert Solitude: The Evolution of Ideologies amongst Pastoralists and Hunter-Gatherers in Arid North Africa: Andrew B. Smith (University of Capetown, Rondebosch, South Africa).15. Hunter-Gatherer Interactions with Sheep and Cattle Pastoralists from the Australian Arid Zone: Alistair Paterson (University of Western Australia).16. Conclusion: Major Themes and Future Research Directions: Peter Veth (Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies).General Index.Index of Archaelogical Features and Subjects
Research Interests:
Abstract After more than a century, debate over the explanation of microliths continues. We review debates on three continents (Australia, India and southern Africa), and argue that depictions of them as purely symbolic items manufactured... more
Abstract After more than a century, debate over the explanation of microliths continues. We review debates on three continents (Australia, India and southern Africa), and argue that depictions of them as purely symbolic items manufactured for public display are ...
Research Interests:
This study confirms the increased capacity to predict flake mass that arises from more accurately measuring surface area in three dimensions using a digital scanner. We also reveal the existence of significantly different relationships... more
This study confirms the increased capacity to predict flake mass that arises from more accurately measuring surface area in three dimensions using a digital scanner. We also reveal the existence of significantly different relationships between platform area and flake mass for flakes with different platform types and ventral and dorsal morphologies. These different relationships between platform surface area and mass
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Archaeology, Experimental Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Geochemistry, Materials Science, and 14 moreArchaeological Science, Palaeolithic Archaeology, Heat Treatment, Taphonomy, Lithic Technology, Experimental Design, Lithics, Experimental Research, Lithic taphonomy, Stone artefacts (Archaeology), Raw materials, Stone tools, Experiments, and Critical Temperature
Shell mounds ceased to be built in many parts of coastal northern Australia about 800–600 years ago. They are the subject of stories told by Aboriginal people and some have been incorporated in ritual and political activities during the... more
Shell mounds ceased to be built in many parts of coastal northern Australia about 800–600 years ago. They are the subject of stories told by Aboriginal people and some have been incorporated in ritual and political activities during the last 150 years. These understandings emerged only after termination of the economic and environmental system that created them, 800–600 years ago, in a number of widely separated coastal regions. Modern stories and treatments of these mounds by Aboriginal people concern modern or near-modern practices. Modern views of the mounds, their mythological and ritual associations, may be explained by reference to the socioeconomic transitions seen in the archaeological record; but the recent cultural, social and symbolic statements about these places cannot inform us of the process or ideology concerned with the formation of the mounds. Many Aboriginal communities over the last half a millennium actively formed understandings of new landscapes and systems of...
Research Interests:
LOOKING THE OTHER WAY. A MATERIALIST/TECHNOLOGICAL APPROACH TO CLASSIFYING TOOLS AND IMPLEMENTS, CORES AND RETOUCHED FLAKES. by Peter Hiscock Peter Hiscock, School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National University, ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Backed artefacts, otherwise microliths or backed bladelets, are key indicators of cultural practice in early Australia – but what were they used for? The authors review a number of favourite ideas – hunting, scarification, wood working –... more
Backed artefacts, otherwise microliths or backed bladelets, are key indicators of cultural practice in early Australia – but what were they used for? The authors review a number of favourite ideas – hunting, scarification, wood working – and then apply use-wear analysis and residue studies to three prehistoric assemblages. These showed contact with a wide range of materials: wood, plants, bone, blood, skin and feathers. These results are unequivocal – the backed artefacts were hafted and employed as versatile tools with many functions.
Research Interests:
This article reconsiders the early hominid ‘‘lithic niche’ ’ by examining the social implications of stone artifact making. I reject the idea that making tools for use is an adequate explanation of the elaborate artifact forms of the... more
This article reconsiders the early hominid ‘‘lithic niche’ ’ by examining the social implications of stone artifact making. I reject the idea that making tools for use is an adequate explanation of the elaborate artifact forms of the Lower Palaeolithic, or a sufficient cause for long-term trends in hominid technology. I then advance an alternative mechanism founded on the claim that compe-tency in making stone artifacts requires extended learning, and that excellence in artifact making is attained only by highly skilled individuals who have been taught and practiced for extensive periods. Consequently both com-petency and expertise in knapping comes at a high learning cost for both the individual learner and the social group to which they belong. Those high intrinsic costs of learning created contexts in which groups selected cost-reducing forms of social learning and teaching, and in which spe-cialization could develop. Artifacts and their manufactur-ing processes probably acquired...
The discovery and initial excavation of Dabangay in 2006 established a 7200 year chronology for human settlement on Mabuyag (Mabuiag) in western Torres Strait. This was one of only two Torres Strait sites to pre-date 4000 years ago,... more
The discovery and initial excavation of Dabangay in 2006 established a 7200 year chronology for human settlement on Mabuyag (Mabuiag) in western Torres Strait. This was one of only two Torres Strait sites to pre-date 4000 years ago, providing a rare opportunity to study human activities spanning the mid-to-late Holocene. Remarkable organic preservation and a large mid-Holocene stone artefact assemblage provided insights into long-term continuity and change in lithic technologies and economic strategies; however, results remained preliminary owing to uncertainties about site disturbance. This paper presents results from a second field season of excavations at Dabangay. We suggest chronological association between emerging lithic technologies and altered subsistence practices. Large marine vertebrate bone (present in small quantities from initial settlement), increased after 4200 years ago coincident with increased preference for production of quartz bipolar flakes. A further developm...
Research Interests:
Ground-edge artefacts (GEAs), also known as ground-edge axes, are an independent innovation that date to the earliest sites in Sahul (the continental landmass of Australia and New Guinea). During the Pleistocene, these tools were... more
Ground-edge artefacts (GEAs), also known as ground-edge axes, are an independent innovation that date to the earliest sites in Sahul (the continental landmass of Australia and New Guinea). During the Pleistocene, these tools were localized to the northern parts of the continent. Over time, significant changes took place in the distribution of GEAs, which became an almost continent-wide technology, with distinct regional variations in their form, production, and exchange patterns. This article explores the evolution of GEAs in Sahul, mapping the different trajectories in their production, use, and exchange, while also exploring the different roles that they may have played both socially and economically in their communities of use.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Close Document Image Close Document Printer Image Print This Document! Conservation Information Network (BCIN). Author: Hiscock, Peter; Hughes, Philip J. Title Article/Chapter: "One method of recording scatters of stone ...
Research Interests:
Heat treatment of stone for tool making has important implications for our understanding of the early human history of the Australian continent. New data on the antiquity of Australian heat treatment and its evolution through time in... more
Heat treatment of stone for tool making has important implications for our understanding of the early human history of the Australian continent. New data on the antiquity of Australian heat treatment and its evolution through time in different regions have posed questions about the origin and temporal stability of technical practices. In this paper, we present the first evolutionary sequence of the use of heat treatment in Central Australia, with a trend to lower levels of heat treatment over time. Different trends are found in other regions across Australia: on the eastern seaboard, heat treatment became more prevalent over time, while in the inland, semi-arid Willandra lakes region heat treatment gradually disappeared over time. In central Australia, the long-term trend is towards fewer heat-affected specimens over time, but this happens in a single transition from stable high levels in the Pleistocene to stable moderate levels in the Mid- to Late Holocene. These evolutionary trends are consistent with regional diversification, reflecting adaptations to local conditions, and are not consistent with technological uniformity across the continent.
Research Interests:
Watura Jurnti (DAA #6287) was first occupied in 42000-45000 BP, with evidence of occupation continuing through the arid LGM and deglacial period to c.15000 BP. There was a very pronounced reduction in both occupation and deposition... more
Watura Jurnti (DAA #6287) was first occupied in 42000-45000 BP, with evidence of occupation continuing through the arid LGM and deglacial period to c.15000 BP. There was a very pronounced reduction in both occupation and deposition between c.15000 and 1500 BP. The small size and nature of the stone artefact assemblage indicates that use of the shelter has been intermittent and non-intensive throughout most of the past 42-45 ka. Watura Jurnti is on an isolated ridge on the northern margin of the Pilbara and its occupational history shows that the more marginal areas of the arid zone, including the sandy and stony deserts of adjacent to the northern Pilbara, were subject to intermittent visitation before, during and after the LGM.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of 5 agriculture, but the extent, trajectory, and implications of these early changes are not well understood. An empirical global assessment of land use from... more
Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of 5 agriculture, but the extent, trajectory, and implications of these early changes are not well understood. An empirical global assessment of land use from 10,000 BP to 1850 CE reveals a planet largely transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers and pastoralists by 3,000 years ago, significantly earlier than land-use reconstructions commonly used by Earth scientists. Synthesis of knowledge contributed by over 250 archaeologists highlighted gaps in archaeological 10 expertise and data quality, which peaked at 2000 BP and in traditionally studied and wealthier regions. Archaeological reconstruction of global land-use history illuminates the deep roots of Earth's transformation through millennia of increasingly intensive land use, challenging the emerging Anthropocene paradigm that anthropogenic global environmental change is mostly recent. 15 One Sentence Summary: A map of synthesized archaeological knowledge on land use reveals a planet transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers and pastoralists by 3,000 years ago.
Authors not found on Academia:
Torben Rick, Tim Denham, Jonathan Driver, Heather Thakar, Amber L. Johnson, R. Alan Covey, Jason Herrmann, Carrie Hritz, Catherine Kearns, Dan Lawrence, Michael Morrison, Robert J. Speakman, Martina L. Steffen, Keir M. Strickland, M. Cemre Ustunkaya, Jeremy Powell, Alexa Thornton.
Authors not found on Academia:
Torben Rick, Tim Denham, Jonathan Driver, Heather Thakar, Amber L. Johnson, R. Alan Covey, Jason Herrmann, Carrie Hritz, Catherine Kearns, Dan Lawrence, Michael Morrison, Robert J. Speakman, Martina L. Steffen, Keir M. Strickland, M. Cemre Ustunkaya, Jeremy Powell, Alexa Thornton.