The Need for Taphonomic Prespective

8/3/2019 The Need for Taphonomic Prespective

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THE NEED FOR A TBPHOROHIC PEBSPECTIVE IN STORE ARTEFACT ANALYSIS

PETER HISCOCKAnthropology & SociologyUniversity o f heensland

INTRODUCTIONIn Australia a number of taphonomic studies suggest that naturalprocesses may cause stone artefacts to mo ve vertically within a sit e(Stockton 1973, Hughes and Lampert 1977, S t e m 19801, and to move aroundthe landscape (Cane 1982). There seems to be a consensus amongst Aust-ralian archaeologists that, while stone artefacts may be moved verti-cally or horizontally, they are virtually indestructible. Consequentlyit is believed that interpreting artefact num bers and morphologiesrequires no taphonomic perspective at all. One recent sentiment reads:The resistance of stone artefacts to physical and che micaldestruction is why they are often the only evidence of humansto have survived from remote prehistoric periods. The field-worker may therefore expect to find artefacts looking as freshas the day they were made and dating from the remotest periodsof human settlement of Australia (Wright 1983:119).This paper argues that in order to derive information about thepast from the qrchaeological record it is necessary to have ataphonomic perspective on morphological characteristics of stoneartefacts. The framework of taphonomy is discussed and it is claime dthat the taphonomic processes whi ch act upo n bone can equally modifystone, and that the main objectives of taphonomic studies in palaeonto-logy can be achieved in the study of prehistoric artefacts. T wo casestudies are presented to demonstrate the mutability of stone artefacts.In the Hunter River Valley artefacts ar e often fragmented, and s itedescriptions wh ich do not involve a taphonomic component m ay over-estimate the n umber of prehistoric artefacts and underestimate theirsize. In northwest Queensland the study of the effects of physical andchemical attrition on stone artefacts provides in rmat ion about th eprehistoric use of fires, the amount of walking which occurred atvarious prehistoric periods, the extent of vertical movement within thedeposit, and the accuracy of artefact recognition. These case s tudiesdemonstrate that only with a taphonomic perspective is it possible toaccurately reconstruct the original composition of an assemblage or to

elicit information about human and non-human site formation processes.


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TAPHONOMYTaphonomy l i t e r a l l y m ea ns ' ' t he l a w s o f b u r ia l " . T r a d i t i o n a l l y i t

h a s b e e n d e f i n e d a s ''...that a r e a o f p a l e o n t o l o g i c a l r e s e a r c h t h a td e f i n e s , d e s c r i b e s , and s y s t e m a t i z e s t h e n a t u r e and e f f e c t s of p r oc es se st h a t a c t o n o r g a n i c r e m a i n s a f t e r d e at h " (G i f f o r d 1 981:366). T hesep r oc e s s e s a r e per c e ived by some a s f a l l i n g i n to tw o r e alm s : t h e s t udy ofwhat happens t o bones between dea th and f i n a l bu r i a l , and t he s tudy ofw h at h a p p e n s b e tw e e n f i n a l b u r i a l a nd r e c o v e r y ( G i f f o r d 1981:367 ).O the rs r e ga r d t he pa s sa ge of bone s fr om the a n im a l t o t he l a bo r a to r y a sinvo lv ing more th an s imp ly proc esses norma l ly s t udi ed a s taphonomy. Fore x a mp l e , G i f f o r d ( 19 81 :3 87 ) a r g u e s t h a t b o n es p a s s t h r o u g h f i v e pr o-c e s s e s : d e a t h , b u r i a l , d i a g e n e t i c c h an g e, e x p o s u r e an d s a m p l i n g , anda n a l y s i s . T a p h o n o m i s t s s t u d y i n g t h e s e p r o c e s s e s ha ve had a v a r i e t y ofo b j e c t i v e s , m os t of w hi ch f a l l i n t o t wo c a t e g o ri e s :

1. I n many pa la eo nt ol og ic al s t u d i e s taphonomy "... involves 'workingback' f ro m t h e f o s s i l as se mb l ag e t o t h e co m po s it io n , s t r u c t u r e andd yn am ic s of t h e p a r e n t p o p u l a t i o n s..." ( 0 l s o n 19 80 ). The u l t i m a t eo b j e c t i v e o f t h i s a pp ro ac h i s t o r e c o n s t r u c t t h e p a l ae oe co l og y ofc e r t a i n a r e a s o r s p ec ie s.

2. Stud ying t h e taphonomic proc esses themselves provides informa-t i o n a b o u t t h e c h an g i ng f u n c t i o n o f t h e p a l a e o n to l o g i c a l s i t e and o fc ha nges i n t h e s u r r ound ing l andsc ape .

Taphonomy h a s l a t e l y f i l l e d s i m i l a r r o l e s i n ~ d s t r a l i a n rchaeo-lo g ic a l res earc h. An unde rs t anding of carn ivo re scavenging, bone f rag-m e n ta t i on a n d /o r bu r n ing and f l u v i a t i l e movemen ts ha s c on t r i bu t e d s i g -n i f i c a n t l y t o a r c h a e o l o g i c a l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . Such s t u d i e s hav e p ro vi de da c l e a r e r i n d i c a t i o n o f t h e n a t u r e a nd c o n t e x t of t h e b on e a ss em b la gewhen i t w as o r i g i n a l l y h a n d l e d by h um an s, a nd o f t h e p r o c e s s e s w hi chm o d i f i e d t h e a s s e m b l a g e ( e g. J o n e s 1 9 8 0 ; W a l t e r s 1 9 84 ; D av id 1 98 4).O t h er s h av e s t r e s s e d t h a t d i s t i n c t i v e p a t t e r n s of r e s i d u e f o rm a t io n (andby i m p l i c a t i o n t h e p r o c es s e s of a t t r i t i o n ) m ig ht a c t a s " ar ch a eo l og i ca ls ig na tu res " of p ar t ic u l ar human and non-human anim al behaviour (ye1 en1977; Gould 1980:113).

I t may appea r pa radox ica l t o t a l k of a taphonomy of s to ne a r te fa c t ss i n c e t h e y a r e i n o r g a ni c and r a r e l y t e l l u s d i r e c t l y ab ou t p a s t e nv ir on -m e n t s . T a k e n i n a w i d e r s e n s e h o w e v e r , many t a p h o n o m i c m e c h an i s ms doa f f e c t s t o n e a r t e f a c t s . I n on e s e n se i n fe r en c e s a bo ut a r t e f a c t f u n ct i o ng a in e d t h r o ug h m i cr o we ar s t u d i e s a r e b as ed upon t h e r e s u l t s of a t t r i t i o n( su c h a s e dg e f r a c t u r i n g , s t r i a t i o n a nd g l o ss ) wh ic h o c cu r s b e f o r e a r t e -f a c t s a r e d i s c a rde d . Numerous r e s e a r c he r s i n to u s ew e ar have a l s o bee nc on ce rn ed t h a t a f t e r a r t e f a c t s a r e d i s c ar d e d t h e i r edg es m ig ht a l s o bedamaged b y a t t r i t i o n w i t h i n t h e d e p o s i t (eg . F l e n n i ke n an d H ag ga rt y1979 ; K e l l e r 197 9 ; Ka mm inga 1982). A n um ber of a r c h a e o l o g i s t s h av ed i s c u s s e d tap ho no my a s o ne f a c t o r i n t h e f s r m a t i o n o f a r c h a e o l o g i c a ls i t e s (c f . Binford 1977; 1978; 1980; 1981; Giffo rd 1980; Sc hi f f er 1976;Su l l i va n 1978). Many of t h e processes which the se a rch aeo log is t s v i su a l -i s e a s f o r m in g s i t e s s ho ul d a p pl y t o s t o ne a r t e f a c t s a s w e l l a s t oorg ani c deb r i s . S ch if fe r and McGuire (1982:255) put i t this way:

The g ro w i n g b od y o f l i t e r a t u r e on fo r m a t i o n p r o c es s e s i sl e a d i n g t o t h e v ie w t h a t a r t i f a c t s be co n s i d er e d m er e l y a sp e c u l i a r p a r t i c l e s i n a s ed i m en t a ry m at ri x. T h i s p e r s p e ct i v e


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assists the archaeologist in recognizing.that sizable numberof formation processes, cultural and noncultural, have obser-vable mechanical effects, such as abrasion, size reduction,size sorting, and vertical and horizontal displacement.Consequently, anun derst andin g of degradational processes wh ichaffect stone artefacts should aid in the reconstruction of originalassemblages and in the identification of archaeo logic al signaturesimprinted by particular forms of degradation.Stone analysts in Australia have not perceived that many of theprocesses of attrition studied in taphonomy, and so widely accepted asaffecting bone debris, might also drastically alter the s t a t e ofarchaeological stone artefacts. In an attempt to demonstrate this, threemechanisms are described in this paper: trampling of artefacts lying onthe ground surface, cooking of artefacts lying just bel ow the groundsurface, and in situ weathering and decay of artefacts in a deposit.During the course of stone artefact analysis at sites in the HunterRiver Valley and in northwest Queensland, these mechanisms were found todramatically alter assemblages.

CASE STUDY 1 - HUNTER RIVER 'VALLEYRedbank Creek 5 (RBC5) is a site in the Hunter River Valley nearSingleton which was partially salvaged in the course of consulting workby Koettig and Hughes (1983). It was chosen from among hundreds of othersites affected by development for its ability to reveal the stratigraph-ic context of the artefacts. Of secondary interest was its high densityof stone pieces, most of which were thought to be artefactual (Koettigand Hughes 1983:26-27, 32). After surface collection and excavation theconsultants analysed one portion of the site, four square metr es in

area, by counting the number of fragments of stone. Since the 179 0pieces of stone they recovered did not occur naturally at the site itwas argued that all these fragments wer e artefacts, thus giving thispart of the site an average density of 450 artefacts per square metre.A subsequent technological analysis by Hiscock (1985) found thatalthough all the stone material had indeed been transported to the site,the number of fragments was a very poor indicator of the numb er ofprehistoric artefacts discarded at the site. Withi n o ne square metrethere were 138 fragments of stone shattered by heat; but there were noartefacts at all. Almost all fragments we re of silcrete. Fur the rmo re,many flakes were broken and counts of the resulting fragments drasti-cally over-estimate the number of knapping events. As an indication ofthe amount of breakage, the numbe r of fragments w hi ch represent eachprehistoric flake removal was calculated for all the artefacts rejoinedin a conjoin analysis. The results can be expressed separately for thetwo types of raw material: 41 silcrete flakes were broken into 82 frag-ments, giving an average of 2 fragments per flake; whereas 16 mudstoneflakes were broken into 23 fragments, giving an average of 1.4 fragmentsper flake. With these figures it is possible to est ima te the origina lnumbe r of complete flakes. Of the 1790 stone fragmen ts 1430 are sil-Crete. Of these 1430 silcrete fragments only 1300 are artefactual. The1300 silcrete artefact fragments derive from 6 50 flakes. Of the 3 60fragments of indurated mudstone about 350 are artefactual and these comefrom about 250 flakes. This calculation gives an estimate of about 900original flakes, half the number of stone fragments recovered.


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The d r a m a t i c d i f f e r e n c e s be twe en t he o r i g in a l a s se m blage and t her e c ove r ed f r a gm e n t s r e ve a l s a n im mense s c ope f o r m i s in t e r p r e t i ng s i m i l a ro p e n s i t e s . I t i s p o s s i b l e t h a t a r c h a e o l o g i s ts m ig ht i d e n t i f y s i t e s w i t ha h i g h e r d e g r e e of f r a g m e n ta t i o n a s t h o s e w i t h h i g h e r a r t e f a c t d e ns i-t i e s , a nd m ore co n s eq u e n tl y a s s e s s t hem a s s i g n i f i c a n t d u r i n g c o n su l t -a n c i e s . A r e l a t e d p ro bl em i s t h a t t h e f r a g me n ts a r e s m a l l e r t h an t h eo r i g i n a l f l a k e , and s o a p p a r e n t v a r i a t i o n s i n a r t e f a c t s i z e b e tw e e ns i t e s o r t h r ou g h t i m e m i g h t r e s u l t f ro m d i f f e r i n g d e gr ee s o f f ra gm en ta -t i o n . I f som e raw m a t e r i a l s b re a k u p m ore f r e q u e n t l y t h a n o t h e r s t h ent h e d e g r e e o f a t t r i t i o n on an a s s e m b la g e m ig h t a l s o d e t e r m i n e t h ep r o p o r t i o n o f e a c h r aw m a t e r i a l i n t h a t a s se mb la ge . D e t a i l e d f i e l dr e c o r d i n g p r o c e d u r e s w ou ld b e r e q u i r e d t o ov er co me t h e s e p o t e n t i a lp i t f a l l s .

A f u r t h e r im p l i c a t i o n of t h e e f f e c t s o f t aphonomic p r oc e s se s on a nassemblage i s seen when we examine chronologica l change i n s t r a t i f i e ds i t e s . T a b l e 1 l i s t s t h e n um ber o f c o m p l e t e f l a k e s an d t h e num ber ofbroken f l ak es made of i ndu ra ted muds tone f o r each lev e l in one square ofSandy Hollow 1 (SHl) , a cave dep os i t nea r th e Hunter River excavated byDavid Moore i n 1965 (Moore 1970). The percen tage of mudstone ar t e f a c t sw h ic h a r e b roke n f l a k e s va r i e d f rom 15% t o 422, and t h e r a t i o o f b roke n:c om ple t e f l a k e s va r i e d f rom 0.2:l-0.9 :l. The s e v a l ue s de m o ns t r a t e t h a te v en a t o n e s i t e an d on o ne s t o n e m a t e r i a l t h e p r o p o r t io n o f b ro ke nf l a k e s c a n v a r y c o n s i d e r a b l y o v e r t i me . A s p e c i f i c e x am p l e f r o m SH1show s how c ha nges i n t h e am ount o f b r oke n a r t e f a c t s c ou ld a f f e c t i n t e rp r e t a t i on . The num ber of c omplet e f l a ke s i n l e v e l s 4 and 516 a r e approx-ima te ly equa l , and much lower than i n s p i t 3 ( see Table 1). H igh amountso f b r e ak a g e i n s p i t 4 and t h e v e r y i n f r e q u e n t br ea ka g e i n s p i t 3 ,h ow ev er, r e s u l t i n t h e t o t a l numb er o f a r t e f a c t u a l f r a g me n t s i n s p i t 4b e in g c l o s e t o t h e number i n s p i t 3 and d i s t i n c t l y h i g h e r t h a n t h en um be r o f f r a g m e n t s i n s p i t 5 16 ( s e e T a b l e 1 ). T h e re i s n o n e e d t ob e l ab o u r t h e p o i n t t h a t d e n s i t i e s an d a cc u mu l at io n r a t e s of s t o n e f ra g -m e nt s m i g h t v a r y g r e a t l y d ue t o t h e d i f f e r i n g e f f e c t s of a number ofa t t r i t i o n a l m echanisms. T hese p o s s i b i l i t i e s w i l l b e o f i n t e r e s t i n v ie wo f t h e i n c r e a s i n g num ber of s t u d i e s a t t e m p t in g t o c a l c u l a t e i n d i c e s ofo c c u p a t i o n a l i n t e n s i t y .

The e f f e c t s of t h e s e a t t r i t i o n a l mechanisms va r y w i t h t h e n a t u r e oft h e a r t e f a c t s . I t w as a l r e a dy po in t e d ou t t h a t a t RBC5 s i l c r e t e f l a ke stended t o break i n t o more f ragments than muds tone f lakes . Table 2 g ivesth e ave rage number of broken f l ak es f o r each complete f l ak e a t a numbero f s i t e s a t M ount A r t h u r N o r t h an d Mount A r t h u r S o u th , t w o a r e a s n e a rthe Hunter River midway between Redbank Creek and Sandy Hollow 1. Thesed a t a s u g g e s t t h a t h i g h e r b r ea k ag e r a t e s on s i l c r e t e f l a k e s th a n oni n d u r a t e d m u ds to ne f l a k e s i s a g e n e r a l p a t t e r n f ou nd t h r ou g h o ut t h eH un te r V a l le y . The c a us e o f s uc h pa t t e r n s a r e p r obab ly r e gu l a r i t i e s i nthe c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of f l a k e s made on e a ch raw m a t e r i a l t ype wh ic h w ouldd e t er m i ne t h e l i k e l i h o o d o f p a r t i c u l a r fl a k e s b e in g broken; c h a r a c t e ri s t i c s s u c h a s t h e t h i c k n e s s, c r o s s -s e c t i o n , and t h er m al a l t e r a t i o n ofe ac h s t o ne t ype.

D a ta p r e s e n t e d i n Ta b l e s 1 an d 2 a l s o d em o n s tr a te t h e v a r i a t i o n i nf l a k e b re a k a g e w hi ch c an o cc u r be tw e en s i t e s i n d i f f e r e n t l an d sc ap esw i t h i n a s i n g l e r e g io n . The v a s t m a j o r i t y o f o p en s i t e s a t RedbankCreek, Mount Arthur North and Mount Arthur South contain assemblages ofm u d st on e f l a k e s w h i ch a r e m ore f r a g m e n t e d t h a n t h o s e f ro m t h e S andyH ol lo w r o c k s h e l t e r . S uc h a p a t t e r n m ig h t be ex p e ct e d t o r e s u l t f r omEuropean a c t i v i t i e s such a s p loughing and l iv es to ck graz ing , which wouldno t e f f e c t c aves . None of t he s e ope n s i t e s show s t r a t i g r a ph i c d i s t u r b -ance of t h e s o r t which would accompany plough ing, however, and a t some


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of t h e o pen s i t e s s u b s u r f a c e a r t e f a c t s w er e mo re h i g h l y b ro ke n t h a nt h o s e c u r r e n t l y l y i n g o n t h e g ro un d s u r f a c e . T h es e d a t a s u g g e s t t h a tn e i t h e r p lo ug hi ng o r t r a m p l i n g by s t o c k may t o t a l l y e x p l a i n t h e p a t t e r n .P e rh a p s t h e r e l a t i v e l y l o w d e g r e e of f l a k e b r e a k ag e a t S an dy H ol lo w 1m e re l y r e f l e c t s t h e much g r e a t e r s e d i m e n t a t i o n r a t e t h e r e and c on-s e que n t ly p r o t e c t e d a r t e f a c t s f r om f u r th e r damage.W hi le t h e p o t e n t i a l f o r s u c h p r o ce s se s t o b l u r o u r u n d e r s t an d i n g o ft h e p a s t s h o u l d b e ac k n ow l e dg e d , i t i s e q u a l l y i m p o r t a n t t o p e r c e i v eth a t a n unde rs t and ing of them c ou ld c l a r i f y ou r v i s i o n of t h e pa st . TheRBC5 example has demonstra ted t h a t es t im at es of t h e composi t ion of t h eo r i g i n a l a s s em b la g e a r e m or e e a s i l y a nd a c c u r a t e l y made a f t e r t h ei d e n t i f i c a t i o n a nd s t u d y o f a n y ta p ho n om ic p r o c e s s e s t h a t m i g h t h a v ea c te d upon th e m at e r i al . The a b i l i t y t o i d e n t i f y h e a t s h a t t e r i n g m i g h tl e a d t o t h e a c c u r a t e d e s c r i p t i o n of h e a r t h s o r h e a t - t r e a t i n g p i t s a topen s i t e s . R e c ogn i ti on of he a t e d a r t e f a c t s m igh t a l s o a l l ow t he w ide-s p r e a d a p p l i c a t i o n of d a t i n g t e c h n i q u e s su ch a s t he rm ol um in es ce nc e o rESR a t some open s i t e s .Table 1. Indura ted Mudstone Artefac ts f rom Square AA a t Sandy Hollow 1.

S p i t Number of Number of No. of R at io of Broken: Pe rc en ta ge ofNo. Mudstone Complete Broken Co mple te F la k es Broken F la k es

A r t e f a c t s A r t e f a c t s F l a ke s i n A ssem blage

Table 2. N umber o f B ro ke n F l a k e s p e r C o m p l e t e F l a k e i n S i t e s a t M ou ntA r thu r N or th a nd Sou th , H un te r V a l l e y ( ~ a t i o a l c u l a t e d o n l ywhen sample si z e exceeded 50 co'mplete f l ak es ).S i t e Zone Muds t o n e S i l c r e t e

Surface assemblagesMAN9 1MAN9 2MAN10 1MAN10 2MAN20 2MAN24 -MAN27 1MAN3 1MAS24 -MAS46 -Subsurface assemblagesMAN9 1 'MAN10 1MAN27 1


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Fl ak es brea k i n a number of ways and f o r a number of reasons. I f i ti s po s s i b l e t o e qua t e c e r t a i n t ype s o f b re akage w i th c e r t a i n mechan ism s,i t w i l l be pos s ib l e t o more a c c u r a t e ly de f in e t h e f o r m a t ion of assem-blages . For example, it appea rs t h a t fo r f l a ke s of th e same raw mater -i a l , s i z e , a n d sh ap e , t h o s e s p l i t a lo n g t h e p e r c us s io n a x i s a r e morel ik e l y t o have been broken dur i ng manufac ture whereas t r an sve rse snapsa r e m or e l i k e l y t o b e b r ok e n d u r i n g p l o ug h i ng o r by b e i n g t r a m p le d byh um an s o r s t o c k wh en l y i n g on t h e g ro u nd s u r f a c e . H i s c o ck a nd W a l t e r s( i n p r e p ) p r e s e n t e xp e r im e n ta l e v ide nce of t he s e pa t t e r ns .An u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e p r o c e s s e s of a t t r i t i o n r a i s e ev en morep o s s i b i l i t i e s i n t h e s t u d y o f s t r a t i f i e d s i t e s . F or ex a m ple , i f t h ee f f e c t s o f t r a m pl ing i nduce d b r ea ka ge o r c a m pf i re i nduce d s ha t t e r c a n bea c c u r a t e l y i d e n t i f i e d i t w ould be po s s ib l e t o d i r e c t l y m ea su re a s pe c t so f p r e h i s t o r i c b eh av i ou r w hi ch a r e o t h e r w is e d i f f i c u l t t o d ef i ne : t h enum be r / si z e o f f i r e s a t any l e ve l o r t he am ount of w a lk ing w hich occ u r si n a ny p er io d . T he se p o s s i b i l i t i e s a r e e x pl o re d i n t h e s eco nd c a s e s tu d yo f t h e pa pe r.CASE STUDY 2 - COLLESS CREEK CAVE, NORTH-WEST QUEENSLANDC o l l e s s C re ek Cave i s l o c a t e d i n t h e g u l f f a l l zo ne of t h e B a rk lyTable l ands , approxima te ly 7km f rom where th e t ab le la nd abru pt l y g ivesway t o t he C a r pe n t a r i a n P l a in . The ca ve f a c e s e a s t i n to a s m a l l t r i b u -t a r y va l l e y on t h e s ou the r n s i d e of C o l l e s s C reek go rge. The s i t e i s 15ma bo ve t h e l e v e l o f t h e c r e e k , a t t h e to p of a s t e e p s c r e e s l o p e , and a tt h e b a s e o f a 15m h i g h v e r t i c a l c l i f f . The c av e i t s e l f i s 7m wide, 2mh i g h and e x t e n d s 12m i n t o t h e c l i f f f a ce . The ca v e f l o o r i s v e n e e r e dw i t h a l a g o f g r a v e l and a r t e f a c t s a n d l t h e r e a r e s e v e r a l l a r g e b lo ck s ofr o o f - f a l l p r o t r u d i n g f ro m t h e d e p o s ' t . A p l a n of t h e s i t e sh ow in g t h eco c a t i o n of s q u a r e P46 i s g i v en i n i g u r e 1. I n a l l p a r t s of t h e ca vewhich were excava ted th e same s t ra t i gr ap hi c sequence was found; but on lyi n t h e r e a r o f t h e c av e , i n s q u a r e P46, was t h e r e a n u nb ro ke n s t r a t i -gr ap hi c sequence back t o 17,000 BP which could be dated and f o r which anage lde pth curve could be cons t ruc ted . Using t he age ldepth curve i t wasp o s s i b l e t o a s s i g n d a t e s t o t h e t o p a nd b o tt om o f e ac h of t h e u pp er t e ns p i t s , an d t o c a l c u l a t e t h e a pp r ox i ma te amount of t i m e r e p r e s en t e d 3 , i ne a c h s p i t ( s e e Ta b l e 3). D e t a i l s o f t h e da t i ng and s e d im e n ta r y da t a f romP46 a r e giv en by Hiscock (1984).

Ta bl e 3. Age Range of Each S p i t i n P46S p i t Age (Years B.P.) Time Repre sented

2,450 yrs4,850 yrs1 , 450 y r s3,100 yrs1 ,775 yrs

175 yr s700 yrs1 ,400 yrs1 ,390 yrs


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Figure 1. Plan of C ol le ss Creek Cave showing th e l oc at io n of squ are P46.

CookingSome of th e fragments of s to ne found i n t h e cave have been crea tedby ex c e ss h e at in g . , P ot l i d s o c c ur when s t o n e i s r a p i d l y r a i s e d t o h i g ht emperat u re s . D i f f e re n t i a l expansi on o f t he rock and u l t i m a t e l y po t l i df r a c t u r e s r e su l t (Pu rdy 1975). Po t l i d s can t he r e fo re be t aken t o i nd i -ca te "cooki.ngl' of th e s tone, probably when f i r e s or h ea rth s a r e placed

on t op of t he a r t e f ac t s ly ing on the f lo o r of th e cave . I t can be arguedth a t fo r a g iven amount of burn ing th e frequency of p o t l id s i s p ropor-t i o n a l t o t h e amount of s t o n e m a t e r i a l d i r e c t l y e xp os ed t o e x c e s s i v ehea t , and thu s one i nd i ca t i on o f th e amount of burnin g w i l l be t h e r a t i oof p o t l i d s t o a r t e f a c t s . F i g u re 2 s ho ws t h e nu mb er o f p o t l i d s p e r 1 00grams of a r t e f a c t s f o r e ac h s p i t i n U n it A o f s q u a r e P46 a t C o l l e s sCreek Cave. The pa t t e rn i s a complex one wi t h a va r i ab le bu t dec rea s ingp ropo r ti on o f po t l i d s from 13,500 u n t i l t he p re sen t. P r i o r t o t h i s , f rom1 3 ,5 0 0 u n t i l a b o u t 1 6 ,0 0 0 BP, p o t l i d s w e r e uncommon i n c o m p a r i s o n t oa r t e f a c t s . Below t h i s , s p i t 1 0 a g a i n sh ow s a h ig h am oun t o f p o t l i d s .From t h i s d a t a i t i s c l e a r t h a t i n t h e r e a r o f C o l l e s s C re ek Cave t h eam oun t o f b u r n i n g w hi c h o c c u r r e d d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d 1 3 ,5 0 0 - 16 ,00 0 BPwas r e l a t i v e l y low wh er ea s th e d i s c a r d r a t e of a r t e f a c t s peak ed a t t h a tt ime isco cock 1984).


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Sod lmen te t l on r a t s( C m l 100 y e a r s )

IFigure 3. The r e l a t i o n sh i p b e tw e en t h e , number o f t r a n s v e r s e l y b r o k e nf l a k e s p e r c o m p le t e f l a k e a n d t h e d e p t h o f s e d i m e n t a ccum u-

' l a t e d ' p e r 100' y e a r s i n s qu a r e P46. -WeatheringI .

Some o f t h e s t o n e a r t e f a c t s a t C d l l e s s C re ek C ave a r' e v e r y f r e sh i na p p e a r a n c e ~ h i l ~ et h e r s U a r e ' : h , i g h l y w e a t h e r e d . Some a r t e f a c t s a r e s owe,ather-&d t h a t t hey a r e b a r e l y r ecogn i sab le . initial b n s


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Ta b le 4 s how s t h e pe rc e n t a ge o f c h e r t a r t e f a c t s i n e ac h w e a the r ingc a t e g or y f o r t h e s p i t s i n s q u a r e P46. The p r o p o r t i o n o f a r t e f a c t s i ne ac h w e a t h er i n g c l a s s v a r i e s v e r t i c a l l y i n a man ner wh ic h s u p p o r t s t h ea rgum en t t h a t w e a the r ing ha s oc c u r r e d s i n c e t he de pos i t form ed. L igh t l yP a t i n a t e d a r t e f a c t s do n o t become common u n t i l - s p i t 5 , P a t i n a t e d a r t ef a c t s become dominant i n s p i t 8 , a n d H e av i ly W eath ere d a r t e f a c t s a r e n o tcommon u n t i l s p i t 11. Within Uni t B ( s p i t s 1 1-23) t h e r e i s a p r o g re s si v ed ec ay o f c h e r t a r t e f a c t s , w i t h a l l b e in g H ea v il y We ath ered a t t h e b ase.

/Ta b le 4. The pe r c e n t a ge o f c h e r t a r t e f a c t s i n e a ch w e a the r ing c l a s sfor each s p i t of P46 a t Co l le s s Creek Cave.

Sample Li gh t l y Heavi lySp i t S i z e S t r a tum Fr e s h Pa t i n a t e d Pa t i na t e d W eathered

One way o f c a l c u l a t i n g t h e r a t e a t wh ic h t h i s w e a the r ing oc cu r re di s t o l o ok a t t h e am ount o f t i m e i t t a k e s f o r t h e m a jo r i ty o f a r t e f a c t si n e ac h s p i t . t o r e ac h a p a r t i c u l a r s t a g e -o f w ea th er in g. I t took approxi-m a t e l y 1 3,500 y e a r s f o r t h e m a j o r i t y of a r t e f a c t s i n a s p i t t o b ecomel i g h t l y p a t i n a t e d . The t r a n s i t i o n f ro m L i g h t P a t i n a t i o n t o P a t i n a t e doc c ur r e d m or e r a p id ly , w i t h t h e m a j o r i t y o f a r t e f a c t s i n a s p i t becomingP a t i n a t e d a f t e r a f u r t h e r 1 -2 ,000 y ea rs . V i r t u a l l y a l l t h e H ea vi l yW eath ered a r t e f a c t s a r e o l d e r t h a n 17 ,0 00 y e a r s BP, and s in ce they occuro n l y i n U n i t B ( s p i t s 1 1- 23 ) and i n t h e g r a v e l l a g i m m e d ia t el y ab ov eU n i t B ( s p i t 1 0 ) i t c a n b e s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e y a r e much o l d e r t h a n1 7 ,0 0 0 y e a r s . (c f. H i s c o c k 1 9 8 4: 12 5) . I n a s s e s , s i n g t h e c o n t r a s t b e t w e enthe . s e d im e n t s o f U n i t A and Unit B Hughes (1983:61) remarked f o r Un it Bt h a t :


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' The re la t i ve ly h igh degree of pedogenic organ i sa t ion i nd ic a te scon sidera ble weather ing of the depo si t over a long per iod oft im e under much w et te r con di t ion s than today.S in ce t h e a r t e f a c t s i n U ni t B a r e so much more weathered tha n tho se i nt h e b a s e o f U n i t A t h i s c o n c l u si o n i s e q u a l l y a p p l i c a b l e t o t h e a r t e -facts . The t ra ns i t io n f.rom Pat inated t o Heavi ly Weathered probably tookmuch l onge r than t h e t r an s i t i on from L i gh t l y Pa t i na t ed t o Pa t i na ted .The c ru m b l i n g an d ro u n d i n g o f e d g e s a nd t h e d i s c o l o u r a t i o n a n droughening of a r t e fa c t su r fac es which accompanied th e weather ing proce ssc o ul d b e e x p ec t e d t o o b s c u r e an d e r a s e many o f t h e a t t r i b u t e s u s e d t oide nt i f y and c l as s i fy a r t e fa c t s . In examining ma te r i a l f rom P46 Hiscock(1984:139) r ecogni sed a c l a ss of a r t e fa c t s c a l l ed .F la ke d Pieces . Thesewere f r agments of s ton e which were def in i t e l y a r t e f ac t s , bu t which couldnot be c l as s i f i ed as cores , f l ak es , o r r e touched f l ak es because many oft h e i r s u r f a c e s w er e w e a t h e r e d o r f o rm ed by i n c i p i e n t f r a c t u r e pl an es .The p r o p o r t i o n of f l a k e d p i e c e s i n P46 i n c r e a s e s w i t h d e p th , a nd i spa r t i cu la r ly h igh in l eve l s o ld er than 14,000 BP, t h a t i s i n s p i t s 8-23.P a r t of t h i s i n c r e a se i n f l a k e d p i e c es i s probably due t o th e progres-s iv e degradat ion of a r t e fa c t s , most pronounced i n th e lowest l ev e l s . Aneven more s t a r t l ing impl ica t ion of s t one deg r ada t i on i s t h e e f f e c t o fweathering on ar te fa c t recog nit ion . Hiscock (1984: 142) argued t h a t manyof the s mal l non-artef ac tu al f rag ments of ch er t , ca l l ed Non-diagnost i c(ND) f ragments , probably res ul ted f rom a r t e fa c t manufacture even thought h i s i s not demonst rated by morphological t r a i t s . Many of t he ND f r ag -ments f rom the lower l e ve l s of th e depos i t a r e h igh ly weathered and i ti s poss ib le th a t many were once sma l l a r t e fa c t s which have s ince been s ob a dl y w e a th e re d t h a t t h e y a r e no l o n g e r r e c o g n i s a b l e . F i g u r e 4 s ho wst ha t compared w i t h r ecogn i sab l e a r t e f a c t s t hese ND f r agments a r e moref r e q u e nt i n U ni t B ( s p i t s 11-23) t h a n t h ey a r e i n U n i t A ( s p i t s 1 -1 0).Thi s i nc r ease i n t he l ower s p i t s co i nc i des w i t h t h e l ev e l s i n wh ich mostar t e fa c t s a re Heavily Weathered and i t can t he r e f o r e be sugges ted t h a tmany of t h e ND fragments may. indeed be degraded ar te fa c ts .

F i g u r e 4. The n um be r o f N o n- d ia g n o st i c f r a g m e n t s p e r a r t e f a c t i n e a c hs p i t i n square P46.

Ver t i ca l changes i n t he deg ree of a r t e f a c t wea t he ri ng p r ov i des at e s t of t h e i n t e g r i t y of t h e d e p o s i t . The s h a r p c h an g es w hi ch o c c u ri n d i c a t e t h a t t h e r e h a s b een on ly l i m i t e d p os t - d e po s i t io n a l v e r t i c a l


12/16

movement o f a r t e f a c t s . F o r ex am pl e, f r e s h a r t e f a c t s a r e co m p l et e lyabsent f rom Uni t B and L i g h t l y P a t i n a t e d a r t e f a c t s a r e p r e s e n t o nl y i nt h e u p pe r tw o s p i t s o f t h a t Un it. T h is s u g g e st s t h a t t h e r e i s l i t t l e , i fa n y , d ow n wa rd m ov em en t o f a r t e f a c t s f ro m U n i t A t o U ni t B. The sevenf l a k e s w i t h L i g h t P a t i n a t i o n w hic h o cc ur i n U ni t B may have i f a l l e n downc r a c k s f ro m s p i t 1 0 , i n d i c a t i n g t h a t a v e r y s m a l l p r o p o r t i o n of a r t e -f a c t s may have moved downwards up t o 4cm. On t h e o t h e r hand i t i se q u a ll y l i k e l y t h a t t h e s e a r t e f a c t s have n o t been v e r t i c a l l y d is pl ac edb u t a r e m e r e l y s t o n e s w h ic h ha ve b ee n r e l a t i v e l y s l o w t o w e at he r . As i m i l a r s i t u a t i o n oc c ur s b etw ee n s p i t s 7 and 8. Only two f r e s h a r t e f ac t swere found below s p i t 7 , aga i n i nd i ca t i n g t ha t i f v e r t i ca l movement i so c c u r r i n g i t i n v o l v e s o n l y v e r y s m a l l nu mb er s o f a r t e f a c t s . G iv en t h el a c k o f an y r e s e r v i o r i n s p i t s 8 and 9 from w hich t h e f r e s h a r t e f a c t s i ns p i t 1 0 c o u l d h av e d e r i v e d , h ow ev er , i t i s a g a i n p o s s i b l e t o e x p l a i nt h e s e a n om al ou sl y f r e s h a r t e f a c t s a s a r e s u l t o f some p i e c e s o f c h e r tb ei ng r e l a t i v e l y r e s i s t a n t t o w ea th erin g.The r a t e a t w h i ch a r t e f a c t s w e a th e r i s l a r g e l y d e p e nd e nt on t h en a t u r e o f t h e s t o n e on wh i c h t h e y a r e made an d t h e c o n d i t i o n s o f t h ed e p o s i t i n w h ic h t h e y r e s t e d . P u rd y an d C l a r k (1 97 9) ha ve a r gu e d t h a tc h e r t w h ic h h as b e en s u b j e c t e d t o h e a t w e a t h e r s more r a p i d l y t h a nu n h e a t e d s a m p l e s , a n d i t i s w e l l known t h a t many v o l c a n i c r o c k t y p e sw e a t h e r q u i c k l y b e c a u s e of t h e i r u n s t a b l e m i ne r al o gy . C h e rt , b e in gc om po se d p r e d o m i n a t e l y o f s i l i c a , i s u s u a l l y r e l a t i v e l y r e s i s t a n t t oweather ing . The ch er t s which were made in to ar t e fa c t s a t Col l e ss CreekCave a r e var i a b l e i n th e i r chemical composi t ion , wi th some nodules be ingcom posed a l m o s t e n t i r e l y o f c h al ce d on y w h i l e i n o t h e r s t h e r e i s up t o30% carbonate gr a i ns and sm al l rhombs of carbonate i n add i t ion t o chal -cedony (Watchman 1982). Su rfa ce samples of c arbo nate r i c h ch er t developa w h i t e p a t i n a n o t f ou nd i n o t h e r c h e r t s a m pl es i n t h e a r e a and i t i sprobable th a t carbonate r i c h nodules of che r t weather more r ap id ly . I ft h i s i s t h e c a s e i t i s t o be expect ed t h a t t he r e would be a r t e f a c t s of anumber of weather ing c l as se s p res en t - i n each sp i t , because both carbon-a t e r i c h an d p oo r c h e r t s a r e known t o o cc ur i n a l l s p i t s . Thus, evena r t e f a c t s made and de pos i te d contemporaneously would n ot weather syn-c h ro n ou s ly . T h i s f a c t l e n d s w e i g h t t o t h e arg um en t t h a t r e l a t i v e l yu nw ea th er ed a r t e f a c t s m i gh t e x i s t i n s p i t s where most a r t e f a c t s a r ed i s t i n c t l y more weathered, and ye t be approximately th e same age. On theba s i s o f t h e r ap i d wea t he r i ng of a r t e f ac t s which occur w i t h i n Co l l e s sCreek Cave i t can be concluded th a t a t th e r e a r of th e cave the downwardmovement of ar tefacts i s a r a r e phenomenon. -Rapid weather ing of th e s t one on which a r t e fa c t s a r e made may a l s or e v e a l p a t t e r n s o f s c a v e n g i n g by p r e h i s t o r i c h umans. The r e u s e a n d / o rre f l ak in g of o ld ar t e f a c t s may account fo r th e occur rence of weathereda r t e f a c t s i n r e c e n t s t r a t a . T h i s may e x p l a in t h e e x i s t e n c e of H ea vi lyW eathered a r t e f a c t s i n s p i t 2, and of P a t i n a t e d a r t e f a c t s i n s p i t s 1-3.I n t h e s e u p p e r l e v e l s t h e r e a r e a l s o a number of f l a k e s wh ic h haveP a t i n a t e d . d o r s a l s u r f a c e s b u t w h i c h h av e F r e s h v e n t r a l s u r f a c e s . Ane x am i na t i on of s uc h a r t e f a c t s m ig ht r e v e a l t h e c r i t e r i a p r e h i s t o r i ci n h a b i t a n t s u se d when t h e y s e l e c t e d o l d a r t e f a c t s f o r r eu se .

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONSUnt i l demons t r a t ed o t he r wi se it should be assumed t h a t th e tapho-

nomic mechanisms a t work i n t he E unter Val ley and a t Co l less Creek Cavehave t h e i r co un ter par t s e l sewhere . The exi s t enc e of t aphonomic processes


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and t h e i r a b i l i t y t o . a l t e r s t o n e a s se m b l ag e s m us t b e a ck no wl ed ge d. Onsome occasi ons , perhaps many, th e r e s u l t of thos e pro cess es w i l l b e t h es i g n i f i c a n t a l t e r a t i o n of a s se mb la ge s. U n le ss a r c h a e o l o g i s t s a r e a w a reof s uc h t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s o u r p e r c e p t i o n o f t h e p a s t c o u l d b e g r o s s l yd i st o rt e d. Consequently, b e f or e a r c h a e o l o g i c a l s i t e s c o n t a i n i n g s t o n ea r t e f a c t s a r e i n t e r p r e t e d a n d a t h ei r s i g n i f i c a n c e a s se s se d t h e ta ph on om icp r o c e s s e s w h ic h h av e a c t e d u po n t he m s h o u l d b e d e s c r i b e d , j u s t a s a n ya c c e p t a b l e s t u d y o f s e t t l e m e n t p a t t e r n s i s today expected t o d e s c ri b ef a c t o r s s uc h a s t h e d e g re e t o w hi ch o l d l a n d s u r f a c e s a r e ex po se d a s ar e s u l t of e ro s io n o r s ed im en t a c cu m u la t io n . S p e c i f i c and s o p h i s t i c a t e drecording methodologies w i l l be ne ed ed t o m ea su re t h e n a t u r e a nd e x t e n tof a t t r i t i o n an assemblage. has undergone .

An unde rst and ing of taphonomic proc es ses w i l l e na bl e b e t t e r e s t i -m a te s t o be made o f t h e o r i g i n a l a s se m blag e. I n a r e a s s u ch a s t h e H u n te rV a l l e y, i n w h ic h t h e o utc om e of d e g r a d a t i o n a l p r o c e s s e s v a r y w i d e l yb etwe en s i t e s and r aw m a te r i a l s , i t w i l l n o t b e po s s i bl e t o a c c u r a t e l yin f e r t h e human p a s t w i th o u t r e c o n s t r u c t i n g t h e a s se m b la g es a s th e y w e rewhen they were f i r s t d iscarded. More imp or tan t l y , new measurements ofp r eh is to r i c human behav iour can be based upon th e e f f e c t s o f some of t h eprocess es of decay. The Co ll ess Creek Cave s t udy showed t h a t t h e degra-d a t i o n w hich oc cu rs t o a r t e f a c t s a f t e r t h e y a r e d i s ca r de d c an c o n t r i b u t ed a t a a bo ut t h e n a t u r e and amount of p r e h i s t o r i c a c t i v i t i e s . T he se d a t ap ro vi de a f u r t h e r p e r s p e c ti v e o n t h e d e b a t e a bo ut w h ic h c h a r a c t e r i s t i c sa r e a p p r o p r i a t e m ea su re me nt s of t h e " i n t e n s i t y of s i t e u sa ge " ( c f .H i s c o c k 1981). A t C o l l e s s Cr ee k Cave t h e e f f e c t s o f d e g r a d a t i o n o f t h es t o n e a r t e f a c t s c a n b e s e en t o r e f l e c t t h e am ount o f b u rn i ng a nd t h eamount of w a l k i ng w hi ch o c c u r r e d w i t h i n t h e c a ve a t v a r i o u s p e r i o d s .W ea th er in g of a r t e f a c t s i n t h e C o l l e s s C r ee k Cave d e p o s i t a p p e a r s t ohave occurred in s i t u , t he re by p r o v i di n g a n i n d i c a t i o n of t h e s c a l e ofpos t -depos i t iona l v e r t i c a l movements. ,

I n ge n u i t y on t h e p a r t o f a r c h a e o l o g i s t s w i l l p r ob a bl y r e v e a l al a rg e ra ng e of o t h e r a t t r i t i o n a l m ec ha ni sm s w h ic h may o b s c ure t h e o r i g i -n a l n a t u r e o f t h e a s s e m b l a g e . o r w hi c h may be u s ed a s i n d i c e s o f - p r e -h i s t o r i c a c t i v i t i e s . A r e f i ne d u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t a p h on o m i c m e c h a ni s m swhich a f f e c t s t o n e a r t e f a c t s would p r ov i de . a b e t t e r b a s i s f o r , i n t e r p r e t -i n g a r c h a e o l o g i c a l as se m bl ag es . F u r t h e r e x p e r i m e n t a l r e s e a r c h c o u l dp r o f i t a b l y b e u n d e r t a k en i n a n um be r o f a r e a s . E x am p le s i n c l u d e t h ee f f e c t of r a w m a t e r i a l o n w e a t h e r i n g an d b r ea k ag e , t h e e f f e c t o f h e a tt rea tm en t o r bu rn ing on wea the r ing o r ' b re akag e , th e mechanisms and r a t e sof pat i na t io n and weather ing , and th e cause s of var io us types of break-a ge and h e a t s h a t t e r s . W ith p r i n c ip l e s e s t a b l i s h e d by s u c h e x p e r im e n t si t s ho ul d b e p o s s i b l e t o morea a c c 6 r a t e l y i n t e r p r e t t h e p r e h i s t o r i c p a s t ,and t o i n f e r s c e n a r io s w hich ha ve - re m aine d h idd e n t o mo re t r a d i t i o n a lapproaches.

ACKNOWIiEDGEMENTSThe d a t a f ro m th e H un te r V a l l e y was c o l l e c t e d d u r in g a r c h a e o l o g i c a l

co ns ul tan ci es f o r NSW NPWS, NSW E l e c t r i c i t y Commission, and Mount A rt hu rS o u th P ty L td . V a l A t t e n b ro w , S c o t t Ca n e, Lu ke G o dw in, J . H a l1 , P h i lHughes, Ma rg ri t Koet t i g , Rob Neal, Norma Richa rdson, Mike Sm ith, St ev eS ut to n, and I a n W a lt e rs r e a d d r a f t s o f t h i s p ap e r and c o n t r ib u t e d v a lu -able comments.


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settlement systems and archaeological site formation. AmericanAntiquity 45:4-20.Binford, L. R. 1981 Bones: Ancient Men and Modern Uyths. New York:Academic Press.Cane, S. 1982 Bustard gastroliths in the archaeological record. Aust-ralian Archaeology 14:25-34.David, B. 1984 Man vs. Dingo: The identification of bone remains fromarchaeoloiical sites, with specific reference to WalkunderArch Cave, Chillagoe, Northeastern Queensland. CulturalResource Management Monograph Series Number 5. Brisbane:Archaeology Bfanch, Department of Community Services.

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Gifford, n.-P; 1981 Taphonomy and Paleoecology: A cri'tical review ofarchaeology's sister"disciplines. In M. B. Schiffer (~d.),Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory 4: 65-438.Gould, R. A. 1980 Living Archaeology. -Cambridge: Cambridge University

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13: 30-34.1Hiscock, P. 19 84 A preliminary report on the stone artefacts fromColless Creek Cave, Northwest Queensland. Queensland Archaeo-logicil Research'1:120-151. ?.Hiscock, P. 1985 A technolog ical ana lys is of stone artefactassemblages from the Hunter River Valley Region. Volume 4, NSW~ at i on a l- p ar ks nd Wildlife Service Hunter Valley Region~ r c h a e b l o ~ ~roject Stage 1.Hiscock, P."and I. Walters (in prep) Flake breakage and the measurementof occupation intensity: evidence from Colless Creek Cave.


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Hughes, P. J. 198 3 Colless Creek roc k sh elter arc haeolo gical site,north-west Queensland - 18k spike. In J. M. A. Chappell and A.Grindrod (Eds.), CLIHAHZ: Pr oceedings of the Firs t CL IH AR ZConference, Howman's Gap, Victoria, 1981, pp.59-61. Canberra:Department of Biogeography and Geomorphology, RSPaCS, ANU.Hughes,P.J. and R.J.Lampert 1977 Occupational disturbance and types ofarchaeological deposit. Journ al of Archa eologi cal S cie nce4:135-140.Jones, R. 1980 Different stroke s for different folks: Site, scal e andstrategy. In I. Johnson (Ed.), Holier than Thou: Pr oc eed in gsof the 1978 Kioloa Conference o n Australian Prehistory, pp.151-171. Canberra: Department of Prehistory, R.S.Pac.S., ANU.Kamminga, J. 1982 Over the edge: Function al analysis of Austra liantools. Queensland University Anthropology Museum O c c a s i o n a lPapers in Anthropology 12: 1-237.Keller, D. R. 1979 identifying edge damage on surface occurring lithicartifacts: some comments. Lithic Technology 8(2):15-17.Koettig, M. and P. J. Hughes 1983 Archaeological investigations on theUnited Collieries Coal Lease, Warkworth, Hunter. al ley, NSW.R e p o r t to United Col lie rie s Pty.Ltd., Si ng le to n, NSW.Canberra: ANU Archaeological Consultancies.Moore, D. R. 197 0 Results of an archaeological survey of the Hun terRiver Valley, N ew South Wales, Australia, Recor ds of theAustralian Museum 28:25-64Olson, E. C. 1980 Taphonomy: its history and role in co mm un it y evo-lution. In A. K. Behrensmeyer and A. P. Hill (Eds.), Fossilsin the Making: Vertebrate Taphonomy and Paleoecology, pp.5-19.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Purdy , B. A. 19 75 Fr ac tu re s fo r t h e Ar ch ae ol og is t. I n E. H.Swanson (Ed.), L i t h i c Technology, pp. 133-144.The Hague:Mouton.Purdy, B. A. and D. E. Clark 1979 Wea thering of ther mally alt eredprehistoric stone implements. Lithic Technology 8(2):20-21.Schiffer, M. B. 1976 Behavioral Archaeology. N. Y.: Academic Press.Schiffer, M. B. and R. H. McGu ire 1982 The study of Cu ltu ra 1, Ad ap t-ation. In R. H. McGuire and M. B. Schiffer (Eds.), H o h o k a a

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Sullivan, A. P. 1978 Inference and evidence in archaeology: A discus-sion of the conceptual problems. In M. B. Schiffer (Ed.),Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory 1 8-222.Walters, I. 1984 Gone to the Dogs: a study of bone attrition at aCentral Australian campsite, Mankind :389-400Watchman, A. 1982 Brief petrographic notes on chert from CollessCreek. Unpublished manuscript.Wright, R. V. S. 1983 Stone implements. In G. Connah, (Ed.), Bust-ralian Field Archaeology: A Guide to Techniques, pp.118-125.Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies.Yellen, J. 1977 Cultural Patterning in Faunal remains: Evidence fromthe !Rung Bushmen. In D. Ingersoll, J. E. Yellen and W. Mac-donald (~ds.), Experimental Archaeology, pp. 271-333. NewYork: Columbia University Press.

The Need for Taphonomic Prespective

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