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Records of the Western Australian Museum 20: 461-464 (2002). Short Communication
An Eocene fossiliferous chert artefact from Beacon Island:first evidence of prehistoric occupation inthe Houtman Abrolhos, Western Australia
Ben Marwick
Centre for Archaeology, University of Western Australia
In the course of recent research into the survivorsof the 1629 Batavia shipwreck, a significant andunusual stone artefact was found in faunal materialexcavated from Beacon Island (Marwick 1999). Thisprehistoric artefact is made from Eocenefossiliferous chert that probably derives fromoutcrops on the now-submerged continental shelfthat were once quarried by Aboriginal stone toolmakers (Glover et al. 1993: 41-42). The artefact,along with faunal material consisting of bird, fishand native and introduced mammal bones, wasexcavated in 1967 by a Western Australian Museumexpedition led by Colin Jack-Hinton and iscurrently stored at the Western Australian MaritimeMuseum. This artefact is the first evidence ofprehistoric Aboriginal occupation of the HoutmanAbrolhos. It suggests that Aboriginal occupation ofthe Houtman Abrolhos pre-dates the isolation of theislands from the mainland and the submersion ofthe continental shelf at around 6 000 BP.
The Houtman Abrolhos are a group of 108 lowlying islands surrounded by extensive coral reefslocated toward the edge of the continental shelf.They are about 500 km north of Fremantle and 65km west of Geraldton, in the area 28°14'- 29°00'5,113°35'- 114°04'E (figure 1). The islands wereseparated from the mainland by rising sea levels at11 000 - 12000 BP (Dortch and Morse 1984: 41, cf.Royal Australian Navy 1969). Archaeologicalsurveys and excavations have been conducted inthe Wallabi Group since 1963, the most recent beingin 2001. The focus of most of the archaeologicalresearch in the Wallabi Group has been thesubmerged wreck of the Batavia. In addition to theunderwater investigations, archaeologists have alsoconducted research into the location and characterof the survivors' camps relating to the 1629shipwreck of the Batavia (Gibbs 1992).
Beacon Island is in the Wallabi Group and is a5.25 ha accumulation of coral rubble semiconsolidated into loose beach ridges (Bevaqua 1974,Green and Stanbury 1988). Following the Bataviashipwreck the majority of survivors initiallycongregated on Beacon Island. About four weeksafter the shipwreck a mutiny broke out on Beacon
Island and about 125 people were massacred(Drake-Brockman 1963: 173). East and West WallabiIslands, also in the Wallabi Group, are the twolargest islands (360 ha and 600 ha) in the HoutmanAbrolhos and have relictual continental surfaces ofdunes and aeolian limestone with rich shrubvegetation and sinkholes of drinkable water (Storr1965). East and West Wallabi Islands were home toabout 47 soldiers and passengers for almost fourmonths after the Batavia shipwreck until rescued byPelsaert (Drake-Brockman 1963: 214-253).
Land based archaeological investigations into theBatavia shipwreck survivors have resulted in severalsurveys and excavations on West Wallabi Islandand Beacon Island (Gibbs 1992). A five-day surveyfor prehistoric archaeological material on East andWest Wallabi Islands found no indication ofprehistoric Aboriginal occupation (Dortch andMorse 1985). Dortch and Morse (1985: 41) examined'a variety of likely localities' on the two islands andwere surprised at the absence of material. Theywere unwilling to conclude that the HoutmanAbrolhos were unoccupied before Europeansettlement and they wrote that it is 'likely that anyfinds there will consist of isolated stone artefactslike those from Rottnest and Garden Islands'(Dortch and Morse 1985: 41).
The artefact is a black Eocene fossiliferous chertflake with slight edge damage, a missing linearplatform and a hinge termination (figure 2). Itsdimensions are: 25.6 mm long by 28.1 mm wide by4.0 mm thick. The artefact is translucent andunweathered, similar to other unweathered flakesfound on Rottnest Island and excavated fromDevil's Lair (Dortch 1984, Dortch 1991: figure 2.1,Hesp et al. 1999: figure 2.1, Dortch pers comm 1999).The raw material of the artefact indicates that it wasprocured and manufactured before around 6 000BP when the Eocene fossiliferous chert outcrops onthe outer edge of the continental shelf weresubmerged by glacio-eustatic sea level rise (Glover1975, 1979, 1984: 17-18, Glover and Lee 1984: 16,Thorn and Chappell 1975, Quilty 1978). Manyhundreds of Eocene fossiliferous chert artefactshave been recorded at dozens of sites in the Perth
462 B. Marwick
GEAALOTQN
TROPIC OF CAPRICORN------1CARNARvON I
HQUTMAN
'.ABRQlHOS
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oNorth Island
C lEEUWIN
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EASTER GROUP
Ob
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."c::1Wooded Island
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.' oMiddle;sland
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Figure 1 Map of Abrolhos Islands from Storr, Johnstone and Griffin (1986) detailing location of Beacon Island.
Basin, Leeuwin Block and Southern Ocean coast.Eocene fossiliferous chert artefacts first appear inarchaeological sequences at more than c. 30 000 BPand then disappear during the Middle Holocene(Ferguson 1980, Glover 1984, Glover and Lee 1984,Glover et al. 1978, Pearce 1978).
It is unlikely that the artefact represents earlyEuropean activity on the island. A firearm flint wasrecovered in Bevaqua's 1974 excavations, which isprobably associated with the flintlock muskets usedby the Batavia survivors during the mutiny(Bevaqua 1974). Firearm flints have a distinctive
wedge shape (Held 1970) that is quite different fromthe Beacon Island flake. The Batavia survivors mayalso have used tinderboxes for starting fires thatinclude flints characteristic in morphology and rawmaterial. The shape of the Beacon Island flake doesnot resemble a flint from a flintlock firearm or atinderbox. Although flint pebbles were often usedas ballast, historical records do not indicate that theBatavia ballast was salvaged and used by thesurvivors on the islands. European chert artefactshave been dumped with ballast in Australia (Dortchand Glover 1983, McCarthy 1958: 178). However,
a
An artefact from the Houtman Abrolhos
b
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Figure 2 (a) Dorsal surface of artefact (b) ventral surface of artefact. The scale is in centimetres.
the ballast materials of the Batavia can be ruled outas a possible flint source as they were mainly bricks(Godard 1993). There are no chert sources on theAbrolhos and the nearest source is either on thesubmerged continental shelf or over 80 kilometresto the north-east in the Carnarvon Basin (Glover1975).
The artefact was recovered from the 1967excavations at the north-east of Beacon Island inassociation with bird, fish and native andintroduced mammal bones and fragments of Dutchceramics, metal and glass. Unfortunately there areno extant records of the 1967 excavations except forthe artefact accession labels. A tentativereconstruction of the excavations based on theaccession numbers and details of subsequentexcavations suggests that the artefact was recoveredfrom a depth of 20-30 cm (Marwick 1999). Theartefact's provenance at the time of recovery is oflimited chronological or contextual significancebecause of the low stratigraphic integrity of the soil.The soil matrix is loose, sandy and frequentlydisturbed by the burrowing of animals, notably theseasonal nesting activity of the wedge-tailedShearwater (Bevaqua 1974, Storr 1965, Storr et al.1985).
Weathering from exposure on Beacon Island mayresult from the salt spray, sandblasting, highground surface heat and bright sunlight. If the flakehad been exposed to these conditions it would bedeeply patinated, dehydrated, porous textured andpartly desilicified, similar to other Eocenefossiliferous chert artefacts from open air sites inthe south-west (Dortch 2000 Vol 2: 47). Given the
extreme weathering conditions on Beacon Islandand the unweathered appearance of the artefact it islikely that the artefact remained buried for longperiods.
The significance of this artefact is that it showsprehistoric Aboriginal occupation of offshoreislands in an area and for a period where noprevious evidence exists. Dortch and Morse (1985:42) conclude from existing archaeological data thatdistant offshore islands in Western Australia wereoccupied in prehistoric times only when the sealevels were low and when the islands were readilyaccessed from the present mainland. This artefactconfirms the conclusion of Dortch and Morse (1985:42) and is evidence of prehistoric human activity onBeacon Island during the glacio-eustatic sea-levelsrise between 11 000 -12 000 BP and about 5 000 BP.(Dortch and Morse 1985: 41). Future research in theHoutman Abrolhos area may reveal patterns ofprehistoric occupation and raw material use similarto other areas close to the outer edge continentalshelf in Western Australia as described by Dortchand Morse (1985) and Bowdler (1995).
REFERENCES
Bevaqua, B. (1974). Report of a Test Excavation onBeacon Island. Report - Department of MaritimeArchaeology, Western Australian Museum, No l.
Bowdler, S. (1995). Offshore islands and maritimeexplorations in Australian prehistory. Antiquity 69:945-58.
Dortch, C.E. (1984). Devil's Lair a study in prehistory.Western Australian Museum: Perth.
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Dortch, C.E. (1991). Rottnest and Garden Islandprehistory and the archaeological potential of theadjacent continental shelf, Western Australia.Australiiln Archaeology 33: 38-43.
Dortch, CE. (2000). Past Aboriginal hunter-gatherereconomy and territorial organisation in coastaldistricts of Western Australia's lower South-west. 2Vols. Unpublished PhD thesis, Centre forArchaeology, University of Western Australia: Perth.
Dortch, CE. and Glover, J.E. (1983). The ScaddanImplement: a re-analysis of a probable Acheulianhandaxe found in Western Australia. Records of theWestern Australiiln Museum 10: 319-334.
Dortch, CE. and Morse, K. (1985). Prehistoric stoneartefacts on some offshore islands in WesternAustralia. Australian Archaeology 19: 31-47.
Drake-Brockman, H. (1963). Voyage to Disaster. Angusand Robertson, Sydney.
Ferguson, W.C (1980). Fossiliferous chert in southwestern Australia after the Holocene transgression: abehavioural hypothesis. The Artefact 5: 155-169.
Gibbs, M. (1992). Batavia's Graveyard: a report onarchaeological survey and excavations on BeaconIsland, Wallabi Group, Houtman Abrolhos, WesternAustralia.. Report - Department of MaritimeArchaeology, Western Australian Maritime Museum,No 59.
Glover, J.E. (1975). Aboriginal chert artefacts probablyfrom quarries on the continental shelf. Search 6:392-4.
Glover, J.E. (1979). The provenance and archaeologicalsignificance of Aboriginal artefacts of Eocene chert insouthwestern Australia. Search 10: 188-90.
Glover, J.E. (1984). The geological sources of stone forartefacts in the Perth Basin and nearby areas.Australian Aboriginal Studies 1:17-25.
Glover, J.E., Dortch, CE. and Balme, B.E. (1978). TheDunsborough implement: an Aboriginal biface fromsouth-western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society ofWestern Australia 60: 41-47.
Glover, J.E., Bint, A.N. and Dortch, CE. (1993). Typology,petrology and palynology of the Broke Inlet biface, alarge flaked chert artefact from south-westernAustralia. Journal of the Royal Society of WesternAustralia 76: 41-47
B. Marwick
Glover, J.E. and Lee, R. (1984). Geochemistry andprovenance of Eocene chert artefacts, south-westernAustralia. Archaeology in Oceania 4: 229-237.
Godard, P. (1993). The first and last voyage of the Batavia.Abrolhos Publishing: Perth.
Green, J.N. and Stanbury, M. (1988). Report andrecommendations on archaeological land sites in theHoutman Abrolhos. Report - Department of MaritimeArchaeology, Western Australian Maritime Museum,No 29.
Held, R. (1970). The age offirearms: a pictorial history fromthe invention of gunpowder to the advent of the modernbreechloader. Gun Digest Company: Illinios.
Hesp, P., Murray-Wallace, C and Dortch, CE. (1999).Aboriginal occupation on Rottnest Island, WesternAustralia, provisionally dated by Aspartic AcidRacernisation assay of land snails to greater than 50ka. Australian Archaeology 49: 7-12.
McCarthy, F.D. (1958). Culture succession in southeastern Australia. Mankind 5: 177-190.
Marwick, B. (1999). The Archaeology of Insurrection. Aninvestigation into the subsistence behaviours of theBatavia survivors. UnpUblished BA (Hons) thesis,Centre for Archaeology, University of WesternAustralia: Perth
Pearce, R. (1978). Changes in artefact assemblages duringthe last 8 000 years at Walyunga, Western Australia.Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 61: 110.
Quilty, P.G. (1978). The source of chert of Aboriginalartefacts in south-western Australia. Nature 275: 53954l.
Royal Australian Navy (1969). Quobba Point to Geraldton.(Aus. 322), 1:300 000. [Map]
Storr, G.M. (1965). The phYSiography, vegetation andvertebrate fauna of the Wallabi Group, HoutmanAbrolhos. Journal of the Royal Society of WesternAustralia 48: 1-14
Thorn, B.G. and Chappell, J. (1975). Holocene sea levelsrelative to Australia. Search 6: 90-93.
Manuscript received 6 June 2000; accepted 22 March 2001.
CONTENTS VOLUME 20
Part 1
B. Baehr and R JocqueRevisions of genera in the Asterol1-complex (Araneae: Zodariidae). The new generaCavasterol1 and Minasterol1
D.L. Morgan and H.S. GillFish associations within the different inland habitats of lower south-western Australia
J.H. Bradbury and S. EberhardA new stygobiont melitid arnphipod from the Nullarbor Plain
G.R AlIen and M. AdrimAmblypomacentrus clams, a new species of damselfish (Pomacentridae) from theBanggai Islands, Indonesia
E.S. Volschenk, G.T. Smith and M.S. HarveyA new species of Urodacus from Western Australia, with additional descriptive notesfor Urodacus megamastigus (Scorpiones)
A.C. Gill, RD. Mooi and J.B. HutchinsDescription of a new subgenus and species of the fish genus COl1grogadus Guntherfrom Western Australia (Perciformes: Pseudochromidae)
J.W. Short and P. MeekNew records of Macrobrachium (Crustacea: Decapoda: Palaemonidae) fromChristmas Island, Indian Ocean
J.c. DeanDescriptions of new Leptophlebiidae (Insecta: Ephemeroptera) from Australia. 11.Kaninga, a new monotypic genus from south-western Australia
D. Fehse and G.W. KendrickA new species of Austrocypraea (Gastropoda: Cypraeidae) from the Late Pliocene of theEucla Basin, southern Australia
J.c. OUoAustralacarus (Acari: Halacaridae) from northern Australia, with the description ofthree new species
N.K. Cooper, K.P. Aplin and M. AdamsA new species of false antechinus (Marsupialia: Dasyuromorphis: Dasyuridae) from thePilbara region, Western Australia
1
31
39
51
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69
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Part 2H. SmitNew records of the water mite family Hygrobatidae from Australia, with the descriptionof ten new species (Acari: Hydrachnidia)
T.H. Fraser and G.R. AlIenA new species of Cardinalfish in Neamia (Apogonidae, Perciformes) from Mauritius,Indian Ocean, with a review of Neamia octospina
YuWenThe earliest Cambrian polyplacophorans from China
K. TrinajsticAcanthodian microremains from the Frasnian Gneudna Formation, Western Australia
R.S. CraigThe Cenozoic Brachiopoda of the Bremer and Eucla Basins, southwest Western Australia
K. TrinajsticA description of additional variation seen in the scale morphology of the Frasnianthelodont Australolepis seddoni Turner and Dring, 1981
Part 3
J.B. HutchinsBiodiversity of shallow reef fish assemblages in Western Australia using arapid censusing technique
I. AbbottThe Bilby Macrotis lagotis (Marsupialia: Peramelidae) in south-western Australia:original range limits, subsequent decline, and presumed regional extinction
P.E. Bock and P.L. CookA review of Australian Siphonicytara Busk (Bryozoa: Cheilostomatida)
M. ZabkaSalticidae (Archnida: Araneae) from the Oriental, Australian and Pacific regions, XIV.The genus Adoxotoma Simon
T. Karanovic, G.L. Pesce and W.F. HumphreysCopepods from ground waters of Western Australia, V. Phyllopodopsyllus wellsi sp. novo(Crustacea: Copepoda: Harpacticoida) with a key to world species
M.S.HarveyNotes on the spider genus Symphytognatha (Araneae: Symphytognithidae) inWestern Australia
D.L. Morgan and H.S. GillThe green swordtail Xiphophorus helleri Heckel (Poeciliidae): another aquarium fishestablished in the wild in Western Australia
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159
167
187
199
237
247
271
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Part 4
M.C. EbachLower Devonian trilobites from Cobar, New South Wales
A.P. Jenkins and G.K AllenNcopomaccntrus aquadulcis, a new species of damselfish (Pomacentridae) from eastemPapua New Guinea
B.Y. Main, M.S. Harvey, J.M. WaldockThe distribution of the Westem Australian pill millipede, Cynotelopus notabilis Jeekel(Sphaerotheriidae)
KS. CraigA new Jurassic rhynchonellide brachiopod from the Newmarracarra Limestone,Perth Basin, Westem Australia
M.R. de Carvalho and Bemard SeretNarcinc lasti, a new species of numbfish from Westem Australia and Indonesia(Chondrichthyes: Torpediniformes: Narcinidae)
P. Martin and H. SmitThe larval morphology and host of the Australian water mite Linmocharcs australica(Acari: Hydrachnidia: Limnocharidae)
KG. BednarikFirst dating of Pilbara petroglyphs
G.M. SheaThe identity of Phyllurus milii Bory de Saint Vincent, 1823 (Squamata:Pygopodidae: Diplodactylinae)
G.G. ThompsonThe feasibility of using body proportions in Westem Australian varanids (Varanus)as a method for deterining a specimen's sex
KA. How, N.K. Cooper, L. Girardi, B.G. BowThe Mardo: an examination of geographic variation in morphology and reproductivepotential in Antcchinus flavipes in southwestem Australia
M.S. HarveyNomenclatural notes on Solifugae, Amblypygi, Uropygi and Araneae (Arachnida)
B. MarwickAn Eocene fossiliferous chert artefact from Beacon Island: first evidence of prehistoricoccupation in the Houtman Abrolholos, Westem Australia
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INDEX TO AUTHORS
Abbott, I. 271Adams, M 115Adrim, M 51AlIen, G.R 51, 159, 379Aplin, K.P 115Baehr, B 1Bednarik, R.G 415Bock, P.E 307Bow, B.G 441Bradbury, J.H 39Cook, P.L 307Cooper, N.K 115,441Craig, R.S 199,387Dean, J.C 87de Carvalho, M.R 393Ebach, M.C 353Eberhard, S 39Fehse, D 95Fraser, T.H 159Gill, A.C 69Gill, H.S 31, 349Girardi, L 441Harvey, M.S 57,345,383,449How, R.A 441Humphreys, W.F 333Hutchins, J.B 69, 247Jenkins, A.P 379Jocque, R 1Karanovic, T 333Kendrick, G.W 95Main, B.Y 383Martin, P 409Marwick, B 461Meek, P 81Mooi, R.D 69Morgan, D.L 31, 349Otto, J.C 103Pesce, G.L 333Seret, B 393Shea, G.M 431Short, J.W 81Smith, G.T 57Smit, H 137, 409Thompson, G.G 437Trinajstic, K 187, 237Volschenk, E.S 57Waldock, J.M 383Yu Wen 167Zlbka, M 323
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Records of the Western Australian Museul1lVolulne 20 Part 4 2002
CONTENTS
M.C. EbachLower Devonian trilobites from Cobar, New South Wales
A.P. Jenkins and Gerald R. AlienNeopomacentrus aquadulcis, a new !1pecies of damselfish (Pomacentridae)from eastern Papua New Guinea
B.Y. Main, M.S. Harvey and J.M. WaldockThe distribution of the Western Australian pill millipede, Cynotelopusnotabilis Jeekel (Sphaerotheriidae)
R.S. CraigA new Jurassic rhynchonellide brachiopod from the NewmarracarraLimestone, Perth Basin, Western Australia
M.R. de Carvalho and Bemard SeretNarcine lasti, a new species of numbfish from Western Australia andIndonesia (Chondrichthyes: Torpediniformes: Narcinidae)
P. Martin and H. SmitThe larval morphology and host of the Australian water miteLinmochares australica (Acari: Hydrachnidia: Lirnnocharidae)
R.G. BednarikFirst dating of Pilbara petroglyphs
G.M. SheaThe identity of Phyllurus milii Bory de Saint Vincent, 1823(Squamata: Pygopodidae: Dioplodactylinae)
G.G. ThompsonThe feasibility of using body proportions in Western Australian varanids(Varanus) as a method for determining a specimen's sex
R.A. How, N.K. Cooper, L. Girardi and B.G. BowThe Mardo: an examination of geographic variation in morphology andreproductive potential in Antechinus flavipes in southwestern Australia
M.S. HarveyNomenclatural notes on Solifugae, Arnblypygi, Uropygiand Araneae (Arachnida)
SHORT COMMUNICATION
B. MarwickAn Eocene fossiliferous chert artefact from Beacon Island: first evidence ofprehistoric occupation in the Houtrnan Abrolholos, Western Australia
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