MODERN HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
and Pleistocene Sahul in Review
Natalie R. Franklin 1,2 and Phillip J. Habgood 2
Abstract
The Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Europe has
furnished a ‘package’ of archaeologically visible innovations
that are claimed to reflect modern human behaviour. McBrearty
and Brooks (2000) documented the gradual assembling of
the package over a 200,000 year period in the African Middle
Stone Age and proposed that it was later exported to other
regions of the Old World. Mellars (2006) recently proposed
that modern humans quickly spread from Africa with the
package of modern human behaviours and colonised not
only Europe but also southern Asia and ultimately Australia.
In this paper, we examine the late Pleistocene-early Holocene
archaeological record of Sahul to establish if the package
was brought here by the earliest colonising groups. We find
that the package is not evident at the earliest sites; rather,
its components were gradually assembled over a 30,000
year period following initial occupation of the continent by
anatomically and behaviourally modern humans. The review
further supports the view that there is currently no package
of archaeologically visible traits that can be used to establish
modern human behaviour, as the components not only appear
in different continents at different times, but also at different
times and locations within continents such as Australia.
This review also identifies chronological and geographical
patterning of the individual ‘traits’ and proposes six ‘zones of
innovation’ across Sahul.
Introduction
The definition of modern human behaviour and its appearance
within the archaeological record is a much-debated subject
(see Henshilwood and Marean 2003). The major focus of the
archaeological evidence for the appearance of modern human
behaviour has been the transition from the Middle to the Upper
Palaeolithic and from archaic to modern populations in Europe
from 40ka BP (the ‘Out of Africa Replacement Model’). The
transition, referred to as a ‘Human or Symbolic Revolution’, has
furnished archaeologically visible innovations or traits that are
claimed to reflect modern human behaviour (e.g. Henshilwood
and Marean 2003; Klein 2000; Mellars 1991, 2005; Mellars and
Stringer 1989). The group of archaeologically visible modern
human behavioural traits has been portrayed as a package
that arrived almost simultaneously in Europe. The package
includes the appearance of art and personal ornaments, changes
in tool manufacture (blade technology, standardisation of
types, worked bone), expanded exchange networks, changes in
resource exploitation patterns and more structured occupation
sites (Mellars 1991:63-64, 2005:Figure 1).
McBrearty and Brooks (2000) challenged the concept of a
‘Human Revolution’ by documenting the gradual assembling
1
2
Cultural Heritage Branch, Environmental Protection Agency, PO
Box 15155, City East, QLD 4002, Australia
School of Social Science, University of Queensland, Brisbane,
QLD 4072, Australia
of the package of archaeologically visible traits for modern
human behaviour over a 200,000 year period in the African
Middle Stone Age. They demonstrated that the items do
not occur suddenly together as predicted by the ‘Human
Revolution’ model, but rather appear at sites that are widely
separated in space and time (McBrearty and Brooks 2000:
Figure 13). McBrearty and Brooks (2000) also proposed that
there was a later export of the package to other regions of
the Old World. The package of archaeologically visible traces
of modern human behaviour investigated by McBrearty and
Brooks (2000) included:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
enlarged geographic range;
expanded exchange networks;
personal ornaments;
mining;
art and images;
burial;
economic intensification, reflected in the exploitation of
aquatic or other resources that require specialised technology,
such as grindstones;
worked bone and other organic materials; and
new lithic technologies, such as ground stone artefacts or
blade technology.
D’Errico (2003:Figure 8) detailed the occurrence of the
package in Europe and western Asia from at least 40ka BP and
argued for the independent and gradual development of the
traits within Europe by Neanderthals. Mellars (2005, 2006)
dismissed an in situ development of these behavioural changes
in Europe in favour of a migrationist approach, where the
introduction of these behavioural patterns is directly associated
with the appearance of new populations (anatomically modern
humans) from Africa.
Mellars (2006) recently reaffirmed the view that anatomically
and culturally (read behaviourally) modern humans quickly
spread from Africa with the package of modern human behaviour
and colonised not only Europe but also southern Asia and
Australia. While there is evidence for a movement of anatomically
modern humans into and across Europe from 40ka BP and the
gradual replacement of indigenous Neanderthal populations,
a movement of anatomically modern humans into Asia at this
time is less clear cut (see Bräuer and Smith 1992; Habgood 2003;
Mellars 2005; Mellars and Stringer 1989). Mellars (2006) also
argued that sites from India and Sri Lanka reveal archaeological
assemblages that resemble material from Middle Stone Age sites
in Africa, but this material is currently only dated to 30ka BP (cf.
James and Petraglia 2005).
If there were an archaeologically visible package of modern
human behaviour that was assembled in Africa during the
Middle Stone Age, it seems to have been exported from Africa
and into western Asia and Europe by at least 40ka BP (cf. d’Errico
2003) and into southern Asia by possibly 30ka BP.
Number 65, December 2007
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Modern Human Behaviour and Pleistocene Sahul in Review
Australia has not featured prominently in discussions of the
Human Revolution or the origins of modern human behaviour,
but with a growing recognition that Australia was colonised by
anatomically and behaviourally modern peoples at the same
time as or even prior to Europe, this situation is changing.
Davidson and Noble (1992:135) argued that the colonisation
of Australia is the oldest direct evidence for ‘the expression of
behaviour that is distinctly human’, namely language. That is, to
plan for, construct and use boats required the use of language
by the earliest colonists of Sahul. Davidson and Noble (1992)
also contend that the earliest inhabitants of Australia practised
‘symbolic behaviour’, and list archaeological materials older than
15ka BP from Australian sites that they perceived to be ‘indicative
of fully modern human behaviour’ (Davidson and Noble 1992:
Table 1). These materials, including ground axes, bone artefacts,
ochre and ornaments, are encapsulated within the package of
archaeologically visible modern human behaviour discussed by
McBrearty and Brooks (2000).
White (1999) used aspects of the late Pleistocene prehistory
of Australia to question the ‘creative explosion of the European
Upper Palaeolithic’ (see also White 1977; White and O’Connell
1982). Hiscock and O’Connor (2005, 2006) examined the
appearance(s) of backed artefacts in Australia and Africa to assess
the validity of these artefacts as an archaeologically visible trait
of modern human behaviour, finding that their use was limited
due to the chronologically and regionally variable nature of their
occurrences. Holdaway and Cosgrove (1997) compared late
Pleistocene southwest Tasmania with Middle Palaeolithic Eurasia
to question the unilinear model of an archaeologically visible
transition from archaic to modern behaviour. Brumm and Moore
(2005), following Wadley (2001), focused on archaeologically
visible manifestations in the Australian archaeological record
of ‘symbolic storage’ (art, ornaments, lithics) as evidence for
modern human behaviour and found that while there were
isolated examples of late Pleistocene symbolic storage, many
of the hallmarks of the symbolic revolution appeared late in
Australia (mid-to-late Holocene).
This paper further examines the late Pleistocene-early
Holocene archaeological record of Greater Australia to establish
if this continent was one of the ‘regions of the Old World’ where
the package of archaeologically visible modern human behaviour
was imported by the earliest colonising groups, as proposed by
McBrearty and Brooks (2000; see also Mellars 2006). We focus
on those traits examined by McBrearty and Brooks (2000) and
assess whether they are archaeologically visible from an early
period, as would be expected if the proposal were correct.
The starting point for the review is the initial colonisation
of Sahul by anatomically and behaviourally modern peoples, a
reasonable estimate for which would be 45–50ka BP (Allen and
O’Connell 2003; Bowdler 1993; Bowler et al. 2003; Gillespie 1998,
2002; Habgood 2003; O’Connell and Allen 2004).
Enlarged Geographic Range
The early colonists of Sahul adapted to a range of environments,
and by 25–35ka BP had occupied all major environmental zones
within Greater Australia, from the tropical equator through to
Tasmania (Figures 1-2) (Flood 1995; Gosden 1993; Mulvaney and
Kamminga 1999; Pavlides and Gosden 1994; Smith and Sharp
1993). However, occupation was not necessarily continuous
2
throughout Greater Australia during the late Pleistocene, with
some sites and landscapes being abandoned during the last
glacial maximum and others, such as southwest Tasmania,
flourishing during this period (Cosgrove 1995; Fairbairn et al.
2006; Habgood 1991; Porch and Allen 1995; Smith 1989; Veth
1989; cf. Smith and Sharp 1993).
Expanded Exchange Networks – 40ka BP
Late Pleistocene sites from across Greater Australia have
evidence of wide-ranging mobile groups and/or long-distance
transport, contact and/or exchange in exotic materials for
utilitarian or symbolic purposes or for personal adornment.
Obsidian from West New Britain was also transported around
the offshore islands of the Bismarck Archipelago at the northeast
periphery of Greater Australia during the late Pleistocene (e.g.
Allen, Gosden et al. 1989; Fredericksen 1997; Gosden 1995;
White and Harris 1997).
There is evidence for long-distance transport and/or
exchange networks in the Kimberley region during the late
Pleistocene with fragments of Dentalium shell beads and baler
shell (Melo amphora) recovered from Riwi Cave and Carpenter’s
Gap Rockshelter 1, possibly dating as early as 29–42ka BP, when
the coastline would have been 100–300km away (Balme 2000;
Balme and Morse 2006; O’Connor 1995). Similarly, O’Connor
(1999) suggested that pearl shell and a ground sea urchin spine
recovered from levels dated around 18.9ka BP and a baler shell
dated to 28ka BP from Widgingarri Shelter 1 were value goods
obtained from the coast some 200km away through exchange
networks. O’Connor (1999) noted that ethnographically, pearl
and baler shell were sought after and traded commodities in
the Kimberley area, and proposed that the Pleistocene examples
could be the result of indirect ‘down-the-line’ exchange (see also
Balme and Morse 2006).
Ochre occurs throughout the archaeological deposits at
Mandu Mandu Creek Rockshelter, Cape Range Peninsula,
peaking in layers dating to 20–25ka BP (Morse 1993a). No local
sources of ochre are known on the Cape Range Peninsula with the
nearest sources on the Hammersley Plateau some 300km to the
northeast or 850km to the southeast at Wilgie Mia. At Puritjarra,
Central Australia, Smith et al. (1998) sourced red ochres from
excavated layers dated between 13–32ka BP as coming from one
quarry, Karrku, about 150km away. At the Arnhem Land sites
of Nauwalabila I and Malakunanja II, haematite (often in large
pieces, including a 1kg piece), has been recovered from deposits
dated between 18–30ka BP (Jones and Johnson 1985; Jones and
Negerevich 1985). As high-quality haematite is not found in
the vicinity of the sites it must have been brought in from some
distance (Chaloupka 1993; Jones and Johnson 1985). The Lake
Mungo 3 (LM3) burial at the Willandra Lakes, dating to around
40ka BP (see below), was covered in red ochre that had stained
the sand of the grave-fill a pink colour. As ochre does not occur
near Lake Mungo, it must have been transported there from
some distance away, possibly 200km, for ceremonial purposes
(Bowler 1998).
There is also evidence for long-distance transport of stone in
the central Darling district of western New South Wales during
the late Pleistocene. At Cuddie Springs within deposits argued to
date between 28–35ka BP (see below), sandstone used to make
grindstones was derived from a quarry some 120km northwest
Number 65, December 2007
Natalie R. Franklin and Phillip J. Habgood
Figure 1 Map of Sahul showing the main sites mentioned in the text. Shaded area indicates the continental shelf exposed at last glacial
maximum.
Figure 2 Map of Tasmania showing the main sites mentioned in the text. Shaded area indicates the continental shelf.
Number 65, December 2007
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Modern Human Behaviour and Pleistocene Sahul in Review
of the site, feldspar porphyry came from quarries 120km to the
south at Mt Foster, while phyllite, quartz and quartzite may have
come from locations up to 60km to the southwest (Field and
Dodson 1999; Furby et al. 1993).
Sites in southwest Tasmania indicate late Pleistocene
transport and/or exchange networks in an impactite referred to
as ‘Darwin glass’, which was transported from a meteorite crater
over distances of up to 100km (Allen, Marshall et al. 1989;
Cosgrove 1995; Porch and Allen 1995; Ranson et al. 1983; Stern
and Marshall 1993). For example, Darwin glass was recovered at
Nunamira Cave from 27.7ka BP levels, while the most northerly
occurrence appears to be at Mackintosh Cave, where occupation
is confined to the period from 15–17ka BP (Allen, Marshall
et al. 1989; Cosgrove 1995; Stern and Marshall 1993). Jones
(1989:769) observed that these sites were ‘integrated into a single
social system’, while Cosgrove (1995:93) suggested that the late
Pleistocene distribution pattern of Darwin glass may mark ‘a
human behavioural boundary during the ice age’.
Mining – 24ka BP
Koonalda Cave is the oldest dated stone quarry in Greater Australia
and was visited between 14–24ka BP to mine flint nodules from
the limestone cave walls (Wright 1971). Late Pleistocene silicate
mining may also be evident at Karlie-ngoinpool cave in the Mt
Gambier region (Bednarik 1984).
The ochre recovered from late Pleistocene deposits at sites
throughout Greater Australia (see below) may have been
obtained through small-scale excavation activities. Extensive
ochre mining did occur at Bookartoo (Parachilna) in South
Australia, Wilgie Mia in Western Australia and the Campbell
Ranges in the Northern Territory, although the latter appears to
be limited to the late Holocene period (Hiscock 1996; Mulvaney
and Kamminga 1999).
Personal Ornaments – 42ka BP
The use of ornaments for ceremonial and decorative purposes
was well-established in Australia by the mid-Holocene with
necklaces and headbands appearing regularly in burials in
southeastern Australia (e.g. Feary 1996; Macintosh 1971; Pardoe
1995; Pretty 1977). Personal ornaments and notational pieces are
also found during the late Pleistocene in Greater Australia.
As noted earlier, fragments of Dentalium shell beads have
been recovered from late Pleistocene levels at Riwi Cave and
Carpenter’s Gap Rockshelter 1. At Mandu Mandu Creek
Rockshelter 22 small cone-shells and shell fragments (Conus
sp.) were recovered from the basal occupation horizon, dated
at about 32ka BP (Balme and Morse 2006; Morse 1993a, 1993b).
The Conus material appears to have been deliberately modified
as beads, and if assembled, the strand of beads is estimated to
have been 180mm in length.
At Devil’s Lair, three beads made on short lengths of
macropod long bone are dated to 12–19ka BP (Dortch
1979, 1984). Also recovered was a perforated tapering bone
splinter, possibly a pendant, dated at 12ka BP (Dortch and
Merrilees 1973; cf. Bednarik 1998; Dortch and Dortch 1996). A
perforated limestone object that bears four grooves in a form
and distribution consistent with the object’s suspension from
a string was also recovered from a 14ka BP horizon (Bednarik
1997; Dortch 1984).
4
A number of sites from Greater Australia have produced what
can be categorised as notational pieces. Within the context of
archaeologically visible modern human behaviour, notational
pieces can, along with art and personal ornaments, be regarded
as examples of external symbolic storage (see Wadley 2001).
Two pieces of limestone from Devil’s Lair are described
as engraved stone plaques (Dortch 1976; Dortch 2004). The
engraved face of plaque B3651, dated to 13ka BP, has a distinct
trapezoidal shape formed by adjoining and intersecting incisions
and grooves along with other fainter striations. Plaque B3652,
dated to 25.5ka BP, has a number of prominent incised lines and
numerous fine striations with no dominant motif or clear pattern
evident. Bednarik (1998) identified the markings on the two
plaques as animal scratches or other taphonomic marks. While
this assessment may be correct, especially for plaque B3652, the
trapezoidal shape on plaque B3651 does appear to be a distinct
geometric motif or design.
A macropod femur with groups of grooves on the shaft, some
displaying a gloss, was recovered from Cave Bay Cave, Hunter
Island, from deposits dated to 15.4–20.85ka BP (Bowdler 1984).
A Diprotodon incisor with 28 incised grooves was identified in
a collection of megafaunal bones from Spring Creek, southwest
Victoria, from deposits dated to possibly 19.8ka BP. Vanderwal
and Fullagar (1989) contend that the grooves were inconsistent
with marks made by rolling within the depositional matrix, or
with natural post-depositional processes, and favoured a human
origin for them. White and Flannery (1995) re-examined the
Spring Creek site, noting that the stratigraphic integrity of the
site was questionable and dismissing the argument that the
incisions on the Diprotodon tooth were necessarily the result of
deliberate human activity.
Art and Images – 42ka BP
There is a range of evidence for late Pleistocene artistic activities in
Australia including the presence of ochre pieces and grindstones
that can be associated with pigment processing, finger markings,
paintings and engravings.
Ochre has many possible uses, including in medicine, the
processing of animal skins, the decoration of artefacts, the
body and rock surfaces, and in ritual activities such as burials
(Wadley 2001). Archaeologically, it is not always possible to infer
the particular function of ochre. Ochre is found widely in late
Pleistocene archaeological sites in Greater Australia, where it may
be an indication of artistic activities.
At Carpenter’s Gap, a pellet of red ochre was found in a
layer bracketed by dates of c.42.8ka and 33.6ka BP (O’Connor
and Fankhauser 2001), while at Riwi Cave ochre is present in
deposits dated to c.31.8ka BP (Balme 2000), and red, yellow and
orange pieces of ochre occur in levels dated between 18.9–28ka
BP at Widgingarri Shelter 2 (O’Connor 1999). Ochre was found
throughout the deposits at Mandu Mandu Creek, peaking in
layers dating to 20–25ka BP (Morse 1993a), while in southwest
Australia, one of the few pieces of red ochre recovered from
Devil’s Lair is dated at c.30ka BP (Dortch 1984; Dortch 2004).
Sites in Arnhem Land have yielded considerable quantities
of ochre. A large, 1kg piece of haematite was recovered from
Malakunanja II, as well as a grindstone stained with red
ochre from levels dated to c.18ka BP (Chaloupka 1993). At
Malangangerr, 447 nodules of ochre date to 18–24ka BP, while
Number 65, December 2007
Natalie R. Franklin and Phillip J. Habgood
at Nawamoyn and Nauwalabila I, ochre, often with use/grinding
facets, dates from 20–30ka BP (Jones and Johnson 1985; Schrire
1982). In the Cape York region, ochre, frequently with use-wear
striations, has been recovered from Sandy Creek 1, Early Man
and Fern Cave in deposits dating between 18–32ka BP (Cole et
al. 1995; David 1991; Rosenfeld 1981). At the Willandra Lakes,
powdered red ochre covered almost the entire area of the grave
of LM3 (Bowler and Thorne 1976), which is dated to possibly
40±2ka BP (see below), while at Cuddie Springs ochre is found
in deposits proposed to date to c.30–33ka BP (Field and Dodson
1999; Fullagar and Field 1997; but see below). Nearly 200 pieces
of ochre were recovered at Puritjarra. In levels dating to 18–
32ka BP, ochre is restricted to the centre of the rockshelter floor
and consists entirely of small crumbs, suggesting its use for
body or artefact decoration. However, from 13ka BP onwards,
ochre consistently occurs in deposits against the shelter wall
adjacent to an extensive panel of paintings and stencils, which
suggests use of the ochre for making the art on the shelter walls
(Rosenfeld and Smith 2002).
Ochre appears from c.40ka BP, with the variety of colours
including red, yellow, white, purple and orange suggesting more
than just a utilitarian purpose at some sites, and at Puritjarra and
Lake Mungo it is possible to infer the function of ochre.
Rock art has proven difficult to date directly in Greater
Australia (Franklin 2004). The earliest evidence for painted
rock art comes from Carpenter’s Gap where a fragment of rock
with red pigment on it was recovered from a layer bracketed by
dates of c.33.6 and 42.8ka BP (O’Connor and Fankhauser 2001),
although the nature of the motifs depicted is unknown. Age
estimates of 25–28ka BP have been obtained by dating oxalate
skins between pigments in microstratified rock crusts at Sandy
Creek 2 and Walkunder Arch Cave (Campbell et al. 1996; Cole
et al. 1995). However, again the nature of the motifs is unknown,
and it is possible that the haematite identified may be natural,
rather than artefactual (Franklin 1996).
There have been claims for 25ka BP year old rock images
in Greater Australia; however, these remain equivocal. In the
Kimberley region, conflicting age estimates of 17–25ka BP and
4ka BP have been derived for Bradshaw (Gwion) paintings
using different dating techniques and materials (Roberts et al.
1997; Watchman et al. 1997). An age of 25ka years has also been
proposed for possible depictions of extinct animals in northern
Australia, although the identifications can be disputed (see
Franklin 2004).
The earliest evidence for identifiable rock art comes from
Koonalda Cave. Finger markings on the soft limestone walls of
the cave would have been made during the period 14–24ka BP,
when the cave was visited to mine flint (see above), and may
date to 20ka BP based on a charcoal sample from directly below
a concentration of such markings, presumed to be the remains
of a torch used to provide light for execution of the art (Maynard
and Edwards 1971; Wright 1971; cf. Rosenfeld 1993). Minimum
dates of around 14ka BP have been obtained for rock engravings
associated with occupation deposits at Early Man, Sandy Creek
1 and Puritjarra (Cole et al. 1995; Rosenfeld 1981; Rosenfeld
and Smith 2002). Red hand stencils and ochre smears occur at
Wargata Mina, Ballawinne and Keyhole Cavern in southwest
Tasmania, and date to 10–35ka BP (Cosgrove and Jones 1989;
McGowan et al. 1993).
The earliest evidence for rock painting is about 40ka BP,
although identifiable rock art probably only dates to about 20ka
BP. There is also a cluster of dates for painting and engraving
c.10–14ka BP, but most paintings with recognisable motifs date
to the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary or the mid-Holocene
(Franklin 2004:Table 1:1).
Burial – 40ka BP
Localities with burials are evident in Greater Australia during
the late Pleistocene, with cemeteries appearing along the river
systems of southeastern Australia around the PleistoceneHolocene transition (Pardoe 1988, 1995). The appearance of
elaborate burials suggests ceremonial and ritual activities.
The earliest burials come from the Willandra Lakes area,
where more than 130 individual burials have been identified
(Webb 1989). It has been proposed that 10 of the burials date to
more than 15ka BP, while another 44 burials are older than 10ka
BP (Pardoe 1993; Webb 1989). The two most famous burials
from this location are Lake Mungo 1 (LM1) and Lake Mungo
3 (LM3). LM1 consists of a fragmentary individual who had
been cremated. Following cremation the bones were smashed,
gathered together and deposited in a shallow depression (Bowler
et al. 1970, 1972). LM3 is an almost complete adult skeleton that
was buried in a shallow grave and covered with powdered red
ochre. The body had been placed on its back in an extended
position with a slight rotation to the right and with the hands
clasped over the lower pelvis (Bowler and Thorne 1976).
The dating of these two burials has proven problematic. LM1
has provided direct radiocarbon dates suggestive of an age of
16–29ka BP, while the LM3 burial was initially stratigraphically
dated to 28–32ka BP (Bowler and Price 1998; Bowler and Thorne
1976; Bowler et al. 1972; Gillespie 1998; Webb 1989). However,
the grave pit of LM3, estimated to be only 80–100cm deep
(Bowler and Thorne 1976; Bowler et al. 2003), would have been
dug down from an earlier surface. As LM3 was found eroding
out of the deposit into which it was buried, the actual surface
from where the grave was dug could be many thousands of
years younger than the dates for this deposit (see Gillespie 2002;
Pardoe 1995). Regional correlations, pedogenic analyses and the
results from various dating methods suggested to Bowler (1998)
that the deposit into which the LM3 burial was dug could be
42–45ka BP.
These age estimates have been revised, with Thorne et al.
(1999) proposing a ‘best age estimate’ of 62±6ka BP for LM3 based
on electron spin resonance (ESR) and uranium-series (U-series)
dating. The age estimates obtained by Thorne et al. (1999) have
been criticised on the grounds of methodology, interpretation and
non-agreement with the radiocarbon and thermoluminesence
(TL) dates for the Willandra Lakes area (Bowler and Magee
2000; Gillespie 2002; Gillespie and Roberts 2000), but have been
reaffirmed by the original team (Grün et al. 2000). More recently
Bowler et al. (2003) obtained optically-stimulated luminesence
(OSL) age estimates interpreted as indicating that LM3 was buried
into sands dated to 42±3ka BP and sealed by deposits dated to
38±2ka BP. While some uncertainty remains with establishing the
dates for when LM1 and LM3 were buried, Bowler et al. (2003)
proposed that both burials are about 40±2ka BP, which would
seem a reasonable estimate when all of the data are taken into
consideration (cf. Gillespie 1998, 2002).
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Modern Human Behaviour and Pleistocene Sahul in Review
Individual burials are also recorded at sites dating from the
late Pleistocene to early to mid-Holocene including Keilor, Lake
Tandou, Mossgiel, Cossack and Lake Nitchie (Pardoe 1988, 1995).
Pardoe (1988, 1995) has defined cemeteries on size, density
of burials, boundedness and exclusivity of use. The most famous
Pleistocene Australian cemetery is Kow Swamp, where the
remains of more than 40 individuals were recovered and are
generally dated to 9–14ka BP (see Pardoe 1995). More recently it
has been proposed that the cemetery dates to 19–22ka BP based
on OSL dates of sediment (Stone and Cupper 2003), but the
relationship between the dated sediments and the burials cannot
be conclusively established. Brown (1989) morphologically
linked the Kow Swamp individuals with individuals buried at
Nacurrie and Coobool Creek, which are dated in the range of
7–15ka BP, supporting a terminal Pleistocene age for the Kow
Swamp cemetery. More than 100 burials have been unearthed
at the site of Roonka, towards the mouth of the Murray River,
South Australia, with some dating to possibly 7.5ka BP, although
the majority date after 4ka BP (Pate et al. 1998; Pretty 1977).
Multiple burials, shaft tombs, ochre and personal ornaments
were present in some of the burials at Roonka.
A range of mortuary practices are evident in the corpus of
late Pleistocene to mid-Holocene burials from Greater Australia,
which include extended and flexed burials, cremations, use of
ochre and the presence of grave goods. These varied and elaborate
mortuary practices clearly establish the existence of social rules
governing burial and ritual practices and strongly imply religious
beliefs in late Pleistocene and early Holocene Australia.
Economic Intensification – 30–40ka BP
In McBrearty and Brooks’ (2000) scenario, economic intensification
is reflected in the exploitation of aquatic or other resources that
require specialised technology, such as harpoons, fish hooks or
grindstones. In an Australian context, the discussion is more about
resource exploitation, even though it may have required specialised
technology, rather than ‘economic intensification’, which is
generally a mid-to-late Holocene phenomenon (Lourandos and
Ross 1994). Fullagar (2006) further proposed that evidence for
plant processing, such as seed-grinding, cooking and leaching of
unpalatable or toxic plants, could be an important indicator of
modern human behaviour.
Late Pleistocene evidence for the exploitation of freshwater
shellfish and fish is apparent around the palaeo-river and lake
systems of southeast Australia. Freshwater mussel shells, yabbies
and fish remains are evident in late Pleistocene middens around
the Willandra Lakes system, documenting exploitation of the
lake resources from 36ka BP and possibly 40ka BP (Allen 1998;
Gillespie 1998; Hope 1993; Johnston 1993). There appear to
be two major periods of aquatic exploitation in the area – an
earlier period centred around 25–40ka BP and a later peak at 15–
17ka BP. Along the lower Darling River, the anabranch channel
and the nearby lakes systems including Tandou, Nitchie and
Menindee Lakes, there is extensive evidence of late Pleistoceneearly Holocene shell middens dating from 5–27ka BP and
possibly as early as 35ka BP (Balme 1995; Balme and Hope 1990;
Hope 1993). These Pleistocene middens, which were generally
dominated by a single species, appear to represent short-term
camps and intensive exploitation of a particular resource (fish
or shellfish or crayfish), and demonstrate that use of freshwater
6
resources was an important component of the lifeways of the late
Pleistocene inhabitants of this region (Allen 1998; Balme 1995).
The Gulf country in northwest Queensland also has evidence of
late Pleistocene shell middens dating from 15–40ka BP (Slack et
al. 2004).
Fish hooks and barbed or multipronged fishing spears do
not appear to be components of the late Pleistocene toolkit in
Australia. However, it has been proposed that the fish remains
from the middens near the river and lake systems of western
New South Wales imply the use of fish nets and/or fish traps,
as well as the spearing and clubbing of individual fish (Allen
1998; Balme 1995). Therefore, the exploitation of freshwater
lacustrine and riverine resources could reflect McBrearty and
Brooks’ (2000) categorisation of economic intensification in
that it may have involved specialised technology in the form of
nets, traps and/or spears.
Marine shellfish exploitation can provide a rich and reliable
food resource if available (see discussion in Nicholson and Cane
1994). Islands off the northwest and northeast coasts of Sahul have
early evidence of marine exploitation. At the East Timor site of
Lene Hara Cave there is a shellfish midden dated to 30–35ka BP
(O’Connor et al. 2002). On New Ireland at Buang Merabak, a shell
midden is dated to possibly 32–40ka BP (Leavesley et al. 2002),
while at Matenkupkum, shellfish remains are dated to 21–33ka BP
(Allen et al. 1988; Beaton 1995). Also, at the site of Kilu on Buka
Island, reef mollusc shells and fish remains are dated to 28ka BP
(Wickler 2001; Wickler and Spriggs 1988). These sites demonstrate
late Pleistocene marine exploitation and voyaging capabilities.
The coastline of Greater Australia has varied throughout the
Pleistocene and Holocene with numerous and regular marine
transgressions throughout this period (Beaton 1995:Figure 2).
The last major transgression equates with the waning of the
last glacial maximum around 18–20ka BP and relative sea-level
stabilisation at approximately 6ka BP. The impact of these sealevel transgressions on settlement patterns would have been
significant, especially in coastal regions with a relatively flat
continental shelf where there would have been a rapid advance
of the sea and retreat of the coastline (see Mulvaney 1975:
Figure 20).
Bowdler’s (1977, 1990) coastal colonisation model for Greater
Australia necessitates early coastal sites with clear evidence
of marine exploitation. However, early sites with evidence of
marine exploitation may have been covered by rising sea-levels
or destroyed by weathering and erosion. Beaton (1985:18)
challenged this concept and proposed that the late Pleistoceneearly Holocene inhabitants of Greater Australia would have
exploited coastal resources ‘in a tentative manner’ and that
the Holocene record was the ‘nearly complete archaeological
expression of coastal foraging in the past’.
While sites with well-developed coastal economies and
exploitation of marine resources are very evident from midHolocene times onwards within Australia (Beaton 1985; Cane
2001; Nicholson and Cane 1994; Ulm et al. 1995), there are
some sites with reported late Pleistocene evidence of shellfish
exploitation. Mandu Mandu Creek Rockshelter has limited
evidence of marine exploitation from 22–25ka BP, with wellestablished use after 5.5ka BP (Morse 1988, 1993a). Littoral
and terrestrial resources were also being used during the late
Pleistocene (Morse 1988). Beaton (1995) suggested that the
Number 65, December 2007
Natalie R. Franklin and Phillip J. Habgood
evidence for marine exploitation at Mandu Mandu Creek is
negligible and may have been introduced into the late Pleistocene
deposits from the mid-to-late Holocene levels by bioturbation.
The late Pleistocene levels at Koolan Shelter 2 reflect a terrestrial
economy, but there are limited shellfish remains at the site that
may date to 24ka BP (O’Connor 1999), although intermixing
from the shell-rich early Holocene levels cannot be excluded
(Beaton 1995; O’Connor 1999). From 10.5ka BP when the sea
was in close proximity, there is a well-established marine and
terrestrial economy evident at Koolan Shelter 2 (O’Connor 1999).
Lachitu Shelter on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea has
shell midden material dating to 12–14ka BP (Gorecki et al. 1991).
Noala Cave, now on the Montebello Islands, has evidence for the
exploitation of marine resources from terminal Pleistocene and
early Holocene levels when the sea was within 4km of the site
(Veth 1993). The Discovery Bay area, southeast South Australia
and southwest Victoria, also illustrates the sporadic exploitation
of marine resources from 12ka BP at Bridgewater South Cave
and 9.2ka BP at Koongine Cave (Bird and Frankel 1991; Frankel
1986; Lourandos 1983).
The majority of midden sites along the Australian mainland
coast date from after sea-level stabilisation c.6ka BP, although
early Holocene estuarine and marine shell middens are evident
(Cane 2001; Nicholson and Cane 1994), such as the Arnhem
Land sites of Nawamoyn, Malangangerr and Malakunanja II
dating from 7ka BP (Jones and Negerevich 1985; Schrire 1982),
Nara Inlet 1 on Hook Island, Queensland, from at least 8.15ka BP
(Barker 1991) and Discovery Bay from 9ka BP (Bird and Frankel
1991; Godfrey 1989).
Tasmania, which became an island some 10.5ka years ago,
presents a different picture from other parts of Greater Australia
in that marine-based economies appear to be well-established
in the early Holocene from at least 8ka BP at sites including
Carlton Bluff, Rocky Cape South and Beeton Shelter (Cane
2001; Nicholson and Cane 1994; Porch and Allen 1995; White
and O’Connell 1982). It has also been suggested that bone points
from some coastal Tasmanian sites may have been used as spear
points for spearing and gutting fish or for the manufacture of
fishing nets (Bowdler 1984; Flood 1995).
While there is clear evidence for marine shellfish and fish
exploitation from islands off the northern Sahul coast from
20–40ka BP, the evidence for Greater Australia is equivocal. It
appears that during the terminal Pleistocene, coastal resources
were only exploited ‘in a tentative manner’ and were secondary
to terrestrial exploitation (see Nicholson and Cane 1994; White
and O’Connell 1982). Also, some marine shellfish would have
not only provided food resources, but also resources for tools,
water carriers and ornaments. Therefore, the early examples of
baler (Melo sp.), pearl shell (Pinctada sp.) and clam (Tridacna sp.)
may have been sought-after value goods or traded commodities
rather than food resources (Balme 2000; Morse 1996; O’Connor
1995, 1999). Any suggestion of specialised technology for the
exploitation of marine resources remains speculative for Greater
Australia. The best evidence for such specialised technology
comes from the islands off the northern Sahul coast, where the
presence of the remains of pelagic fish species in late Pleistocene
deposits at sites such as Kilu and Matenkupkum implies offshore
angling, netting and/or fish traps (compare Allen, Gosden et al.
1989 and Wickler 2001). The earliest shell fish hook from the
region comes from Lene Hara Cave, East Timor, and only dates
to the early Holocene (O’Connor and Veth 2005).
Late Pleistocene sites in southwest Tasmania reflect the
intensive exploitation of a particular prey from 30ka BP: Bennett’s
wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus rufogriseus), which accounts for
some 85% of the faunal material recovered from some sites
(Cosgrove and Allen 2001; McNiven et al. 1993; Ranson et al.
1983). Cosgrove and Pike-Tay (2004) analysed macropod dental
remains from Kutikina, Warreen and Bone Caves and concluded
that there was seasonal hunting (autumn, late winter/early
spring) and prey age selection in southwest Tasmania during the
late Pleistocene (see also Cosgrove and Allen 2001). The same
Pleistocene deposits produced bone points, some of which have
use-wear that has been interpreted as indicating hafting as spear
points (Webb and Allen 1990; cf. Cosgrove and Pike-Tay 2004).
Late Pleistocene-early Holocene bone points from Tasmanian
sites may therefore constitute specialised technology developed
to facilitate the intensive exploitation of particular terrestrial
and marine resources, and so could equate with McBrearty
and Brooks’ (2000) categorisation of economic intensification
involving specialised technology.
The appearance of grass seed grindstones was initially
established at 12–15ka BP, and was linked to the habitation of arid
zones within Greater Australia (Balme 1991; Smith 1986), which
would fit with McBrearty and Brooks’ (2000) scenario of intensive
resource exploitation requiring specialised technology. However,
earlier late Pleistocene grindstones have now been recovered.
At Cuddie Springs, grindstone fragments have been recovered
along with bones of megafauna and stone tools from levels
proposed to span the period from 28–35ka BP (Dodson et al.
1993; Field and Dodson 1999; Fullagar and Field 1997). However,
issues with the stratigraphic integrity of the Cuddie Springs
deposits remain (David 2002; Gillespie and Brook 2006; cf. Field
2006; Trueman et al. 2005). Also, some of the other finds from
Cuddie Springs do not equate with chronological placements
elsewhere in mainland Australia. Thumbnail scrapers and
artefacts with identical use-wear and similar morphology to
tulas were recovered from levels dating to older than 19ka BP
(Dodson et al. 1993; Field and Dodson 1999), whereas elsewhere
they appear in the mid-to-late Holocene (Flood 1995; Mulvaney
and Kamminga 1999). Also, a recovered ground cylindrical
stone artefact is said to be similar to ritually significant cylcons
that are surface finds elsewhere in western New South Wales
(Bednarik 1998; Dodson et al. 1993). These ‘unique discoveries’,
coupled with grindstones that are similar to late Holocene and
ethnographic examples, could be suggestive of mixed deposits
(cf. Field 2006; Fullagar 2004; Trueman et al. 2005).
In Arnhem Land at Malakunanja II, three grindstones, one
stained with ochre, were recovered within levels dated to at least
18ka BP, while at Nauwalabila I ‘grinding slabs’ were recovered
throughout Pleistocene and Holocene levels, the earliest being
possibly 22ka years old (Jones and Johnson 1985; Jones and
Negerevich 1985).
Economic intensification and/or intensive resource
exploitation was an integral component of the foraging strategies
of the Indigenous inhabitants of Greater Australia during the late
Pleistocene as reflected in the intensive exploitation of freshwater
shellfish, macropods in southwest Tasmania and possibly the use
of grindstones.
Number 65, December 2007
7
Modern Human Behaviour and Pleistocene Sahul in Review
Worked Bone and Other Organic Materials
– 22ka BP
While stone tools probably used for woodworking occur
throughout Greater Australia, wooden tools are rarely preserved.
At Wyrie Swamp, South Australia, 25 artefacts made from sheoak
have been recovered and dated to c.10.2ka BP (Luebbers 1975).
They include digging sticks, boomerangs and one-piece spears.
Worked bone in Greater Australia comprises bone points,
a term that has been used for a variety of forms (cf. Bowdler
1984; Lampert 1971; Webb and Allen 1990). However, most late
Pleistocene bone points are made from macropod fibulae and
can be broadly categorised as sharp unipoints, small bipoints or
rounded spatulate-ended bone tools.
Thirteen bone points ranging in size from 20–150mm were
recovered from Devil’s Lair. The oldest may be 26ka BP, although
the majority are less than 20ka BP (Dortch 1984; Dortch 2004;
Dortch and Merrilees 1973). A small bone object, described as
an awl, was also recovered. It is 14mm long and made on the
proximal end of a bird fibula with a highly polished and pointed
distal end (Dortch and Merrilees 1973).
Several sites in southwest Tasmania have yielded bone tools
from late Pleistocene levels – 13 at Bone Cave dated to 12–29ka
BP, six at Warreen Cave dated to 18–22ka BP, and a stout bone
unipoint at Kutikina Cave dating from 15–20ka BP (Allen,
Marshall et al. 1989; Ranson et al. 1983; Webb and Allen 1990).
Elsewhere in Tasmania, Cave Bay Cave produced a 90mm long
ground bone point dated to 18.55ka BP (Bowdler 1984). Other
macropod bone artefacts recovered from late Pleistocene contexts
at the site included a spatulate-ended tool dated to 19.52ka BP,
and a spatulate tool form and a point dated to 20.8–22.8ka BP.
Bone artefacts recovered from sites within the southern
highlands of Victoria include a sharp, highly polished bone point
from levels bracketed by dates of 13.69 and 17.72ka BP at Clogg’s
Cave and four bone points dating between 4.6–21ka BP from
New Guinea II Rockshelter (Flood 1980; Ossa et al. 1995). Finally,
the Seton site on Kangaroo Island yielded two bone points dated
to 10.94ka BP (Lampert 1981).
Use-wear analyses suggest that fine bone points from Tasmania
were used for piercing dry skin, the flat-tipped points for scraping
the inner surface of skin and the spatulae as cloak fasteners
or toggles (Webb and Allen 1990). Bone points may, therefore,
indicate late Pleistocene skin-working and cloak-making in the
colder southern regions of Greater Australia. Other than possibly
the Aru Islands (O’Connor et al. 2006), Pleistocene bone points
have not been recovered from sites in northern Greater Australia,
but Holocene examples may have been used for pressure flaking
in the manufacture of stone points (O’Connor 1996, 1999). This
may also have been a function of some Pleistocene bone points
in Tasmania, as a pressure-flaked denticulate was recovered from
Bone Cave, and dated to at least 23ka BP (Allen 1989; Cosgrove
et al. 1990:Figure 7).
New Lithic Technologies – 40ka BP
A key component of the ‘Human Revolution’ and the proposed
archaeologically visible evidence for ‘modern human behaviour’
has been the introduction of new lithic technologies such as
ground stone artefacts or blade technology.
Late Pleistocene stone tool assemblages in Greater Australia
are flake-based assemblages with few formal types (mostly
8
scraper forms) and dominated by retouched and unretouched
flakes (Mulvaney 1975; Mulvaney and Kamminga 1999; White
and O’Connell 1982). While there is regional and temporal
variation, these late Pleistocene assemblages generally do not
include the stone artefact components that are identified as
signals for modern human behaviour as detailed by McBrearty
and Brooks (2000:Table 3), namely:
•
•
•
•
•
increasing artefact diversity;
standardisation within formal tool categories;
new lithic technologies (blade technology, backing);
special purpose tools (projectiles, geometrics); and
hafting and composite tools.
However, a number of mainland sites have a small component
of backed artefacts by the terminal Pleistocene-early Holocene
and possibly earlier in Tasmania (Hiscock and Attenbrow 1998;
McNiven 2000; Slack et al. 2004). Possible special purpose
small and relatively standardised thumbnail scrapers have been
recovered from late Pleistocene deposits at southwest Tasmanian
sites from 24ka BP (Cosgrove 1995; Cosgrove et al. 1990; Porch
and Allen 1995; Ranson et al. 1983). The steep retouched
backing on these thumbnail scrapers may suggest their use as
hand-held multipurpose cutting tools and not hafting, although
it has also been proposed that they were specialised blades on
multicomponent tools (Mulvaney and Kamminga 1999).
One component of ‘new lithic technologies’ that was
integral to the stone tool technology of the late Pleistocene
inhabitants of northern Sahul are edge-ground and/or waisted
adzes/hatchets (hatchets).
Large, waisted hatchets have been recovered from the walls of a
stream gully running into a palaeo-lagoon on reef terrace IIIa, one
of a series of raised coral terraces covered by volcanic tephras, at the
Bobongara site on the Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea, dating
to between 40–61ka BP (Allen and O’Connell 2003; Golson 2001;
Groube et al. 1986; O’Connell and Allen 2004). Similar waisted
artefacts and edge-ground hatchets have been found at other
Papua New Guinea sites, including Kosipe and Nombe dating to
c.25ka BP, Yuku from deposits older than 12ka BP and possibly
Kuk at 20ka BP (Golson 2001; White and O’Connell 1982). Waisted
hatchets are not commonly found in Australia, but a number have
been recovered on Kangaroo Island, some of which could possibly
be late Pleistocene in age (Golson 2001; Lampert 1981).
Edge-ground hatchets generally appear at sites in Papua New
Guinea during the Holocene, although Nombe has Pleistocene
examples (Golson 2001; Holdaway 1995). Late Pleistocene edgeground hatchets are found in northern Australia. At Sandy Creek
1 Rockshelter an edge-ground, waisted and grooved hatchet was
recovered and dated to possibly 32ka BP (Morwood and Trezise
1989). Fourteen edge-ground stone hatchets were recovered
at Malangangerr and Nawamoyn, Arnhem Land, some dating
between 18–24ka BP (Schrire 1982; cf. Golson 2001). Schrire
(1982) interpreted four hatchets found together beneath an
overhang at Nawamoyn as a Pleistocene edge-ground stone
hatchet cache.
Generally, stone artefact components that are identified as
signals for modern human behaviour, as detailed by McBrearty
and Brooks (2000), appear in the archaeological record of
mainland Australian during the mid-to-late Holocene (Flood
Number 65, December 2007
Natalie R. Franklin and Phillip J. Habgood
1995; Mulvaney 1975; Mulvaney and Kamminga 1999; White and
O’Connell 1982). The new stone tool types, including backed
artefacts (geometric microliths, bondi points), bifacial and
unifacial points, thumbnail scrapers and tulas (adzes), have more
standard shapes than earlier forms and are suitable for hafting
and incorporation into composite tools. These new elements do
not replace the earlier assemblages, but are added to them or, as
with backed artefacts, become more prevalent during this period.
They also do not appear in the archaeological record as a single
event, at the same time or as a ‘set’, in that the chronological and
geographical distributions of the various types are ‘individual’
(Flood 1995; Jones and Johnson 1985; Mulvaney 1975; Mulvaney
and Kamminga 1999; Schrire 1982; White and O’Connell 1982).
Explanations for the late Holocene appearance of these
new or more common lithic components include increasing
intergroup exchange networks, development of more taskspecific and extractively efficient tool forms than earlier forms,
a stylistic phenomenon, intensification involving demographic
and socio-economic change, and risk reduction strategies during
environmental change (Hiscock 1994; Lourandos and Ross 1994;
Mulvaney and Kamminga 1999; White and O’Connell 1982).
Discussion
As detailed earlier, McBrearty and Brooks (2000) documented
the gradual assembling of the package of archaeologically
visible traits for modern human behaviour in the African
Middle Stone Age over a 200,000 year period and proposed
that the package was then exported to other regions of the Old
World by colonising groups of anatomically modern humans.
Mellars (2006) went further and argued that biologically and
behaviourally modern humans rapidly dispersed from Africa
across southern Asia via the coast and into Australia between
40–60ka BP. The archaeologically visible package is evident in
western Asia and Europe by at least 40ka BP and in southern Asia
by possibly 30ka BP (d’Errico 2003; James and Petraglia 2005;
Mellars 1991, 2005). If these proposals were correct, at the time
of the colonisation of Sahul the earliest Indigenous inhabitants
should have possessed the complete package of modern human
behaviour. However, it needs to be stressed that there can be
no suggestion that the earliest inhabitants of Sahul were not
anatomically and behaviourally fully modern. These Indigenous
colonisers had the use of boats to cross open ocean, adapted to a
diverse range of environments and developed a unique material
culture. By examining the late Pleistocene archaeological record
of Greater Australia it has been possible to assess if this region was
one of the other ‘regions of the Old World’ to where the package
was exported from Africa. However, as we have demonstrated,
McBrearty and Brooks’ (2000) and Mellars’ (2006) proposals
are not supported by the late Pleistocene archaeological record
of Sahul in that the entire package of proposed archaeologically
visible traces of modern human behaviour is not evident at
the earliest sites. The late Pleistocene archaeological record
illustrates a gradual assembling of the package over a 30,000 year
period following initial occupation of the continent (Figure 3).
In addition, the individual components do not occur suddenly
together, but appear at sites that are widely separated in space
and time.
The individual components of the package may have been
unique to only a few sites during the late Pleistocene, or their
Figure 3 Chronology of behavioural innovations in Pleistocene Sahul.
rare occurrences could have been the result of taphonomic
processes or the fact that many assemblages from late Pleistocene
sites are limited in both area and volume of excavated material
as well as the amount of archaeological remains recovered (e.g.
Balme 2000; O’Connor et al. 1993; Morse 1993a). Generally,
increases in the number, regularity and intensity of occupation
of archaeological sites are evident only during the mid-to-late
Holocene (Lourandos and Ross 1994; Mulvaney and Kamminga
1999). Henshilwood and Marean (2003) raised the issue of how
taphonomic issues complicate the evaluation of the presence or
absence of these archaeologically visible traits. Hiscock (2001;
Hiscock and Allen 2000) argued that the presence or absence
of rare artefact types can be related to the size of an assemblage
and that some types of implements may only be present in
large assemblages and not in small ones. Bednarik (2003) also
argued that owing to taphonomic processes the archaeological
record is biased because the older the site the more distorted
its archaeological assemblage has become. The extension of this
preservational phenomenon is that much of the variation found
in late Pleistocene assemblages may simply be a consequence of
archaeological sampling. However, multiple factors would impact
on site assemblages, including site type and location, intensity
and regularity of site use, sampling strategies and taphonomic
processes, as well as material culture differences.
In this review, however, it has not been the presence or
absence at a particular site that has been important, but rather
the presence of components of a package of traits within the
late Pleistocene archaeological record as a whole. Also, some
sites with small assemblages have produced unique finds. For
example, fragments of Dentalium shell beads and ochre were
recovered from a 1m² pit at Riwi Cave dating to c.30ka BP (Balme
2000). At Carpenter’s Gap, stone artefacts decrease in levels older
than 20ka BP, yet these same levels produced Dentalium shell
beads, ochre and a fragment of painted rock (O’Connor 1995).
Number 65, December 2007
9
Modern Human Behaviour and Pleistocene Sahul in Review
Extensive excavations have been undertaken at Devil’s Lair,
recovering fewer than 120 stone tools, but bone points, bone
beads, limestone and bone pendants, notational pieces and ochre
were preserved (Dortch 1984). Similarly, the late Pleistocene
levels at Mandu Mandu Creek Rockshelter produced more than
800 stone artefacts along with shell beads and ochre (Morse
1993a). At Kutikina Cave, from less than 1m³ of deposit 37,000
stone artefacts and more than 250,000 fragments of animal bone
were recovered, yet the only component of the package recovered
was a single bone point (Ranson et al. 1983). These examples
indicate that the presence of components of the package are
not necessarily linked to the size of the excavation, number of
artefacts recovered or the intensity of site usage in prehistoric
time, and that therefore there is patterning evident within the
Pleistocene archaeological record of Greater Australia.
Acknowledging that the entire package was not present
in Sahul, Mellars (2006) explained the lack of blade-based
industries like those found in Africa as caused by the scarcity
of the stone material required and the coastal adaptation of
the colonising modern humans. Mellars (2006) argued that
by the time modern humans reached Sahul they had lost the
blade- and microlith-based industries they had exported from
Africa owing to a lack of high-quality, fine-grained stone for their
production. He also raised the proposition, first put forward by
Pope (1985), that bamboo and other non-lithic materials were
used to produce most tools. Research on Flores indicates that
800,000 year old stone artefacts were made on fine-grained chert
and display similarities with 12–95ka year old artefacts from
Liang Bua (Brumm et al. 2006). The Flores material indicates
that fine-grained stone for tool production was available in parts
of southern Asia and that there is a very long tradition of using
it for tool production.
Mellars (2006) does not address the fact that late Pleistocene
stone tool assemblages in Australia include a range of artefact
categories without significant change in the stone types used
in tool production. While at some sites such as Mandu Mandu
Creek there is a preference for finer quality raw material such as
fine-grained silcrete during the late Holocene compared with the
Pleistocene levels (Morse 1988), at other sites, such as Widgingarri
Shelter 2, the introduction of points coincides with a change in
raw material use from predominantly fine-grained to coarsegrained quartzite (O’Connor 1996). This is the opposite of what is
proposed by Mellars (2006). Similarly, the earliest occupation levels
at Puritjarra Rockshelter dating from 22ka BP have small flakes
made predominantly on high-grade silcrete, whereas layers dating
to around 13ka BP are dominated by larger flakes made on a lesser
quality raw material – local silicified sandstone (Smith 1989). Also,
at southwest Tasmanian sites such as Parmerpar Meethaner in pre18ka BP levels, small thumbnail scrapers are generally made on
quartz, whereas quartzite is the most commonly used raw material
for other stone artefacts (Cosgrove 1995). Obsidian from west New
Britain was also being used for tool manufacture during the late
Pleistocene (Allen, Gosden et al. 1989; Fredericksen 1997; Gosden
1995; White and Harris 1997). Clearly, high-quality, fine-grained
stone was available in parts of southern Asia and Sahul and was
being used for tool production during the late Pleistocene.
Mellars (2006) further argues that the coastal adaptation of the
colonising modern humans removed the emphasis on hunting,
meat processing and skin clothing or tent manufacturing tools.
10
However, as discussed above, the early inhabitants of Greater
Australia seem to have generally exploited coastal resources in
a ‘tentative manner’ as marine exploitation at late Pleistocene
sites appears to have been limited in extent and duration, and
was secondary to terrestrial exploitation (Beaton 1995; White
and O’Connell 1982). The latter was a key component of late
Pleistocene lifeways within Greater Australia as demonstrated in
southwest Tasmania with the intensive exploitation of Bennett’s
wallaby. There was not a lack of emphasis on hunting and meat
processing in Sahul, as advocated by Mellars (2006).
The late Pleistocene archaeological record in Greater Australia
does not indicate a scarcity of high-quality, fine-grained stone for
tool production or a lack of focus on exploitation of terrestrial
resources. Ongoing innovation is clearly documented with
personal ornaments, art and images, ritual behaviour, worked
bone and new lithic technologies such as ground stone artefacts,
grindstones and thumbnail scrapers.
Phases of Innovation
From their more limited review, Brumm and Moore (2005)
concluded that the late Pleistocene archaeological record
of Australia was marked by isolated examples of symbolic
storage, whereas within the mid-to-late Holocene there were
chronologically and geographically linked examples of symbolic
storage signifying a symbolic/human revolution. While it may be a
case of different scales of interpretation, our review has identified
that the presence of the individual traits does actually reveal both
chronological and geographical patterning, although not every
site has all of the traits during the same period. Rather than a
patchy distribution, our detailed survey of the late Pleistocene
archaeological record of Greater Australia demonstrates that
there are four broad phases for the proposed archaeologically
visible traces of modern human behaviour (Figure 4). These are
described below.
Phase 1: 40ka BP
During this early phase, long-distance transport and/or exchange
networks are evident. Ochre is present and being used for ritual
behaviour (burial) and rock painting. Stone assemblages are
dominated by retouched and unretouched flakes, but waisted
hatchets are found in Papua New Guinea. While terrestrial fauna
are the dominant resources exploited, freshwater shell middens
are evident around the palaeo-river and lake systems of southeast
Australia.
Phase 2: 32ka BP
This phase is marked by the appearance of personal ornaments
in the form of shell beads. There may also be a change in
resource exploitation signified by the possible appearance of
grindstones and evidence of marine exploitation on islands
off the northern coast of Sahul. In southwest Tasmania, there
is intensive exploitation of macropods. Flake-based stone tool
assemblages continue with the addition in northern Australia
of ground stone hatchets and in southwest Tasmania of small
thumbnail scrapers.
Phase 3: 20ka BP
During this phase, the variety of personal ornaments
expands to include bone beads, pendants and notational
Number 65, December 2007
Natalie R. Franklin and Phillip J. Habgood
pieces. Although there is evidence of painting of some
form during Phase 1, images do not appear until around
20ka BP. Cemeteries appear along the Murray River system
following the last glacial maximum. The flake-based stone
tool assemblages are supplemented with bone points made
on macropod long bones and wooden tools, and grindstones
become more common. Firm evidence for flint mining is
evident during this phase.
Phase 4: <5ka BP
The mid-to-late Holocene is marked by a change in stone tool
assemblages to those with backed artefacts, points, thumbnail
scrapers and tulas, which have more standard shapes and
are suitable for hafting and incorporation into composite
tools. This phase coincides with Brumm and Moore’s (2005)
symbolic revolution based on the appearance of symbolic
storage in Australia.
Zones of Innovation
Another pattern evident from this survey of the late Pleistocene
archaeological record is what might be called ‘Zones of
Innovation’ for the early appearance of novel artefact types
and adaptive strategies. There are six ‘zones of innovation’
– northern Australia, central western Australia, southwestern
Australia, Central Australia, Murray-Darling and Tasmania
(Figure 5), which generally coincide with Veth’s (1989)
biogeographical refuges.
Northern Australia
Sites within the Kimberley, Arnhem Land and Cape York
document the appearance of long-distance transport and/
or exchange networks, shell beads, ground stone hatchets,
grindstones, pigment processing, ochre and rock art (see also
Golson 2001; Morwood and Trezise 1989; O’Connor 1999).
Papua New Guinea and nearby islands, with waisted axes,
early exploitation of marine resources and obsidian transport/
exchange, could be added to this zone (see also Golson 2001).
Central Western Australia
Sites within the North West Cape and the Pilbara indicate
the appearance of long-distance transport and/or exchange
networks, shell beads, ochre, rock painting and possibly early
marine exploitation.
Southwestern Australia
Devil’s Lair is the main site within this zone and has evidence of
early use of ochre, bone points, notational pieces and bone beads
and other personal ornaments.
Central Australia
Sites in this arid zone document long-distance transport and/or
exchange networks, flint mining and early use of ochre and rock
art.
Murray-Darling
Sites within this zone indicate long-distance transport and/or
exchange networks, early use of ochre, ritual burials, grindstones
and exploitation of freshwater shellfish.
Figure 4 Chronology of behavioural innovations in Pleistocene Sahul,
showing the four phases for behavioural innovation.
Tasmania
This zone documents long-distance transport and/or exchange
networks, bone points, ochre, rock art and intensive exploitation
of Bennett’s wallaby.
Conclusion
The proposal by McBrearty and Brooks (2000) and Mellars
(2006) that the complete package of modern human behaviour
was exported from Africa to other regions of the Old World and
ultimately into Greater Australia between 40–60ka BP is not
supported by the late Pleistocene archaeological record from
Sahul as all of the components are not evident at the earliest
sites. There is a gradual assembling of the package over a
30ka year period following initial occupation of the continent
(Figure 3). We have also demonstrated that the appearance of
the individual components of the package is not the result of
taphonomic processes or archaeological sampling, but rather
reflects chronological and geographical patterning – the ‘phases’
and ‘zones of innovation’ (Figures 4-5). In this review, we have
not attempted to explore further this patterning, but feel that this
will be a fruitful area for future research and debate.
The validity of the archaeologically visible package of
traits for identifying behavioural modernity has also been
questioned because it has been argued that the traits are not
unambiguous indicators of modern human behaviour (Brumm
and Moore 2005; d’Errico 2003; Henshilwood and Marean
2003; Holdaway and Cosgrove 1997; Wadley 2001). Brumm and
Moore (2005:167) observed that the Australian archaeological
record ‘demonstrates that fully modern symbolling humans did
not necessarily produce a repetitive package of symbolic traces’.
Our review further supports the view that there is currently no
package of archaeologically visible traits that can be used to
establish modern human behaviour, as the components of the
Number 65, December 2007
11
Modern Human Behaviour and Pleistocene Sahul in Review
Figure 5 Map of Sahul showing the six ‘zones of innovation’ in Pleistocene Sahul.
package not only appear in different continents at different times,
but also at different times and locations within continents such
as Australia (compare Figures 3-4, d’Errico 2003:Figure 8 and
McBrearty and Brooks 2000:Figure 13).
The preceding discussion should also dispel the view that
the earliest Australians possessed a ‘simplicity’ of material
culture (Mellars 2006; White 1977). As we have seen, as well
as exploitation of a range of diverse environments and longdistance transport and/or exchange networks, the material
culture of late Pleistocene Sahul includes shell and bone beads,
pigment processing and early use of ochre, rock art, ritual burials,
notational pieces, bone points, mining and extraction of flint
and ochre, wooden tools, and flake-based stone assemblages
supplemented with edge-ground stone hatchets, grindstones and
small thumbnail scrapers. Finally, this survey again demonstrates
that late Pleistocene Sahul is different from both Middle and Late
Stone Age Africa and Middle and Upper Palaeolithic Europe.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Professors Hilary Deacon, Fred Smith,
Chris Henshilwood and Alison Brooks for useful presentations
and discussions on archaeologically visible manifestations
of modern human behaviour during the African Genesis
Symposium (Johannesburg, 2006) that greatly aided in the
early formulation of this paper. Also, the paper benefited from
helpful discussions with Annie Ross, Sean Ulm and Chris
Clarkson on the Australian archaeological record. Feedback
from Mike Rowland, Richard Fullagar and an anonymous
reviewer assisted in further focusing the paper. Sean Ulm and
Antje Noll prepared Figures 1, 2 and 5. Michelle Langley drew
12
the icons in Figures 3 and 4. The views expressed in this paper
do not represent those of the Queensland Environmental
Protection Agency.
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