Artefact discard and accumulated patterns in stone artefact assemblage composition in surface archaeological deposits from Pine Point and Langwell Stations, western New South Wales

2006 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 183 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. I. Shiner
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Human Use ◽  
Semi Arid ◽  
Stone Artefact

This paper addresses the potential of deflated surface archaeological deposits to contribute to our understanding of human use of the southern periphery of the semi-arid Barrier Range of western New South Wales. Radiocarbon determinations from heat retainer hearths are used to establish occupational contexts for the surface deposits near the confluence of 2 creeks. This demonstrates a 2000 year discontinuous record of occupation on the eroded surfaces adjacent to the creeks. The reduction and use of raw materials is compared between stone artefact assemblages from these surfaces. The results of the stone artefact analysis indicate both similarities and differences in the formation of the stone artefact assemblages. These patterns are related to the temporal character of human occupation across the landscape. Assemblages that represent a greater intensity of raw material reduction are indicative of extended occupation. The discontinuous occupational chronology from the region suggests that synchronic settlement pattern models underestimate the temporal variation evident in human – environment relationships.

Prehistoric aboriginal occupation of the rangelands: Interpreting the surface archaeological record of far western New South Wales, Australia.

2000 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 44 ◽  
Author(s):  
SJ Holdaway ◽  
PC Fanning ◽  
DC Witter
Keyword(s):  
Arid Regions ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Landscape Archaeology ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Different Parts ◽  
Stone Artefact

Recent erosion in arid regions of western NSW has exposed large areas that are scattered with stone artefacts manufactured by Aboriginal people in prehistory. These exposures offer an opportunity for archaeologists to study the artefacts abandoned by Aboriginal people through time and to compare those artefacts that accumulate in different parts of the landscape. To reconstruct the nature of prehistoric behaviour in the rangelands, two approaches are needed. First, the geomorphological context of the artefacts needs to be considered since exposure of the artefacts is a function of landscape history. Second, large areas (measured in thousands of square metres) and large numbers of artefacts need to be considered if patterns reflecting long-term abandonment behaviour by Aboriginal people are to be identified. This paper reports on the Western New South Wales Archaeological Program (WNSWAP) which was initiated in 1995 to study surface archaeology in the rangelands. Geomorphological studies are combined with artefact analysis using geographic information system software to investigate Aboriginal stone artefact scatters and associated features such as heat retainer hearths, in a landscape context. Results suggest that apparently random scatters of stone artefacts are in fact patterned in ways which inform on prehistoric Aboriginal settlement of the rangelands. Key words: Aboriginal stone artefacts; rangelands; landscape archaeology; geomorphology; GIs

Assemblage Formation as a Result of Raw Material Acquisition in Western New South Wales, Australia

2008 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Holdaway ◽  
Justin Shiner ◽  
Patricia Fanning ◽  
Matthew Douglass
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
South Wales

The butterfly fauna of the Griffith district, a fragmented semi-arid landscape in inland southern New South Wales

2006 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael F. Braby ◽  
Ted D. Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Summer Rainfall ◽  
Wagga Wagga ◽  
Fragmented Landscape ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Butterfly Fauna ◽  
Semi Arid

Thirty-three species of butterflies are recorded from the Griffith district in the semi-arid zone of inland southern New South Wales. The butterfly community comprises the following structure: 19 species (58%) are resident; 7 (21 %) are regular immigrants; 2 (6%) are irregular immigrants; 5 (15%) are vagrants. Except for a few migratory species, most occur in relatively low abundance. Lack of similar studies elsewhere in western New South Wales precludes generalizations regarding the species richness, composition and structure of semi-arid butterfly communities. Comparison of the butterfly fauna with that from five other inland regions on the slopes and foothills of the Great Diving Range, revealed that the Griffith district is most similar in species richness and composition to that of Deniliquin and to a lesser extent Wagga Wagga and Cowra in the south, than with two regions in the higher summer rainfall area of the north of the State (Coonabarabran-Mendooran, Narrabri-Bellata). Overall, the butterfly fauna of inland New South Wales (total of 73 species, of which 49 occur in the southern regions) is depauperate compared with that recorded from the coastal/subcoastal areas east of the Great Dividing Range. Attention is drawn to the conservation significance of several vegetation types and habitat remnants in the Griffith district. Much of the native vegetation in the district has been extensively modified since European settlement due to excessive clearing for agriculture, resulting in a highly fragmented landscape for the conservation of native flora and fauna. With the exception of the lycaenid Candalides hyacinthinus Simplex, which is considered threatened locally, there is a general absence of narrow range endemic butterflies associated with mallee-heathland or mallee-woodland, possibly as a result of widespread land clearing practices of mallee vegetation in the past.

Native small mammals and reptiles in cropped and uncropped parts of lakebeds in semi-arid Australia

1996 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 629 ◽  
Author(s):  
SV Biggs
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Habitat Requirements ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Semi Arid

Small mammals and reptiles were surveyed by trapping in uncropped and cropped parts of two dry lakebeds in semi-arid New South Wales, Australia, in spring 1992 and 1993. Four species of native small mammals (18 individuals) were captured in uncropped parts of the lakebeds, compared with two individuals of one species in cropped parts of the lakebeds. A total of 38 reptiles (seven species) was caught at the uncropped sites compared with 10 individuals (four species) at the cropped sites. Small mammals were absent where the soil was scarified and bare between crop cycles. The habitat requirements of small mammals (particularly Planigale gilesi) and reptiles need to be provided for when cropping lakebeds. The most effective way to do this is to leave wide strips of uncropped soil at the edges of lakebeds, and patches of uncropped country that are connected to the strips, on lakebeds.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document