Abstract
While osseous projectile points are frequently recovered and well understood in African and European contexts, those from Pleistocene Australia remain vaguely reported. This chapter outlines the current evidence for prehistoric osseous projectile technology on the Australian continent through the integration of data from archaeologically recovered implements, rock art, and ethnography. Organic implements are recovered only rarely from Pleistocene archaeological contexts in Australia, however, in ethnographic times, a wide range of both bone and wooden projectile technologies were used for hunting and defense. Spears played a significant part in Aboriginal economies, mythological traditions, and in the reproduction of gender roles. This chapter will show that while the evidence for osseous prehistoric projectile technology in Australia is less rich than in other regions of the world, owing to a variety of reasons including taphonomic processes and the ready availability of alternative materials, the Australian data nevertheless contributes to a greater understanding of Pleistocene technological choices as well as cultural variability during this period.
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Acknowledgements
The University of Auckland, the University of Oxford and Griffith University are thanked for supporting this research. The Mirrar community (Northern Territory, Australia) are thanked for permission to use photographs of their rock art, as is the Western Australian Museum. We would also like to thank Kim Akerman for his many useful comments and observations. All dates provided in this chapter are as originally reported in the literature.
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Allen, H., Langley, M.C., Taçon, P.S.C. (2016). Bone Projectile Points in Prehistoric Australia: Evidence from Archaeologically Recovered Implements, Ethnography, and Rock Art. In: Langley, M. (eds) Osseous Projectile Weaponry. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-0899-7_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-0899-7_14
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