Australian Archaeology ISSN: 0312-2417 (Print) 2470-0363 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/raaa20 World’s earliest ground-edge axe production coincides with human colonisation of Australia Peter Hiscock, Sue O’Connor, Jane Balme & Tim Maloney To cite this article: Peter Hiscock, Sue O’Connor, Jane Balme & Tim Maloney (2016) World’s earliest ground-edge axe production coincides with human colonisation of Australia, Australian Archaeology, 82:1, 2-11 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03122417.2016.1164379 Published online: 09 May 2016. Submit your article to this journal View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=raaa20 Download by: [155.143.110.142] Date: 10 May 2016, At: 16:34 AUSTRALIAN ARCHAEOLOGY, 2016 VOL. 82, NO. 1, 2–11 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03122417.2016.1164379 World’s earliest ground-edge axe production coincides with human colonisation of Australia Peter Hiscocka, Sue O’Connorb, Jane Balmec and Tim Maloneyb aSchool of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; bArchaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia; cArchaeology M257, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY We report evidence for the world’s earliest ground-edge axe, 44–49,000 years old. Its antiquity Accepted 7 March 2016 coincides with or immediately follows the arrival of humans on the Australian landmass. Ground/polished axes are not associated with the eastward dispersal of Homo sapiens across Eurasia and the discovery of axes in Australia at the point of colonisation exemplifies a diver- sification of technological practices that occurred as modern humans dispersed from Africa. Ground-edge axes are now known from two different colonised lands at the time humans arrived and hence we argue that these technological strategies are associated with the adap- tation of economies and social practices to new environmental contexts. Introduction and O’Connor 2014; Balme et al. 2009; Hiscock 2008; Kamminga 1978; White 1977). We announce evidence of ground-edge axe produc- Previous research reported ground-edge axes tion in northern Australia between 44,000 and across much of northern Australia during the ter- 49,000 years ago. This is the earliest evidence of a minal Pleistocene, at Widgingarri 1 and Carpenter’s ground-edge axe yet reported in the world, and the Gap 1 and 3 in the Kimberley region of Western antiquity of axe production it reveals has implica- Australia (O’Connor 1999; O’Connor et al. 2014), in tions for both the dispersion of modern humans out- western Arnhem Land at Malanangerr, Nauwalabila of-Africa and the nature of the first human occupa- 1, Nawamoyn, and Nawarla Gabarnmang (Geneste tion of Australia. et al. 2010; Jones 1985; Schrire 1982; White 1967), Early manufacture of ground axes in Australia is and at Sandy Creek on Cape York (Morwood and challenging because Pleistocene Australian stone Trezise 1989) (see Figure 1). These Australian lithic industries have persistently been characterised ground-edge axes were invented locally. Production as extremely and uniformly simple, comprising of ground edge axes is absent in islands to the north Downloaded by [155.143.110.142] at 16:34 10 May 2016 unstandardised, expedient, tools. This depiction of of Australia until the Neolithic and there is no evi- Antipodean technology prompted claims that dence that this technology was introduced to the humans dispersing from Africa carried with them an continent. The questions that have been unanswered ancestral ‘mode 3’ or ‘pre-blade’ technology based on until now are when were axes invented, and how did ‘prepared’ cores and flakes (Foley and Lahr 1997)or that invention relate to the colonisation process? alternatively that the ‘simple’ technologies of early Here we present evidence for production of axes Australia resulted from a loss of technological diver- close in time to the colonisation of Australia. sity and complexity during the dispersal (Mellars Because axes are long-lived tools they are not 2006). Some recent models still accept the story of a abundant in assemblages. Thus the chronology of ‘simple’ and unvarying technology in Pleistocene early axe production cannot be based solely on the Australia and seek to explain it in terms of an recovery of whole axes, which are rare, and instead unvarying narrow diet breadth by colonists depends on the presence in well-dated excavations of (O’Connell and Allen 2012). And yet evidence for flakes removed from the ground bevels of axes dur- the production of expensive, long-lived/curated, ing the reshaping and repair of damaged and worn hafted, polished, ground axes in Australia’s edges. This has been the basis for identifying axes Pleistocene shows that early lithic technological strat- dated to 35,000 BP in Australia (Geneste et al. 2010). egies cannot be characterised in this way (see Balme Suggestions of the presence of even older axes at CONTACT Peter Hiscock [email protected] School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia ß 2016 Australian Archaeological Association. AUSTRALIAN ARCHAEOLOGY 3 Figure 1 Map of northern Australia in its regional setting, showing the location of Carpenter’s Gap 1 and other sites with Pleistocene axes. Madjedbebe have been based on the presence of small measurements confirm this proposition and indicate flakes of volcanic material in sediments dated to more that while ground surfaces vary in smoothness, they than 40,000 BP (Clarkson et al. 2015). However, we are always measurably far smoother than fracture sur- are cautious of this interpretation because the flakes faces (see below). We therefore use convergent bevels do not have diagnostic ground bevels (Clarkson et al. with high surface smoothness created by extensive 2015:173). Repair of a bevel often involved the abrasion as the key indicator of axes, and we apply removal of a number of flakes before the edge could this to the identification of small bevel reshaping be re-ground, and the repair cycle might be repeated flakes from axes. several times, creating, by an order of magnitude In recent years, discoveries of such flakes have more ground flakes than axes deposited into the arch- demonstrated that axes were made in Australia at aeological record. Hence it is the polished bevel that least 30–35,000 years ago (Geneste et al. 2010; Jones defines specimens as ground-edged axes, and reshap- 1985; Morwood and Trezise 1989; O’Connor 1999; Downloaded by [155.143.110.142] at 16:34 10 May 2016 ing flakes that remove the bevel are as identifiable as O’Connor et al. 2014). However, evidence presented the complete axe. The angle of ground bevels ranges here from Carpenter’s Gap Shelter 1 demonstrates between 60 and 100 (Dickson 1981:104), and edge that ground-edge axes were made in northern characteristics can vary significantly during the life of Australia more than ten millennia earlier. This is the the axe as multiple uses and repairs take place earliest evidence of ground-edge axes yet reported in (Kononenko et al. in press). This range of angles over- the world, and reveals that the first Australians were laps with those produced in core reduction, making technological innovators who developed grinding and them unreliable as a sole diagnostic trait. The only abrading as techniques with which to shape a range morphological feature that is unique to axes is the of new implements including hafted ground-edge highly polished ground surface. These smoothed sur- axes. After describing the evidence from Carpenter’s faces are created by extensive abrasion with another Gap 1 we argue that this kind of innovation arose as rock and cannot be incidentally produced by other dispersing humans created regional traditions as part knapping actions such as platform preparation. of their adaptations to new landscapes. Grinding basalt to a polished bevel has been experi- mentally shown to take 1.5–5 h depending on the Carpenter’s Gap Shelter 1 character of the base stone and abrasive agent being used (Dickson 1980). Even in optimal conditions hun- Carpenter’s Gap 1 (CG1) is one of the oldest known dreds of forceful strokes are required to create the habitation sites dated by the radiocarbon technique smoothed bevel. Our experiments and comparative in Australia (Figure 2). It was first excavated over 4 P. HISCOCK ET AL. Downloaded by [155.143.110.142] at 16:34 10 May 2016 Figure 2 Carpenter’s Gap 1. (A) Photograph of shelter. (B) Site plan showing the square A2. two field seasons in 1992 and 1993 when five 1 m example, a hearth 10 cm in depth would be removed square test pits were dug to bedrock (Frawley and separately from other sediments, treated as one O’Connor 2010; O’Connor 1995). The artefactual stratigraphic context, but would be subdivided into material discussed in this paper comes from square excavation units of 2 cm depth to enhance assess- A2, close to the large rockfall that has served to trap ments of provenience. the deposit within the upper part of the shelter The shelter contains an upper Holocene-aged (Figure 2). In this site excavation units averaged 2 cm deposit overlying Pleistocene-aged sediments dating in depth but were dug within depositional units. For from 49,000 cal. BP through to 18,000 cal. BP. AUSTRALIAN ARCHAEOLOGY 5 Figure 3 Stratigraphic section of Square A2 in Carpenter’s Gap 1. The sediments have accumulated primarily as a possibility of movement should be examined for each result of in situ weathering of layers of softer sedi- deposit.