AMY ROBERTS, CRAIG WESTELL, CHRISTOPHER WILSON, MICHELLE C. LANGLEY, RIVER MURRAY AND MALLEE ABORIGINAL CORPORATION, NGARRINDJERI ABORIGINAL CORPORATION
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引用次数: 2
Abstract
This article describes three freshwater mussel shell artefacts recently documented for the Murray River in South Australia. These finds more than double the known examples of such artefacts from this region. Two of the modified shells are perforated, with the other serrated. The finely serrated item is a rare artefact and we have not located any similar published examples in Australia, although international correlates exist. The function/s and cultural significance of the objects are also considered in this paper. Hypotheses for the perforated finds include ornamentation, tool stringing and fibre scraping. Ornamentation, idle tinkering and food utensil use are considered as possible intended functions for the serrated artefact. Given the age range of the objects reported here (c. 6181–517 cal BP), together with other finds in the Murray Darling Basin, we tentatively suggest that shells have been a material resource used continually in this region for a range of purposes. However, as argued by other researchers, we concur that there has probably been infrequent identification and reporting of such shell artefacts. This is considered particularly likely given that our finds were recovered from relatively small scale excavation/coring and surface sampling efforts. As such, this paper attempts to raise awareness of this form of material culture in archaeological sequences.
这篇文章描述了最近在南澳大利亚默里河记录的三件淡水贻贝制品。这些发现是该地区已知此类文物的两倍多。其中两个改进的外壳是穿孔的,另一个是锯齿状的。精细锯齿项目是一个罕见的人工制品,我们没有找到任何类似的出版例子在澳大利亚,尽管国际相关存在。本文还对文物的功能和文化意义进行了探讨。穿孔的假设包括装饰,工具串和纤维刮擦。装饰,空闲的修补和食品器具的使用被认为是锯齿形人工制品可能的预期功能。考虑到这里报告的对象的年龄范围(约6181-517 cal BP),以及在墨累达令盆地的其他发现,我们初步认为贝壳在该地区一直是一种用于一系列目的的材料资源。然而,正如其他研究人员所争论的那样,我们同意可能很少有这样的贝壳文物的识别和报告。考虑到我们的发现是通过相对小规模的挖掘/取芯和地表采样工作恢复的,这一点被认为特别有可能。因此,本文试图在考古序列中提高对这种物质文化形式的认识。
期刊介绍:
Archaeology in Oceania is published online and in print versions three times a year: April, July, October. It accepts articles and research reports in prehistoric and historical archaeology, modern material culture and human biology of ancient and modern human populations. Its primary geographic focus is Australia, the islands of the Pacific Ocean and lands of the western Pacific rim. All articles and research reports accepted as being within the remit of the journal and of appropriate standard will be reviewed by two scholars; authors will be informed of these comments though not necessarily of the reviewer’s names.