Characterizing late Pleistocene and Holocene stone artefact assemblages from Puritjarra rock shelter: A long sequence from the Australian desert

M. A. Smith*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

47 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper presents the first detailed study of a large assemblage of late Pleistocene artefacts from the central desert. Analysis of the lithics shows show that Puritjarra rock shelter was used more intensively over time, with significant shifts in the character of occupation at 18,000, 7,500 and 800 B.P., reflecting significant re-organization of activities across the landscape. The same generalized flake and core technology appears to have been used for over 30 millennia with only limited change in artefact typology over this period.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)371-410
Number of pages40
JournalRecords of the Australian Museum
Volume58
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 29 Nov 2006
Externally publishedYes

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