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    Aboriginal prehistory: interpretation of artefacts

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    OCR

    [...]al Prehistory...(cont.)

    Thus it is that items of stone, bone
    or shell are the most likely artefac[...]anwndedge,¥hked3ebHq
    has been a preponderance of stone arte- Hm”m,,m?”ui
    facts recovered in these ex[...]occupies by the Worimi and the

    Awabakal.

    Since stone is the least perishable, it is on stone arte-
    facts that we chiefly rely to recons[...]
    [...]e sinews
    of animals. The references to the
    use of stone are generalised and
    vague, with the exception of the
    stone axe:



    "...they used stone hatchets,

    $1.2 '
    which were sharpened by other
    . l stones to a pretty fine edge.
    R9'4 H°"d ‘fle[...]he assid-
    -uousness of the natives.



    _ Smaller stone artefacts are reported R15 nbnmg Ckmcr (%d
    .to ha[...]"They used a kind of small stone-

    axe as an adze; and they had still a smal[...]
    [...]g to the taste of the
    operators" (Dawson, p.319)

    Stone wedges were used to knock out the initiates tooth

    "...by...placing a piece of stone in the form of a wedge
    against it and then striking it sharply with a heavy stone."

    (ibid., p.321)

    some stone artefacts were labelled by early observers as
    'kn[...]lied their use as such for cutting purposes:

    "...stone knives...were brought to a great state of perfec-[...]sed in skinning animals...the
    sharp splinter of a stone served as a knife." (Fawcett, p.152)

    ' Stone artefacts were used mounted on spears as barbs:[...]p.67)

    So according to the ethnohistoric sources stone artefacts
    were used for gouging, scraping, pierci[...]ove
    makes this more positive. The handle made the stone axe a more
    efficient tool of the aborigine, and a highly prized one.[...]
    [...]l Na+ure

    Another method of deciding the use
    of a stone artefact lies in the evi-
    dence of use wear on th[...]igh magnifi—
    cation. Examination of the edge of
    stone artefacts often indicates secon-
    dary work[...]
    [...]are fond of making much
    of the idealised forms of stone artefacts, which display a greater
    degree of perf[...]at there is
    always a vast proportion of excavated stone material made up of
    amorphous shapes and primary flakes (see Fig.9 ). Such stone
    artefacts would have been suitable for immediate[...]pparently
    shell had largely superseded the use of stone artefacts in ethno-
    historic times.

    F'ui,[...]
    [...]y...(cont.)

    However, it is likely that favourite stone artefacts that
    had been carefully and skilfully f[...]for their longer lasting
    quality, as undoubtedly stone is more durable than shell. These
    would probably[...]wandered away from the ready sources of shell or stone. This
    could explain the apparent discrepancy betw[...]Worimi and the Awabakal the predomi~
    nant type of stone used was chert, with minor quantities of
    other tu[...]t
    rock can be located, attempts at simulating the tool making
    process could be tried. The reader will th[...]g possible cuts or damage to the eyes from flying stone
    chips.

    NOTE: Readers are reminded that th[...]
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