Author : Peter J. F. Coutts
Publisher : Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 188 pages
Book Rating : 4.X/5 (3 download)
Book Synopsis The Archaeology of Wilson's Promontory by : Peter J. F. Coutts
Download or read book The Archaeology of Wilson's Promontory written by Peter J. F. Coutts and published by Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island. This book was released on 1970 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on research for M.A. thesis at A.N.U.; southwest Gippsland ecological zones described as background to life of Brataualung clan of Kurnai, economic cycle (brief list of diet animals), notes on weapons, selection of sites at Promontory and Yanakie, aims of project; topographical description of Promontory, climate, possible Aboriginal food resources (tables show; 1) frequency of edible taxa - taken from list in Smyth with Aboriginal names where known & parts eaten, 2) avifauna of south west Gippsland, 3) list of animals & reptiles taken by Aborigines in pre European times, 4) distribution of shellfish at Promontory), notes on previous archaeological studies (including Kenyon & Spencer), division of Promontory into 3 areas - western and eastern coasts of Yanakie Isthmus & east coast of Promontory including Singapore Peninsula; archaeological features of Yanakie west coast - dune system, peat outcrop, features of A & B series dunes (erosion, carbon dates, formation of interdune swamps, midden material); excavation and field studies - site YW9, stratigraphy soil analysis, relationship of B series to latest A series, faunal species, presence of two sequences (Yanakie A associated with backed blade industry, Yanakie B with flake & large core tools & edge ground axes), site YWll - soil analysis, carbon dates; stratigraphy; analysis of excavated shell fauna, 3 types of quantitative analysis, level I - (defining of occupational floors, extent & composition of shell heaps, numbers of Aborigines associated with each heap, culinary evidence), level II (environmental & seasonal evidence), level III (calcite/aragonite rations), palaeotemperature measurements; changes in coastal ecology, quantitative assessment of faunal distributions associated with dune sequences; material culture analysis of stone tools, classification, statistical & computer analyses (key to descriptive system in table), Yanakie A assemblages discussed (geometric microliths and Bondi points, carbon dates, cores, tool making areas, characteristics of flake tools & core tools, analysis of waste flakes), Yanakie B assemblages (flake & core tools, edge ground axes, hammerstones, anvils & pebble tools), Yanakie A lithic technology, raw materials, comparison of A & B sites; summary of evidence for occupation of Wilsons Promontory - backed blades, imported quartzite, presence of scraping tools, Aboriginal diet - (molluscs), seasonal visits, evidence of fire making, changes in physiography of area leading to changes in diet & tools (enlargement of diet species), literary evidence for culture of Gippsland Aborigines (quotes Haydon, Bulmer, Horne, Howitt & Curr) diminution in population after white contact (result of pastoralism & intertribal warfare), relationship of work at Yanakie to other work in Victoria; Appendix 1 - methods of excavation, Appendix 2 - method of soil analysis, Appendix 3 counting techniques used on surface sites YW9A and YW10A, Appendix 4 - Botanical report on the area in the vicinity of sites YW9 to YW11 by R.F. Parsons, Appendix 5.