Artefact Analysis of a 3450 Year Old Open Site at Quaker's Hill on the Cumberland Plain, New South Wales

Abstract

The Cumberland Plain has been the focus of a large number of archaeological field surveys in the last decade. Most of these studies have been primarily concerned with the location, recording and assessment of sites endangered by the spread of Sydney's Western Suburbs. Over 90% of the sites which have been recorded are open sites, consisting of stone artefact scatters. To date, only five of these sites, including the site described in this paper, have been excavated. Two of these were found to be extensively disturbed, and a mere three contain datable, undisturbed, deposits. One of these sites, at Second Ponds Creek, has been previously dated to 600-700 years (Kohen 1984a). The present site is the oldest east of the Nepean River on the Cumberland Plain for which a date has been established. The site was excavated as part of a salvage program commissioned by the Metropolitan Water Sewerage and Drainage Board of New South Wales. The main aim of the excavation was to determine if in situ occupation deposit occurred within those sections of the site scheduled to be destroyed by the laying of a pipeline by the Water Board.