Forty-two degrees south : The archaeology of late Pleistocene Tasmania

Abstract

Over the past 18 years the results of archaeological field research in many parts of Australia have challenged the view of late Pleistocene archaeological unity and homogeneity. Debates are increasingly focused on issues of identifying regional behavioral variability and away from a ‘normalization’ of Australia's prehistory. Prior notions of cultural transformations from ‘simple’ (late Pleistocene) to ‘complex’ (late Holocene) social behaviors, technological homogeneity, and the timing of colonization are being increasingly scrutinized. One such area that has become a spearhead of this challenge is Tasmania, which continues to demonstrate its ability to confront preconceptions about the nature of past human behaviors.