Abstract
<p>Comparatively little is known about the archaeology of the Mitchell Grass Downs region of inland Queensland. This paper reports the results of investigations of an open site complex therein, comprising numerous hearths, a human burial, middens, stone arrangements and a stone artefact assemblage. Analysis reveals the stone artefact assemblage is a palimpsest, representing multiple events in the late Holocene compressed into a single non-stratified archaeological surface assemblage. The evidence suggests use of the area was by highly mobile, transient populations passing through on an occasional seasonal basis when environmental conditions were amenable to travel; suggestions for a semi-sedentary population are not supported. Clear evidence for the extensive removal, weathering, reuse and recycling of artefacts has implications for our ability to reconstruct past human behaviours and landscape use in this region.</p>
Highlights
The Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD) comprise an extensive belt of gently undulating plains stretching across western and north Queensland and into the Northern Territory
This paper presents the results from studies undertaken between 2004 and 2006 under the auspices of a project titled Archaeological Investigations on Bora Station in the Mitchell Grass Downs, Northwest Queensland
Site Survey Four main clusters of hearths associated with stone artefact concentrations were located along the southern margin of Rupert Creek (Figure 2)
Summary
The Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD) comprise an extensive belt of gently undulating plains stretching across western and north Queensland and into the Northern Territory. The most common site types are open, low density concentrations of predominantly silcrete and chert unretouched flakes and cores located on slightly elevated ridges or terraces in close proximity to watercourses. Such sites are probably mostly of mid-to-late Holocene antiquity, though this is typically assumed rather than demonstrated, since an absence of organic materials means they are not usually amenable to addressing questions of chronology. The relatively low density of associated scatters suggests that these sites were not used repeatedly, but more likely on an irregular, short-term basis as people passed through the area. Average rainfall is less than 600mm per year, mostly falling between December and March, and it is not uncommon for the region to experience several consecutive years of drought
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