Lithic technologies from a stone hut and arrangement complex in Pitta Pitta Country Queensland, and the detection of social learning in archaeology

Abstract

Lithic assemblages associated with Indigenous Australian built structures are underexplored. The Hilary Creek Site 1 (HCS1) complex, western Queensland, comprising at least 16 stone-based hut structures and multiple stone arrangements, also contains a surface assemblage of thousands of flaked stone artefacts. Analysis of a sample of this assemblage provides novel insights into the technology and role of flaked stone artefacts at this site, revealing trends in production reminiscent of industries found elsewhere in arid Australia, including the highly standardised tula adze technology. The nature of the HCS1 complex, revealed through a combination of Indigenous knowledge, historical research and archaeology, facilitates exploration of theoretical models seeking to detect aspects of social learning amongst those making flaked stone artefacts. We offer social learning theory as a novel way to expand on the significance of lithic technology at this unique site – a Pitta Pitta place of teaching, learning, and youth initiation – and present new directions for theoretical modelling of flaked stone artefact variability in Australian archaeology.