Socializing stone artifact assemblages: Regionalization and raw material availability in northern Queensland

Abstract

During the late Holocene in northern Queensland, Australia, a process of increasing regionalization appears to have resulted in a decline in the access to raw material sources, and as a result, an increase in the concern for the conservation of raw material has occurred at certain sites. This pattern suggests that socio-demographic processes are the primary agent affecting variation in stone artifact assemblages. Moreover, it suggests that traditional models linking stone artifact assemblage variation to environmental conditions and/or mobility systems are to be amended.