| Abstract: |
Excavations at the James Range East Rockshelter in 1973 and 1974 have revealed a two-part stratigraphic sequence containing evidence of Aboriginal habitation extending back at least 5000 years from the present. The later phase of human occupation, here termed <i> James Range II, </i> is marked by a series of layers of dark sediment containing hearths, stone artifacts, and abundant faunal remains. Radiocarbon dates for this phase range from 2690 ± 260 B.C. to 1755 ± 80 A.D. The earlier phase of occupation, termed <i> James Range I, </i> occurs in underlying layers of yellowish brown soil and red sandy soil. These soils contain stone artifacts and small amounts of butchered bone, but so far no datable hearth material has been found. On stratigraphic grounds, however, it clearly predates the James Range II phase and must be older than 5000 years. The long-range goal of this research will be to make detailed comparisons of the ecology and prehistory of the James Range East site with the archaeological and palaeoecological materials recovered at Puntutjarpa Rockshelter in the Western Desert. Ethnographic comparisons between Central and Western Desert Aborigines reveal variability correlated with differences in habitat. In the Western Desert there are severe constraints imposed upon human settlement because of the relative scarcity and unreliability of rainfall, whereas in the Central Desert there are factors which make water resources more reliable. Ethnographically, overwhelming similarities in human adaptive behavior occur among Western and Central Desert Aborigines, but the Central Desert people consistently reveal elaborations in behavior--especially with respect to the toolkit, rock art, and aspects of social behavior--not found among Western Desert Aborigines. This essentially "additive" relationship also occurs in the James Range East site in the form of a wider array of basic tool types and technological processes than were present contemporaneously in the Western Desert at Puntutjarpa Rockshelter. Further detailed comparisons between these two excavated sites are expected to reveal more about the nature of variability in adaptation among the Western and Central Desert Aborigines of Australia during the post-Pleistocene era. This paper reports on (1) the research objectives and strategy of the 1973 and 1974 fieldwork, (2) initial results of the archaeological excavations at the James Range East Rockshelter, Deep Well Station, Northern Territory, (3) plans for further analysis of excavated materials, and (4) some preliminary conclusions obtained to date.
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