Clarkson Chris, Smith Mike, Marwick Ben, Fullagar Richard, Wallis Lynley A, Faulkner Patrick, Manne Tiina, Hayes Elspeth, Roberts Richard G, Jacobs Zenobia, Carah Xavier, Lowe Kelsey M, Matthews Jacqueline, Florin S Anna
School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia.
Centre for Historical Research, National Museum of Australia, GPO Box 1901, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
J Hum Evol. 2015 Jun;83:46-64. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.03.014. Epub 2015 May 7.
Published ages of >50 ka for occupation at Madjedbebe (Malakunanja II) in Australia's north have kept the site prominent in discussions about the colonisation of Sahul. The site also contains one of the largest stone artefact assemblages in Sahul for this early period. However, the stone artefacts and other important archaeological components of the site have never been described in detail, leading to persistent doubts about its stratigraphic integrity. We report on our analysis of the stone artefacts and faunal and other materials recovered during the 1989 excavations, as well as the stratigraphy and depositional history recorded by the original excavators. We demonstrate that the technology and raw materials of the early assemblage are distinctive from those in the overlying layers. Silcrete and quartzite artefacts are common in the early assemblage, which also includes edge-ground axe fragments and ground haematite. The lower flaked stone assemblage is distinctive, comprising a mix of long convergent flakes, some radial flakes with faceted platforms, and many small thin silcrete flakes that we interpret as thinning flakes. Residue and use-wear analysis indicate occasional grinding of haematite and woodworking, as well as frequent abrading of platform edges on thinning flakes. We conclude that previous claims of extensive displacement of artefacts and post-depositional disturbance may have been overstated. The stone artefacts and stratigraphic details support previous claims for human occupation 50-60 ka and show that human occupation during this time differed from later periods. We discuss the implications of these new data for understanding the first human colonisation of Sahul.
在澳大利亚北部的马杰德贝贝（马拉库南贾二号）遗址，公布的人类居住年代超过5万年，这使得该遗址在关于萨胡尔殖民化的讨论中一直备受关注。该遗址还拥有萨胡尔这一早期阶段最大的石器组合之一。然而，该遗址的石器及其他重要考古成分从未得到详细描述，这导致人们对其地层完整性一直心存疑虑。我们报告了对1989年发掘期间出土的石器、动物骨骼及其他材料的分析结果，以及原始发掘者记录的地层学和沉积历史。我们证明，早期组合的技术和原材料与上层的不同。硅质岩和石英岩制品在早期组合中很常见，其中还包括边缘打磨的斧头碎片和研磨赤铁矿。下层的片状石器组合很独特，包括长的收敛片状石器、一些带有刻面台面的放射状片状石器，以及许多我们认为是薄化片状石器的小而薄的硅质岩片状石器。残留物和使用磨损分析表明，偶尔会对赤铁矿和木材进行研磨，并且在薄化片状石器上台面边缘经常被磨损。我们得出结论，先前关于文物大量移位和沉积后扰动的说法可能被夸大了。石器和地层细节支持了先前关于5万至6万年前人类居住的说法，并表明这一时期的人类居住情况与后期不同。我们讨论了这些新数据对理解萨胡尔首次人类殖民化的意义。
