Characterizing late Pleistocene and Holocene stone artefact assemblages from Puritjarra rock shelter: A long sequence from the Australian desert

Abstract

This paper presents the first detailed study of a large assemblage of late Pleistocene artefacts from the central desert. Analysis of the lithics shows show that Puritjarra rock shelter was used more intensively over time, with significant shifts in the character of occupation at 18,000, 7,500 and 800 B.P., reflecting significant re-organization of activities across the landscape. The same generalized flake and core technology appears to have been used for over 30 millennia with only limited change in artefact typology over this period. © Copyright Australian Museum, 2006.