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Conjoin sets and stratigraphic integrity in a sandstone shelter: Kenniff Cave (Queensland, Australia)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Norma Richardson
Norma Richardson*
Affiliation:
Archaeological Sites Register, Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, GPO Box 4646, Darwin N.T. 0801, Australia
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Extract

It is a common assumption that archaeological deposits with well-defined bands of ‘undisturbed’ sediments possess absolute stratigraphic integrity and hence that discrete cultural events are sealed within them. This cautionary tale, based on the excavation of a sandstone shelter site in Queensland, shows that this precise stratigraphic and chronological resolution can no longer be taken for granted. Conjoin sets (stone flakes struck from the same core) demonstrate substantial vertical artefact migration between layers, with consequent implications for interpretation.

Type
Notes
Information
Antiquity , Volume 66 , Issue 251 , June 1992 , pp. 408 - 418
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 1992

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