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The first archaeological evidence for death by spearing in Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Josephine J. McDonald ,
Denise Donlon ,
Judith H. Field ,
Richard L.K. Fullagar ,
Joan Brenner Coltrain ,
Peter Mitchell  and
Mark Rawson
Josephine J. McDonald
Affiliation:
Jo McDonald Cultural Heritage Management, 77 Justin St., Lilyfield, NSW 2040, Australia (Email: jmcdonald@jmcdchm.com.au) (Author for correspondence Centre for Cross Cultural Studies, Australian National University, ACT 2600, Australia
Denise Donlon
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy and Histology, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Judith H. Field
Affiliation:
Jo McDonald Cultural Heritage Management, 77 Justin St., Lilyfield, NSW 2040, Australia (Email: jmcdonald@jmcdchm.com.au) (Author for correspondence Australian Key Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis & School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Richard L.K. Fullagar
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Joan Brenner Coltrain
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Utah, USA
Peter Mitchell
Affiliation:
Groundtruth Consulting, PO Box 515, Gladesville, 1675 NSW, Australia
Mark Rawson
Affiliation:
Jo McDonald Cultural Heritage Management, 77 Justin St., Lilyfield, NSW 2040, Australia (Email: jmcdonald@jmcdchm.com.au) (Author for correspondence
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Extract

An Aboriginal man done to death on the dunes 4000 years ago was recently discovered during excavations beneath a bus shelter in Narrabeen on Sydney's northern beaches. The presence of backed microliths and the evidence for trauma in the bones showed that he had been killed with stone-tipped spears. Now we know how these backed points were used. A punishment ritual is implied by analogies with contact-period observations made in the eighteenth century AD.

Keywords

AustraliaSydneyAboriginemicrolithsritual punishmentspears
Type
Research Article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 81 , Issue 314 , 1 December 2007 , pp. 877 - 885
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2007

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