The newly discovered bone artifact was likely used to pierce soft materials or possibly as a projectile point.
The 4000 year old Murrawong Bone Point. Image credit: Flinders University.
The ancient bone point was found at the site of Murrawong near the Lower Murray River in the Ngarrindjeri country of southern Australia.
The artifact was located in the archaeological layer that dates back to between 5,303 and 3,875 years ago.
“The tip is probably made from a macropod – kangaroo or wallaby – bone,” said Dr. Christopher Wilson and Professor Amy Roberts of Flinders University.
“It was probably used for piercing soft materials – for example, used as a pin on a shell made of opossum fur – or possibly as a projectile point.”
While stone artifacts and shell centers are often found on the surface, bone objects are usually uncovered during excavations.
“The last similar one was discovered in the Lower Murray River Gorge in the 1970s,” the researchers said.
“Even one find of this kind gives us the opportunity to understand the use of bone technologies in the region and how such artifacts were adapted to a riverine environment,” said Dr. Wilson, a Ngarrindjeri man.
“Bone artifacts have not had the same amount of research compared to artifacts made from stone, so each discovery reminds us of the diverse material culture used by Aboriginal people in this country,” added Professor Roberts.
The team’s paper was published in the journal Australian Archeology
Christopher Wilson et alAnalysis and contextualization of a Holocene bone point from Murrawong (Glen Lossie), Lower Murray River Gorge, South Australia. Australian Archeologypublished online March 16, 2021; doi: 10.1080 / 03122417.2021.1886893