Bone tools found in Riwi Cave in the Kimberley, WA. Credit: Michelle Langley
New research has reappraised the age of bone artefacts found in a famous Kimberley cave site as being more than 35,000 years old, making them among the oldest bone tools found in Australia.
Published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, the team of scientists from across Australia analysed eight bone artefacts from Riwi Cave in Mimbi country in south-central Kimberley, Western Australia.
Dr Michelle Langley from ARCHE.
Four of the bone artefacts were found in layers that dating to between 35,000 and 46,000 years ago, making them some of the oldest bone tools in Australia. Previously, the oldest bone artefact from Carpenter’s Gap 1 in the Kimberley was found to have be
7 April 2021 /
Bone tools from the Kimberley among oldest in Australia
A new study of bone artefacts found in the Kimberley region reveals the secrets of their deep antiquity and diverse use.
Bone tools found in the Kimberley. Credit: Michelle Langley
The rugged Kimberley region of Western Australia is home to vast tracts of land – a savannah landscape of ranges and plains, pockmarked with caves. A new study of bone tools found in one such Kimberley cave has revealed they are among the oldest in the country and carry marks that hint at their ancient uses.
The tools were found in layers dated to between 35,000 and 46,000 years ago in Riwi Cave, about 90 kilometres south-east of Fitzroy Crossing. This means their antiquity rivals the previous record holder for oldest bone artefact, a tool found at Carpenter’s Gap 1 (also in the Kimberley) that was dated to under 46,000 years old. A re-analysis of the tools by a team of archaeologists from Griffith University, the Univer
Ancient Australian Bone Tools Analyzed
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA According to a report in
Cosmos Magazine, bone tools from Riwi Cave have been dated to between 35,000 and 46,000 years ago by a team of researchers led by Michelle Langley of Griffiths University, Jane Balme of the University of Western Australia, and Sue O’Connor of Australian National University. The cave is located in northwestern Australia’s Kimberley region, where the Gooniyandi people of the Mimbi Community are the traditional custodians. Rosemary Nuggett and other Mimbi members have long supported archaeological research in the area. Wear and tear marks on the tools suggest they were used in a range of activities, such as processing plant fibers and resins, fishing, and hunting. Langley said worked plant fibers could have been used to make baskets, while resin was used to glue tool parts together. The bone tools may also have been used to work animal skins, she added. It had been previously thought that t
Bone tools found in Riwi Cave in the Kimberley, WA. Credit: Michelle Langley
New research has reappraised the age of bone artefacts found in a famous Kimberley cave site as being more than 35,000 years old, making them among the oldest bone tools found in Australia.
Published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, the team of scientists from across Australia analysed eight bone artefacts from Riwi Cave in Mimbi country in south-central Kimberley, Western Australia.
Dr Michelle Langley from ARCHE.
Four of the bone artefacts were found in layers that dating to between 35,000 and 46,000 years ago, making them some of the oldest bone tools in Australia. Previously, the oldest bone artefact from Carpenter’s Gap 1 in the Kimberley was found to have be
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