Hook, Fiona, Langley, Michelle C., Ulm, Sean, McDonald, Jo, and Veth, Peter (2024) Late Pleistocene scaphopod beads from Boodie Cave and deep time traditions of personal ornamentation in northwest Australia. Australian Archaeology. (In Press)

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Abstract

Tubular segments of Scaphopoda (tusk shell) were traditionally used by Aboriginal peoples in the manufacture of ornate bead necklaces across northwest Australia. Twenty-seven scaphopod shell beads were recovered from Boodie Cave on Barrow Island dating to between 13,500 and 10,600 cal BP. We compare the Boodie Cave bead assemblage to historical necklace collections as well as experimental studies on scaphopod blanks to characterise bead manufacture, breakage, use-wear, and placement patterns. Results demonstrate that the Boodie Cave beads are larger than other northwest Australian collections; have been manufactured by an anvil-rested percussion technique; have signs of use-wear in the form of polish and rounding but are less curated than specimens from the inland Kimberley. The use-wear study identified that the Boodie Cave beads were strung in a series in a pattern not observed in historical scaphopod necklaces from northern Australia. This patterning may represent a regional variation in display and technological organisation and was likely part of wider ornamental practices documented in historical sources. In all, the Boodie Cave beads provide early and additional evidence for the trade, wearing, and loss of scaphopod beads by mobile hunter-gathers on a dynamic coastline.

Item ID:	84040
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	2470-0363
Keywords:	Aboriginal Australia; adornment; bead manufacture; bead morphology; cultural traditions; experimental archaeology; organic technology; shell beads; use-wear; tusk shell; trade
Copyright Information:	© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Funders:	Australian Research Council (ARC)
Projects and Grants:	ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage CE170100015
Date Deposited:	13 Nov 2024 23:01
FoR Codes:	43 HISTORY, HERITAGE AND ARCHAEOLOGY > 4301 Archaeology > 430101 Archaeological science @ 50% 45 INDIGENOUS STUDIES > 4501 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, language and history > 450101 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander archaeology @ 50%
SEO Codes:	21 INDIGENOUS > 2104 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage and culture > 210401 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artefacts @ 75% 13 CULTURE AND SOCIETY > 1307 Understanding past societies > 130703 Understanding Australia’s past @ 25%
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