Towards a classification of Australian Aboriginal stone arrangements : an investigation of methodological problems with a gazetteer of selected sites

Abstract

A classification of Australian Aboriginal stone arrangements is fundamental to the understanding of their function and social significance for both Australian and world prehistory. The implications of certain problems with the archaeological data for a classification of arrangements, such as dating and inadequate reporting, are discussed. Possible principles governing the mode of construction, design and location of arrangements are investigated, and the criteria for classification suggested. A two-tier classification is proposed. On the first level, the technological and morphological characteristics of discrete stone arrangements are organised into classes. On the second level, the combination of arrangement classes at any one site defines site types. 144 sites in four regions in New South Wales are classified. Comparisons are made between classes and site types within each region and across regions. Existing opinions about the distribution of so-called 'simple' and 'complex' types are challenged. An investigation of the relationship between classes or site types, and other kinds of archaeological sites, such as rock art, reveals no perfect correlations either within one region or across regions. It is proposed that any governing principles are more likely to have operated at a local level, reflecting such factors as local topography, beliefs and traditions, and population density, rather than at a universal level. The significance of a classification of stone arrangements for studies on culture areas, and on complex Aboriginal hunter-gathering is discussed. Further research is proposed with regard to the former. The construction and location of many arrangements is regarded as evidence for a considerable investment of time and energy in non-subsistence activities. It is suggested that these stone arrangements are associated with the archaeological evidence identified by Australian and overseas researchers, for an increasingly more complex stage in the evolution of hunter-gatherers, in which ceremonial and ritual requirements were paramount.