The end of points

Abstract

Conclusion: The end of points is best described by a sequence model. When their time span as unifacial points is finished, they may often be reworked rather than discarded. In this way many unifacial points have been transformed into bifacial points. Consequently, while some unifacial points were discarded in that state, other unifacial points were transformed into bifacial points before they were discarded. Perception of this transformational process raises the possibility that bifacial points may have been transformed into other artefact forms. This issue will be examined in a separate paper. Transformation of one form into another has implications for the explanation of assemblage variability. In western Arnhem Land it appears that intersite variability in the point forms at least partly reflects dissimilar rates for the transformation of unifacial to bifacial points in different environmental and economic contexts. Such transformations deserve wider study across northern Australia