Agroupofartefactsofdifferentsize,shapeandmaterial
WhatareAboriginalFlakedStoneTools?
Flakedstonetoolsweremadebyhittingapieceofstone,calledacore,witha‘hammerstone’,oftenapebble.Thiswouldremoveasharpfragmentofstonecalledaflake.
Bothcoresandflakescouldbe
usedasstonetools.Newflakeswereverysharp,butquicklybecamebluntduringuseandhadtobesharpenedagainbyfurtherflaking,aprocesscalled‘retouch’.Atoolthatwasretouchedhasarowofsmallflakescarsalongoneormoreedges.
Retouchwasalsousedtoshapeatool.
Notalltypesofstonecouldbeusedformakingtools.Thebesttypes
ofstonearerichinsilica,hardandbrittle.Theseincludequartzite,chert,flint,silcreteandquartz.Aboriginalpeoplequarriedsuchstonefrom
outcropsofbedrock,orcollected itaspebblesfromstreambedsandbeaches.ManyflakedstoneartefactsfoundonAboriginalplacesaremadefromstonetypesthatdonotoccurnaturallyinthearea.Thismeanstheymusthavebeencarriedlongdistances.
WhereareStoneToolsFound?
StonetoolsarethemostcommonevidenceofpastAboriginalactivitiesinAustralia.TheyoccurinmanyplacesandareoftenfoundwithotherremainsfromAboriginaloccupation,suchasshellmiddensandcookinghearths.Theyaremostcommonnearriversandcreeks.Itiseasiertofindthemwherethereisnotmuchvegetationorwherethegroundsurfacehasbeendisturbed,forexamplebyerosion.
Howflakedstonetoolsweremade
collectedbypeoplewhodonotunderstandtheimportanceofleavingAboriginalculturalmaterialswheretheyarefound.Erosionandweatheringandactivitiessuchasditchdiggingandploughingcandisturbflakedstoneartefacts.Theycanalsobebrokenwhentrampledbyanimalssuchascows,orwhenrunoverbyvehicles.
The Office of AboriginalAffairsVictoriarecords flakedstoneartefactssothat
WhattoDoifYouFindaFlaked Stone Tool
Donotremoveanymaterialfromthearea.Ifyoupickupastonetoexamineit,makesurethatyouputitbackwhereitcamefrom.Checkwhetherithassomeofthekeycharacteristics.Recordthelocation,notingroughlyhowmanystonesthereare.Notewhethertheareaisunderthreatofdisturbance.
WhatWereFlakedStoneToolsUsedFor?
Flakedstonetoolscouldbemadequickly,andwereusedformanyeverydaytasks,includingshapingobjectsmadeofwood,barkandbone.Theywereusedasspear-tipsinhuntingweaponsandasknivestobutchergame.Theywerealsousedtoscrapeandprepareanimalskinsformakingcloaks,containersanddecorativeitems.
HowElsecanStone beFlaked?
Manynaturalprocessescanbreakstone.Theseincluderockfallandextremechangesintemperature.Modernmachines,suchasploughs,canalsofracturestone.ItisimportanttobeabletodistinguishstonethathasbeennaturallyoraccidentallyfracturedfromstonethatwasdeliberatelyflakedbyAboriginalpeople.SomeofthecharacteristicsofAboriginalflakedstoneartefactsmayoccasionallyoccuronnaturallyfracturedstone.However,itis
veryrarefortwoormoreofthesecharacteristicstooccuronthesamepieceofstoneastheresultof
anaturalprocess.
WhyareFlakedStoneToolsImportant?
Becausestoneartefactsdonotrotorrust,theyareoftentheonlyevidenceofAboriginaloccupation
inaparticulararea.StoneartefactscanprovideinformationaboutwhereAboriginalpeoplelived,howtheymadeothertools,huntedandpreparedfood.Sometimestraces
ofwood,plantfood,oranimalbloodcansurviveontheedgesofflakedstonetools.Specificmarksanddamageonatoolfromusecanhelptelluswhatitwasusedfor.Thisisbecausedifferenttasks,suchaswoodcarvingorscrapinganimalskins,damagedtheedgein
differentways.
Byfindingtheoriginalsourceofstonethatwasusedtomaketools,itissometimespossibletotracethemovementofstonewithinanarea.ThistellsusaboutAboriginalsystemsoftrade,exchangeandsocialalliances.
TherewereanumberofchangestothestonetoolsusedbyAboriginalpeopleovertime.Becauseofthis,stonetoolscanhelpprovideanapproximateagefortheAboriginaloccupationofanarea.FlakedstonetoolsareoneofarangeofartefactsthatprovideAboriginalpeopletodaywithanimportantlinktotheircultureandpast.
ThreatstoAboriginalStoneTools
Becausestoneartefactsarefoundinmanydifferentplaces,andareusuallysmall,theycanbedifficulttoprotect.Theyaresometimes
we will have a permanent photographic and written record of this important part of the heritage of all Australians.Some particularly good examples of places containing flaked stone artefacts may require active conservation so that they can be preserved for future generations.
AreFlakedStoneArtefacts Protected?
AllAboriginalculturalplaces
inVictoriaareprotectedbylaw.Aboriginalartefactsarealsoprotected.
ItisagainstthelawtodisturbordestroyanAboriginalplace.Artefactsshouldnotberemovedfromsite.
PleasehelptopreserveAboriginalculturalplacesbyreportingtheirpresence to the Office of AboriginalAffairsVictoria.
Contact:
TheHeritageRegistrar
Office of AboriginalAffairsVictoriaPOBox2392
MelbourneVIC3001
Telephone:1800762003
June2008
CopyrightStateGovernmentofVictoria2008.AuthorisedbytheVictoriaGovernment,Melbourne
ISBN978-1-921331-55-8
ThispublicationmaybeofassistancetoyoubuttheStateofVictoriaanditsemployeesdonotguaranteethatthepublicationiswithoutflawofanykindoriswhollyappropriateforyourparticularpurposesandthereforedisclaimsallliabilityforanyerror,lossorotherconsequencewhichmayarisefromyourelyingonanyinformationinthispublication.