Place as Occupational Histories

This monograph presents a theoretical and methodological approach to the investigation of deflated surface stone artefact scatters beyond those that emphasise synchronic behavioural interpretations. The study is undertaken on Pine Point and Langwell Stations, two adjoining pastoral leases south of Broken Hill in arid western New South Wales, Australia. The main objective of the study is to investigate long-term accumulated patterns in stone artifact assemblage composition within archaeological deposits with known occupational chronologies. These are derived from the dating of charcoal from heat retainer hearths. It is argued that the Pine Point-Langwell assemblages represent multiple episodes of accumulation over the last 2,000 years. Therefore, the formation of the Pine Point-Langwell assemblages means they are ideal for the investigation of long-term accumulated patterns.