Australia: The Land Where Time Began

A biography of the Australian continent 

Maneena Langatick Tattania Emita site (Manfern Cave or Nelson River Cave 2)

This is a relatively dry cave providing shelter in most weather, with good natural light. Most of the once even floor has broken away leaving the only part of the original floor that is preserved at the back of the cave, most of the floor is now sloping steeply. Of the 203 stone artefacts found most were debitage - flakes, broken flakes, flake fragments and debris. Less than 4 % of the assemblage was comprised of cores and scrapers, 80 % of the debitage and tools were quartz. There were also 20 pieces of Darwin Glass. Of the animal bones found in the deposit it is believed that the only ones connected with human hunting were of the larger species. A test pit was dug in the hole in the floor of the cave, TP4, but it was sterile. Radiocarbon dates were obtained from small charcoal samples found in TP5, near the back of the cave, that gave dates of 11,250 BP and 10,500 BP, the oldest dates found in the caves of the Nelson River Valley.

see also Stone Tools 

Sources & Further reading

1. The Tasmanians: Part 8b: Archaeology and the Oldest Tasmanians