Lithic Technology in Tasmania

Abstract

Although a great deal of information exists about the types of stone implements made by Aboriginal Tasmanians, their stone technology is largely undescribed. Two studies initiated by Forestry Tasmania provided the opportunity to examine Tasmanian lithic technology in eastern Tasmania and the Southern Forests. The results of the studies indicate that two strategies of stone procurement and reduction were practiced in both parts of the state. One strategy involved collecting small cobbles and pebbles from surface exposures. These stones were reduced off-source by freehand or bipolar percussion into small flake blanks. The blanks were used as cutting tools or retouched into scrapers. Many of the scrapers produced on these blanks fall within the "thumbnail" typological category. The other strategy involved reducing large blocks of material on‐source into large flake blanks. These large flake blanks were exported and used as cutting tools, reduced as small cores, or, most often, retouched into large scrapers. In contrast to most small scrapers originating from transported cores, these large scrapers were resharpened prior to discard. The expression of these strategies differs between the two project areas. The off-source reduction strategy appears to be present in Pleistocene assemblages and the on‐source strategy may have emerged in the Holocene.