A behavioral approach to cumulative palimpsests: An example from Weereewaa (Lake George), Australia

This paper presents a streamlined method for sequencing individual stone working events in cumulative palimpsests of sub-surface artefacts. The method presented demonstrates that the unit of analysis in un-stratified assemblages can be shifted from the assemblage or depth-divided unit to the event-refuse from specific knapping or discard activities. Crucially, this allows cumulative palimpsest assemblages to contribute to the construction of high-resolution behavioral sequences, a domain currently dominated by stratified sites. The method will be presented through the study of five Holocene hunter-gatherer assemblages excavated from open-air sand-sheet sites at Weereewaa (Lake George), in south-eastern Australia.