Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River

Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River Archaeological studies along the Lachlan River: Condobolin, Lake Cargelligo, West Wyalong and Hillston regions March 2015 Colin Pardoe Wiradjuri Condobolin Corporation West Wyalong LALC Acknowledgments This pamphlet draws on work carried out over several years. Wiradjuri Condobolin Corporation and Barrick Gold have been long involved in the documentation of Wiradjuri cultural heritage. Recent work has included numerous visits to Land Councils and other organisations in the Lachlan Valley region where I have been fortunate enough to document several of their collections. It also draws on material recorded during two field trips to the area in 2013 and 2014 where I spent time in and around Condobolin, West Wyalong, Lake Cargelligo, and Hillston. This pamphlet is part of the research project Kiacatoo Man: biology, archaeology and environment at the Last Glacial Maximum , a project funded by the Australian people through the Australian Research Council [Linkage Grant LP130100748] Many people and organisations have been involved in the studies and fieldwork that prompted this pamphlet. I would like to thank the several Local Aboriginal Land Councils: West Wyalong, Condobolin, Murrin Bridge [Lake Cargelligo], Griffith and Young. The Lake Cargelligo and West Wyalong Historical Societies have been welcoming and informative over the years. Steve and Jan Johnson, Peter Lette, Rebecca Shepherd and many others contributed their time and interest. My dear wife Penny puts a lot into yet another archaeological venture. COLIN PARDOE BIO-ANTHROPOLOGY & ARCHAEOLOGY phone: 0428 692 798 email:colin.pardoe@ozemail.com.au Research Affiliate at Archaeology & Natural History, the Australian National University Introduction When archaeologists in Australia study stone tools, we tend to place them into two different categories: stone for flaking and stone for grinding. Flaked stone carries out the same range of tasks as knives and blades in contemporary society. This pamphlet concentrates on grinding materials and in particular, the grinding stones of the Lachlan Valley. The original aim of this pamphlet was to describe portable grinding plates. In order to do that, it became necessary to clarify the terminology used in discussing grinding to make it relevant to the archaeology of the Lachlan River region. Axes are classified as ground stone objects since they are produced by grinding, but this pamphlet focusses on the objects that do the grinding. The types of grinding objects are as follows: dishes platters portable plates top-stones mortars and pestles grinding grooves whetstones Stones have been used for grinding across the whole of Australia for thousands of years. Grinding stones were an essential part of the Aboriginal kitchen carrying out tasks that are replaced today by flour mills, salt and pepper grinders, mincers and food processors, blenders and breadboards, knife sharpeners and whetstones. Figure 1. Wiradjuri people needed the grinding tools that would allow them to make a living on grasslands of the Murray Darling Basin. Grinding implements were used to grind a wide range of seeds into flour; to smash and grind hard seeds and nuts into paste; to pulverise meat, bone (for marrow) and vegetables to make them easy to eat – especially for the elderly and children being weaned; to crush medicinal plants for mixing with water; and to grind different coloured ochres for paint. Grinding stones were also used to sharpen axes, spears, digging sticks, knives and other cutting tools, whether made of flaked stone, wood, bone or mussel shells. Grinding stones across Australia can look very different. They vary according to the texture, hardness, toughness, density and colour of stone available as source material. © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 1 They vary according to the ecology of the region – what kind of food resources they are used for. They also vary in size from large stones (that would be taken to a settlement or localised resource) to smaller portable stones that people carried with them on their travels. They also vary in size depending on their distance from source material. When we come across grinding tools, we learn more about the geology of the local region, how the environment would have looked in the past, and how people might have made a living there. I have a particular interest in the distribution of grinding materials across the landscape. In an area with local ranges and outcrops, it is informative to find sources and understand local technologies. Where there is not a lot of stone, we can track down the source material and try to work out how far the stones were transported along ancient trade routes to which neighbouring groups. Mapping the sources The following map shows the source areas of the two different types of sandstone shown in the examples below. Archaeologists have a long way to go in producing detailed local maps that would show the distributions of items manufactured from different sources. This would inform further studies of trade and interactions between groups. A fairly recent, but expensive, piece of technology called an XRF gun has considerable potential for this. Although originally used by geologists to map the landscape, it is becoming more widely used in Archaeology. Figure 2. A map of the source areas of the two different types of sandstone. Lachlan River tabular indurated sandstone Broken Hill and Scropes Ranges sandstone © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 2 Types of grinding objects While grinding stones may have been used for many different purposes, Archaeology, like any other science, uses particular terms. The next sections cover several of the objects used for grinding that are found in Australia, but with a focus on the Murray Darling Basin and the Lachlan Valley. I have measured 720 grinding stones across the whole Murray Darling Basin, but my recent work in the Lachlan River region has led me to modify the terminology generally used. The ter gri di g dish is idel used i Australia but I have added the terms platter a d plate to etter disti guish the variety of objects between regions such as those noted on the map (figure 2). The identification of different tools and their functions relies on accurate observation, including measurements. These are useful to examine our definitions, as well as looking for patterns. The following chart uses average length and breadth of the various types of grinding object for the Lachlan River region. This sample consists of 430 items that I have examined over several years. The platters are much larger than the rest. The mortars and pestles are mid-sized, while the rest are hand-held. Figure 3. Average length and width of grinding objects in the Lachlan River region. larger Hand held items smaller © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 3 Dishes and platters Grinding dishes are made from large sandstone slabs. The sandstone may be coarse or fine, loosely cemented or indurated with silica, prised as a sheet from layers in the ground or shaped from blocks. Many people are familiar with the typical sandstone dish associated with the Arid Zone of Central Australia. The sandstone is soft so the dishes are typically thick, with several deep grooves, or troughs, often on both sides. Their corresponding top stones are often thick and curved – each groove has its particular top stone. The dishes found throughout the grasslands of the Eastern Riverine Plain and the Lachlan Valley are very different because they are made from a different kind of sandstone. Tabular indurated sandstone is stone that has become impregnated with silica at great pressure and heat underground. It is very hard, yet is found in sheets that are easily split from the parent rock. This stone has spent aeons underground, where dissolved silica has percolated through the porous stone and cemented the sand together into a very hard material. The sedimentary layers, however, were maintained. Once the stone was exposed on the surface after further aeons of erosion it was possible for Aboriginal people to prise thin sheets for use in grinding. Figure 4. Worn-out classic dish with large trough [held by Badger Bates, Lake Cawndilla, upper]; typical Lachlan River region platter with [SJJ-09, near Lake Cargelligo, centre and lower]. These thin, flat, hard sheets of stone produce the distinctive Lachlan Valley grinding materials. Because they look so different from the thick, deep dishes produced in soft sandstone regions, I ha e gi e the their o a e platters’ which better identifies them. © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 4 Figure 5. Sandstone exposed in sheets, near Lake Cargelligo. The photos below are another example of the differe e et ee a dish t pi al of the semi-arid zone – the grassla ds a d sa a ah a d a u h flatter platter fro the Lachlan Valley made from local indurated sandstone. They are similar in size. Figure 6. Depending on the hardness of the material, dishes may be flat or troughed. A flat dish from the Hillston region on the Lachlan River has 2 distinct grooves on the upper face [McG011, McGill Station near Lachlan River, upper left and right]. Softer sandstone requires a thicker slab, into which may be worn deeper troughs [JJ011, Cultowa Station, near Darling River, lower left and right]. © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 5 Top-stones Each dish will have its top-stone that fits well. Some are thick stones, often with a triangular cross section and a curved grinding face that fits the trough exactly. It is easy to see that for the soft sandstone dishes with deeper troughs, the top-stone will be curved to fit. Because the platters are made from the harder tabular indurated sandstone, the grinding facets will be flatter. As a result, the top-stones commonly seen on the Eastern Riverine Plains are much flatter and very different from the ones used with the deeply troughed dishes. Figure 7. Sandstone top-stone with rounded facets and ridge running along length [top]; indurated sandstone top-stone with flat grinding facet [bottom]; Portable grinding plates So far, we have looked at platters and their top stones with examples from the Lachlan Valley. These large platters were too heavy to be transported when people moved from place to place as seasonal resources changed, or to attend ceremony or visit family. They were valuable items so usually platters would be hidden (or cached – see below) to ensure that they were still there when people returned. In my research throughout the Murray Darling Basin, I have also recorded many small grinding plates that are considered portable pieces that people carried on their travels. It has generally been assumed that they were the top stones of the flat sandstone platters so common across the grasslands of the Eastern Riverine Plain. My recent research on the Lachlan, though, has shown that these plates need to be recorded as a category in their own right. In 2013, Steve Johnson of Lake Cargelligo showed me a pair of grinding plates he had uncovered while digging a hole for a fence post near Gilgunnia. He had been impressed that they must have been buried, perhaps near a tree, and that they had been placed © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 6 as a pair, together in the hole. Clearly these two plates were not top-stones of bigger platters but a pair of hand-held, portable grinding plates. This was the first time I had encountered a pair of plates like this, although they are not unknown. In the 1940s, a settler in Ngemba (Ngiyampaa) country, the dry back country immediately north-west of the Lachlan, wrote: At each permanent camping or watering place, grinding stones were left for use so that they need not be carried, but moving from place to place the women carried a small pair of grinding stones among the many other essentials (Dunbar, 1944: 175). As part of my fieldwork, I record, measure and weigh objects and their distribution across the countryside to gain an accurate understanding of their use. With measurements and observations for 720 grinding objects across the Basin, it is now possible to compare different types of object from different places. There are very few cases of two plates having been found together. This is why the find at Gilgunnia by Steve Johnson is so important. Each of these stones has been shaped by flaking around the edge and then abraded for a smooth fit in the hand. They measure about 145mm long by 90ide [less tha 4 in the old money], weighing 300-400g each [a tin of beans weighs 425g]. This would fit the average hand. Since seeing these plates, my recording in 2014 had new questions. Were the small plates found in the landscape the top-stones of larger platters, pairs of portable grinding plates, or perhaps a combination of both? Are there any features that identify them? Would a portable grinding plate be taken from the dilly bag on arrival at the next home where a dish had previously been stored? One thing is certain: I now look to see if I can match any of the plates I find in one area to see if they are part of a pair. Portable grinding plates would have been carried during the day, to be used for meals on the go or for small jobs such as grinding some ochre. Figure 8. The two grinding plates found together at Gilgunnia. Using the measurements I collected in 2014, I have tried to distinguish between topstones and portable plates. As with many living things, it is a subtle combination of factors that determines the shape of our tools: size of hand, length of fingers etc. You © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 7 can sense this in the following graph, where I have measured thickness of the grinder against its weight. Expectably, thickness increases with larger and heavier pieces. The plates seem to make a rough grouping, however, measuring slightly thinner for their weight than the top-stones. This would make sense if you wanted to minimise your effort when carrying something every day. Figure 9. Graphing thickness of the item against its weight differentiates plates and topstones fairly successfully [n=143]. The average measurements show the same result. Length and width, which determine the overall working area, are similar in both types of tool. Thickness and weight are much less for the plates. Table 1. Average dimensions of grinding plates and topstones. Tool type plate top stone Length 130.0 135.6 Width 92.7 93.7 Thick 14.7 23.2 weight 314.5 477.3 I a appe di at the e d of this pa phlet, I e i luded a slightl differe t graph, based on some arcane statistics that are almost certainly of interest to me alone. © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 8 Mortars and pestles Many kitchens today have a mortar and pestle – a larger stone with a bowl-shaped depression and an accompanying stone – to pound herbs, garlic, spices etc. The same items had the same uses in the past. Mortars would be made through the repeated pounding and grinding of a quartzite cobble over years [generations?]. A bowl would gradually deepen. Quartzite is one of the preferred materials; because it is both tough and hard it can withstand pounding. You could imagine a thin sandstone plate would not last very long at all with such treatment. The pestle is the stone held in the hand. Unsurprisingly, they are generally fist-sized and are comfortable to hold in the hand. Along the Murray River and into the Mallee where stone must be imported, mortars are brick-sized blocks with typically deep bowls from long use. The mortar from Koondrook Forest in figure 10 had been used for grinding kopi or gypsum for paint (Pardoe 2013). Mortars and pestles at Lake Victoria on the Murray River are typically large [figure 10]. There is a source of stone for these nearby. Figure 10. Mortars range in size according to requirements and distance from source. Quartzite mortar, Koondrook Forest, Barapa [GS-011] upper left; smaller broken quartzite mortar, Mallee northern Victoria, Wotjobaluk, held by Jeff Hood upper right; large mortars at Lake Victoria, Barkindji, lower left and right. © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 9 Mortars on the Lachlan River vary considerably in size. There are sources of hard quartzite throughout the region. Dishes, platters and plates were used mainly for grinding softer grass seeds into flour. Mortars and pestles were used for pounding, smashing and grinding seeds, nuts, roots and other hard materials. Their main purpose throughout the region is to produce flour or a wet paste from hard seeds such as Acacias. Several early Europeans have commented that the noise of pounding let them know that they were approaching an Aboriginal village. Figure 11. Mortars may be fashioned from large cobbles or tabular quartzite such as this one [SJJ-17, left, Lake Cargelligo area]. Pestles should fit in the hand and usually have multiple grinding facets such as this one from Lake Cargelligo [SJJ-16, centre and right]. When hard stones such as mortars or anvils are pounded, ring cracks are often produced. These are the same as the holes made by flying gravel in car front windows, but incomplete. They are sure indicators of heavy pounding. Figure 12. Ring cracks in a quartzite mortar [WW009 in the collection of the West Wyalong Local Aboriginal Land Council]. For scale, the arrow point measures 14.0mm long by 6.6mm wide.] © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 10 Multi-purpose hammers – anvils - grinders These are round stones with flattened top and bottom, often with a small depression in the middle. Men would have a pair of them so that one could be used as anvil to the smaller hammer. They might be used for hammering pegs, cracking nuts, flaking stone or grinding ochre. In extreme situations, particularly when people were on the move, they might even have been used to pound or grind a bit of seed for a feed. Hammers in the stone poor areas of the Murray Darling Basin are heavily reduced. Like edge-ground axes, these hammers take a beating and will often be found as halves, broken through the central pit where presumably a piece of stone was being flaked and it was hit once too often and once too hard. Figure 13. Classic hammer from the Riverine Plain [WW010 in the collection of the West Wyalong Local Aboriginal Land Council]. Note the smooth ground surfaces top [left – by convention the more heavily worked surface is considered top ] and bottom [right], with hammer damage around the circumference [right]. An anvil pit is common on these. Although on fieldwork I jokingly suggest that a teenage so ho orro ed dad s hammer might be to blame for the breakage, you would be surprised how often we fi d the other half he alki g i a ir le e a tl o e sto e s thro fro the fi d… Figure 14. Broken hammers are more common than you might think. Ms Leeanne Hampton of West Wyalong LALC holds a broken multi-purpose – hammer, anvil, grinding stone. The break crosses the central area of anvil pitting [left, Lake Cowal field find]. Size varies according to scarcity. Hammers on the Hay Plain were very hard to come by [right, Gubba Woods]. © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 11 Grinding grooves Aboriginal grinding groove sites are found across most of Australia where suitable stone is available. They are long oval depressions in flat rock faces, formed by people repeatedly rubbing harder objects against softer stone surface. A local granite outcrop near Lake Cargelligo was clearly a residential site for people travelling from the Lachlan into the back country. According to a local farmer, his gra d other re e ered people usi g it as a stopo er poi t as it as a da s alk from the river and the gnamma holes in the rock were a source of permanent water. The holes are now filled with large pieces of rock to stop the cattle falling in, but traditionally they would have been covered to keep the water clean and to stop evaporation. Figure 15. A local granite outcrop near Lake Cargelligo has gnamma holes which are a good source of standing water. Grinding grooves are found near these gnamma holes and at the top of the hill, where a small pool catches run-off. Gnamma hole about 1m across © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 12 Grinding grooves were used to sharpen stone axes or wooden artefacts with fire hardened points, such as spears or digging sticks. Grinding grooves are almost always found near water which was used to assist the grinding process. Although grinding grooves are often considered to be axe-grinding grooves, it is very likely that they were also used to grind seed for food. It would be necessary to map axe stone quarries and groove concentrations to make the case, although it may be possible to determine use through elemental analysis of residues in the grooves. Grinding grooves in bedrock are only differentiated from dishes and whetstones because they are not portable. In effect they are most similar to the grooves found in softer sandstone dishes. Grinding grooves can be seen near the gnamma holes and also at the top of the outcrop, where a small pool catches run-off. At the base of one of the rocky outcrops, a small cave (or cache) is partially hidden by fallen rocks. The farmer had been told that this was where Aboriginal people had hidden their bigger grinding platters ready for their next visit. Figure 16. Larger grinding platters would be stored in this small cave. © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 13 Whetstones Whetstones were an important item in the Aboriginal tool kit. They were made of s all pie es of hard sa dsto e that ould e arried i people s ags for sharpe i g their tools as they became blunted. They would be used to sharpen a blunt axe, knife, bone tool or pin, or a mussel shell – a readily available tool for cutting or scraping. Whetstones used to be considered rare items but during my research in the Lake Cowal area of the Lachlan Valley, I documented many such pieces (currently held in the Wiradjuri Condobolin Corporation temporary keeping place). In places where axe manufacture is common, such as the Western Slopes in the vicinity of Manna Mountain, they are common enough to be on the lookout for when surveying. Whetstones are small pieces of sandstone with one or two long narrow facets. These small items typically measure between 150-300 mm in length, 50-120 mm in width and 15-30 mm in thickness. They are most likely recycled from broken platters. Figure 17. Ms Enid Clark of Young holds an anciently broken whetstone found at Lake Cowal. Note the small narrow grinding groove. The grooves are clearly seen in the right light. © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 14 Grooves on Grinding Plates While I was measuring artefacts at Lake Cargelligo and examining top-stones and plates, I noticed some with slight grooves on their upper surface. They caught my eye a dIi ediatel thought a e-sharpe i g , since hetsto es as ell as a e-grinding groo es are k o fro the region. The grooves are very faint, but they are very distinct to the touch and to the eye when held against the light. Figure 18. Grinding plates with grooves for sharpening [SJJ-05, top; SJJ-06, bottom]. The red lines indicate the orientation of the grooves. The day before, I had been reading the Reminiscences of William Budd [1849-1926] who was born at Hyandra Station downstream from Lake Cargelligo, and lived in the region most of his life. These included aspects of Aboriginal life in the area based on observations when he was young. While these may be clouded by the years, I find that they often contain details that ring true because they are so minor. In this instance, Budd was describing traditional foods: The fruits were quandong, native cherry, raspberry, blackberry, pigface, yams dug from the earth with a stick about eight foot long pointed at the end in a blade fashion. Those ya s the ati es called poddi es a d ere both palatable and nourishing. The stick used for digging was named in their to gue a Ca ai stick. The raspberry and blackberry are not native, but could refer to local fruits. His description of the blade at the end of the yam stick, however, gives a tiny detail that you would not think he had read elsewhere, as it differs from usual digging sticks. While musing on this, it occurred to me that if women were carrying these portable grinding plates as part of their everyday tool kit, then the grooves would likely be the result of sharpening their digging sticks as well as sharpening axes. © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 15 Contents of a woman’s dilly bag [kalbon] Over the last 20 years, my wife and I have been collecting descriptions of what women traditionally carried in their dilly bags. The bags vary in size, of course, depending on whether women are moving camp from village to village or heading off for a day s gathering. One of the first European explorers into Wiradjuri country in 1817 and 1818 passed through several villages containing substantial huts. On one occasion, the people were away and he documented the contents of several wome s da ags [known as kalbon in Wiradjuri]. What he described is very similar to the sorts of things you might find in a o a s ha d ag toda : several workbags filled with everything necessary for the toilet of a native belle; namely, paint and feathers, necklaces of teeth, and nets for the head, ith thread for ed of the si e s of the opossu ’s tail for aki g their cloaks. (Oxley 1820) Other explorers commented that it was a woman s jo to arr all the necessities of life. Men carried their weapons and also smaller bags containing items like resin and flakes that were necessary for carrying out running repairs – but that is another story. The biggest o e s bags have been described as like a net hammock slung across a shoulder arr i g the hole fa il s elo gi gs. In 1836 Mitchell travelled down the Lachlan as part of his journey into what is now Victoria. He described things he had seen that women typically carried in these bags: These women usually carry besides their childre , …, bags containing all the things which they and the men possess, consisting of nets for the hair or for catching ducks; whetstones; yellow, white, and red ochre; pins for dressing and drying opossum skins, or for net-making; small boomerangs and shovels for the children's amusement; and often many other things (Mitchell 1838). Figure 19. This lithograph from Mitchell is captioned: Turanderey and her child Ballandella with the scenery of the Lachlan, May 836. She is carrying her kalbon and canai, as well as her child. © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 16 Although des ri ed as a use e ts Mit hell akes their edu atio al purpose lear: As soon almost as they can walk a little wooden shovel is put into their hands, and they learn thus early to pick about the ground for those roots and a few others, or to dig out the larvae of ant-hills. (Mitchell September 11, 1836, Bogan River) Another explorer in Western Australia provided an exceptionally detailed do u e tatio of a o a s tra elli g dill ag. The i luded: A flat stone to pound roots with; earth to mix with the pounded roots; quartz, for the purpose of making spears and knives; stones for hatchets; prepared cakes of gum, to make and mend weapons and implements; kangaroo sinews to make spears and to sew with; needles made of the shinbones of kangaroos, with which they sew their cloaks, bags, etc.; opossum hair to be spun into waist belts; shavings of kangaroo skins to polish spears, etc.; the shell of a species of mussel to cut hair, etc., with; native knives; a native hatchet; pipe-clay; red ochre, or burnt clay; yellow ochre, a piece of paperbark to carry water in; waistbands and spare ornaments; pieces of quartz which the native doctors have extracted from their patients, and thus cured them from diseases; these they preserve as carefully as Europeans do relics. Banksia cones (small ones) or pieces of a dry white species of fungus to kindle fire with rapidly and to convey it from place to place; grease, if they can procure it from a whale, or from any other source; the spare weapons of their husbands, or the pieces of wood from which these are to be manufactured; the roots, etc., which they have collected during the day. Skins not yet prepared for cloaks are generally carried between the bag and the back, so as to form a sort of cushion for the bag to rest on. Grey 1841 Figure 20, also from Mitchell 1838, shows another Aboriginal woman carrying her child, bag, digging stick and firestick. We saw earlier some historical evidence that people carried pairs of grinding plates on their travels. In addition to the detail in the quotes above, we can see that pounding stones (perhaps multi-purpose hammers and/or anvils) were also essential portable belongings as were whetstones for sharpening tools as they became blunt. What people carried probably depended on both stone availability and what women were planning to harvest. The portable grinding plates would have been essential in the grasslands, for example, while heavier quartzite mortars would have been used in areas where hard seeds [like Acacia] were common. © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 17 It as i teresti g to see Mit hell s e tio of hildre s to s – toys that are identical to those tools used by grown-ups, in this case, shovels and boomerangs. Other ethnographers have referred to small boys playing with miniature spears, called play spears, from an early age. What I have not yet encountered is a historical description of young girls playing with small grinding stones – yet I often come across grinding implements that are so small that I cannot imagine them being used by an adult. Figure 21. Some of the tiny stones that I had thought might be children s top-stones, but which could also be pairs of plates. These are from Lake Cowal. I will end on a technical note with a graph that looks at width and weight of plates and top stones from the Lachlan River region. You will see that there is one small cluster at the bottom showing pieces that were much smaller than the rest. Are these perhaps little girls toy grinding stones? © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 18 Size of hand must determine the width of the top-stone or plate. These objects are held across the width. I can comfortably hold a top-stone or similar with a width up to 110mm, and with a slight stretch up to 120mm. My wife, Penny, finds that a width of 100mm is quite comfortable, although she is usually chained to the computer typing i stead… In the following figure measuring size of plates and top-stones, you can see that the bulk [in the larger green oval], with a width of 75-105mm, would fit an adult hand. The smaller oval highlights 4 items [two of these are shown in figure 20] that are considerably smaller – too small to be held comfortably by an adult. Figure 22. When the width of these topstones and plates is graphed against weight of the object, a cluster of very small objects is obvious [lower green oval]. Are these the children s toys? The items in the larger oval are those with a width suitable for an adult hand to comfortably grip. © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 19 Conclusions I hope that you may have found this pamphlet interesting and that it gives you a better idea of what we archaeologists do in your country, what we document and measure and why. None of us can ever know how our ancestors lived thousands of years ago but archaeology gives us one window into the past. New technologies are being developed that will transform archaeology. I mentioned one of these, XRF [X-Ray Fluorescence]. This non-destructive technique quickly determines the composition of stone by chemical element. This allows us to compare grinding items to source bedrock, building a map of the distribution of the stone away from its source. Residue analysis is another body of techniques that examine microscopic particles trapped in the cracks of grinding facets. My colleagues Richard Fullagar, Birgitta Stephenson and Ebbe Hayes are at the forefront of this technology. A recent study of a platter from West Wyalong Local Aboriginal Land Council made headlines in the local paper and around the world. We were able to show that the platter had been used for grinding meat, grass seeds, and unexpectedly, yams or tubers. Put them together and it looked a lot like the orld s first hamburger and chips! See appendix. I hope too that this pamphlet has stimulated lots of questions and ideas and that you will keep some of these in mind as you travel and work in the region. I would love to hear back from you. © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 20 References and further reading Budd, William. [1998]. Original Journal. Lake Cargelligo Historical Society, reprinted 2006. Dunbar, G.K., 1943. Notes on the Ngemba Tribe of the Central Darling River, Western NSW. Mankind, 3(5): 140-148 & 3(6): 172-179. Folster, W. n.d. [1988] W. Folster's Articles. Cabonne Printers, Molong, NSW. Published by Paul Weathersten, Orange, NSW. Fullagar, R. and C. Pardoe. 2012. An online database for Australian grinding stones. Paper presented at the Australian Archaeological Association Conference, Wollongong, NSW, December 2012. Grey, G. 1841. Journals of two expeditions of discovery in North-West and Western Australia, during the years 1837, 38, 39. T & W Boone: London. Kemp, J., A Gontz, C Pardoe, T Pietsch, J Olley. 2014. A ground penetrating radar survey near the excavated burial site of Kiacatoo Man. Quaternary Australasia 31: 32-39. Mitchell, T. 1838. Three expeditions into the interior of eastern Australia. Two volumes. T & W Boone, London. A Project Gutenberg EBook www.gutenberg.net Release date: July 27, 2004 [EBook #13033] Produced by Sue Asscher and Col Choat. Accessed 17 June 2010. Oxley, J. 1820 [1964]. Journals of Two Expeditions into the Interior of New South Wales, undertaken by order of the British Government in the years 1817 -1818. Facsimile edition, Public Library of South Australia. Pardoe, C. 2003. The Menindee Lakes: a regional archaeology. Australian Archaeology 47: 42-53. Pardoe, C. 2009. Archaeological Investigations at Lake Cowal. Report to Barrick Gold of Australia Limited. Pardoe, C. 2010. Large seed grinding mortars at Lake Victoria; a necessity for making a living in the past around lakes of the Murray – Darling Basin. Results of a short investigation as part of the Scientific Review Panel for Lake Victoria, Murray Darling Basin Authority. June 2010 Pardoe, C. 2012. TELKUK TIRR – GOOD or BEAUTIFUL AXE: Ground-edge axe heads from the Koondrook State Forest, Murray River, NSW. Information Pamphlet for: The Joint Indigenous Group of the Koondrook Perricoota Forests Flood Enhancement Works Project, Barapa Barapa Nation Aboriginal Corporation, Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation, Forests NSW, and State Water Corporation NSW. December 2012 Pardoe, C. 2013. A Mortar from Koondrook Perricoota State Forest. Information pamphlet for the Joint Indigenous Group, Forestry Corporation NSW, State Water Corporation NSW, and Murray Darling Basin Authority. Pardoe, C. 2013. Grinding: distribution, ecology and economy on the Riverine Plain of the Murray-Darling Basin. Paper presented at the Australian Archaeological Association Conference, Coffs Harbour, NSW, December 2013 © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 21 Appendix - William Budd William Budd [1849-1926] was born at Hyandra Station downstream from Lake Cargelligo, and lived in the region most of his life. I he shipped 50 fat cattle, from Hyandra to arkets i Vi toria. In his journal, William described the last gathering of the Mid La hla A origi es held i a out o H a dra “tatio . Budd accepted contracts for the conveyance of Post Office mail in New South Wales from 1st January, 1900. [Western Road, Northern Road, and Southern Road; Source NSW Government Gazette].   165. William BUDD, Lake Cudgellico Condobolin and Euabalong, along the north side of the Lachlan River (Contractor to travel alternatively by the "Flood Road" and "River Road"); 45 miles; twice a week; 2-horse coach; £75; 31 Dec 1902. 172. William BUDD, Lake Cudgellico Euabalong, South Mount Hope, and Mount Hope; 40 miles; twice a week; Coach, 2 or more horses; £149; 31 Dec, 1900. http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/AUS-NSW-WEST/200508/1125276187 Mr Budd was at Hyandra in 1872, here 50 fat cattle, from Hyandra, in charge of Mr. William Budd, will pass here to-day for Victoria . The Empire (Sydney, NSW), Thursday 6 June 1872, page 2 HAY CROWN LANDS OFFICE — Selections were taken up at the local land office on Thursday as follow: Samuel Gregory Bowler, Hyandra, 320 acres on the north side of the Booberoi Creek, commencing at the boundary fence between Hyandra and Whoey stations. The Riverine Grazier (Hay, NSW), Saturday 15 December 1877, page 2 © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 22 Appendix: group statistics I present the following table so that other people may use it as a basis for comparison across other regions. Although my analyses indicated that there was a lot of overlap between these two items, further studies by others in different regions of the Murray Darling Basin, or even across the country, may have different questions and may be looking for different patterns. Table 2. Average and standard deviation statistics for plates and topstones. Group Statistics Average Standard Deviation number tool type Length Width Thick weight Length Width Thick weight plate 130.0 92.7 14.7 314.5 27.3 23.4 1.9 111.3 6 6 6 6 plate? 146.1 114.5 20.4 509.7 6.2 4.8 4.8 82.4 3 3 3 3 plate+groove 132.4 96.8 18.7 397.0 1.2 3.9 9.2 212.1 2 2 2 2 top-stone 135.6 93.7 23.2 477.3 23.1 15.0 6.5 244.4 40 40 40 40 top-stone? 137.5 109.5 25.9 606.0 9.4 17.0 8.9 388.9 2 2 2 2 135.5 95.4 22.0 462.5 22.0 16.1 6.7 232.0 53 53 53 53 totals L W T wt Appendix: Discriminant Function Analysis Discriminant Function Analysis of the several tool types using L, W, T and Wt as variables [no transformation or standardisation]. I wanted to see if there might be some combinations of factors that would differentiate the two types: width for thickness, where the grip might be important; area for weight, if you needed to carry something all day; area for thickness, depending on what you were grinding. There is some differentiation of the types, with the plate-like objects clustering to the left side of the graph, on the edge of the distribution of the top-stone - like objects. This is something to which I will return and reexamine some of the topstones [from the Cowal collection], to see how much more there is to be learned. Figure 22. This graph is derived from statistics that seek to separate the two types of object. Even though there is some difference between the two, there is a lot of overlap. © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 23 Appendix: Residue analysis © Colin Pardoe 2015 Grinding Stones of the Lachlan River page 24