Archaeological investigations in the Northcliffe district, Western Australia

Traditional Aboriginal land use and subsistence in the Northcliffe district, Western Australia was probably similar to that recorded in other south western coastal districts during the 19th century. Examination of prehistoric Aboriginal campsites in the vicinity of Northcliffe and on the coastal plain reveals that Aboriginal stone workers used local chert, silcrete, quartz, and other stone. They quarried silcrete extensively at an outcrop near Northcliffe from before 6780 years BP until at least 3000 years BP. Area stone artifact assemblages contain diverse retouched tools made on flakes and blades, notably geometric microliths. A wooden fish trap on a freshwater creek near Point d'Entrecasteaux suggests that traditional freshwater fishing methods were highly developed. Marine mollusc shells at archaeological sites in coastal dunes around Malimup are tentatively interpreted as food remains. The scarcity of biotic material in known archaeological deposits at present prevents definitive assessment of prehistoric Aboriginal subsistence and land use.