NEW REPORT ON FIRST DEATH BY SPEARING IN AUSTRALIA

jo.mcdonald@jmcdchm.com.au

ANU Media Release

News from The Australian National University

TUESDAY 11 DECEMBER 2007

NEW REPORT ON FIRST DEATH BY SPEARING IN AUSTRALIA

A new report led by an ANU archaeologist on the first evidence of death
by spearing in Australia has been published in the prestigious British
journal Antiquity.

The paper outlines the collaborative detective work that took place
following the discovery of the skeletal remains of an Aboriginal male in
the Sydney suburb of Narrabeen during excavations for gas works in 2005.
A number of stone tools, interpreted as spear barbs, were also
discovered at the site.

Lead author Dr Jo McDonald from the Research School of Humanities at ANU
said that anatomical, forensic and artefact studies indicate death by
spearing and the archaeological evidence showed that that the man was
slain and abandoned in a coastal dune around 4,000 years ago.

"Ritual punishment using barbed death spears was witnessed at European
contact in the Sydney region," Dr McDonald said. "The Narrabeen man
provides early archaeological evidence for ritual or payback killing by
spearing. The timing of this event is significant for understanding
other archaeological indicators of increased social complexity across
south-eastern Australia."

A multidisciplinary approach was taken to the salvage. Dr Richard
Fullagar and Dr Judith Field from the University of Sydney studied the
spear barbs. As well as finding human bone on several of the points,
they also discovered signs of head-on tip impact and other damage
consistent with the spearing of a human. Dr Denise Donlon, also from the
University of Sydney, analysed the slain man's skeleton and was able to
determine that he was aged in his 30s at the time of his death.
Altogether 17 pieces of flaked stone, thought to be spear barbs, were
found around or embedded in the skeleton.

Dr Joan Brenner Coltrain from the University of Utah analysed the stable
isotope chemistry of the man's bones, which indicated he subsisted on a
diet of marine foods including fish, shellfish, seaweed and sea birds. A
study of the site's geomorphology by private consultant Dr Peter
Mitchell, combined with the age of the skeleton, indicated that this
event took place at a time of higher sea level, suggesting the body was
left on the crest of a fore dune.

"This was an example of the type of good research which can be achieved
in the context of cultural heritage management - and an example of the
exciting nature of archaeology in Sydney - where unique finds can be
preserved in urban contexts," Dr McDonald said. "It also shows how
archaeological research can provide Aboriginal communities with the
types of information that they want to know about their ancestors."

Australian Archaeological Association spokesman, Professor Peter Veth
from ANU, said the publication of the report in Antiquity was highly
significant for archaeology in Australia.

For interviews: Dr Jo McDonald 02 6295 3355

ANU Media Office: Simon Couper 02 6125 4171, 0416 249 241