SESSION 1 – Raw material exploitation strategies – mining and surface collecting
In quartz we trust, when on high. Technological analysis of the lithic assemblage from 19 sub-alpine sites in Victorian Alps, Australia. Challenge the predicted model of lithic resource exploitation for Australia

The analysis showed that there was variation in the quality of the quartz that aboriginal people brought onto the basalt-capped ridge. The artefacts also varied in the knapping techniques used. The unique geology of the area was significant to the evaluation of these artefacts; basalt cap on the ridge provided an environment that is naturally quartz free. Directly below the basalt however, there were exposed sediments in the slopes and gullies, which were rich with quartz. So much so, that in the later part of the 19th century miners worked these deposits of quartz for gold. Quartz material is also available in creek beds proximal to the ridge, which in turn is close to the archaeological sites identified during fieldwork.