ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA—Researchers from Flinders University and Griffith University have analyzed a rare ancient bone point recovered in southern Australia, Cosmos Magazine reports. In 2008, during excavations in collaboration with the Ngarrindjeri Aboriginal Corporation, archaeologists unearthed the artifact from a midden along the Lower Murray River, an area where bone objects had not been found since the 1970s. Now, they have dated the point to between 5,300 and 3,800 years ago and determined that it was fashioned from either kangaroo or wallaby bone. The artifact may have been used as a pin on a soft material such as a possum fur cloak, archaeologists Chris Wilson and Amy Roberts explained, or as a projectile point for hunting. To read about the use of stencils to create rock art in northern Australia, go to "Miniature Masterpieces."
