Rockshelters and human mobility during the Last Glacial Maximum in the Pilbara Uplands, north-western Australia

Human movement in the inland Pilbara region of north-western Australia during the Pleistocene was examined through a technological analysis of the stone artefact assemblages from three rockshelters. The results suggest that the common characterisation of Aboriginal tool-stone use in the Pilbara uplands, of expedient material use within a lithic-rich landscape, has been overstated. A strategy of individual provisioning is apparent, where highly mobile people transported cores over short distances across the uplands. Changes in rockshelter use and mobility during the Last Glacial Maximum (24-18 ka) demonstrate complex patterns of landscape use incorporating both territorial retraction and phases of expansion.