Table 2 Number and percentage of grinding stones from each phase with assigned functions and likely processed materials.
From: 65,000-years of continuous grinding stone use at Madjedbebe, Northern Australia
Worked materials | Plant | Seed | Other plant | Animal | Bone | Meat/skin | Pigment | Stone | Hammerstone (stone knapping) | Whetstone (axe grinding) | Metal | Unknown | Multiple | Total no. of analysed grinding stones (including fragments) from each Phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Phase 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 (~ 5%) |
Phase 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 (~ 4%) |
Phase 5 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 15 (~ 14%) |
Phase 4 | 24 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 33 (~ 32%) |
Phase 3 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 16 (~ 15%) |
Phase 2 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 29 (~ 30%) |
Phase uncertain | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 (~ 2%) |
TOTAL | 60 | 17 | 43 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 30 | 13 | 104 |
