Historical continuities in Aboriginal land-use at Bustard Bay, Queensland: results of use-wear and residue analysis of Aboriginal glass artefacts

Glass artefacts are reported from the surface of two long-term Aboriginal sites at Bustard Bay on the southern Curtis Coast. Comparative historical bottle reference collections and contexts date the assemblages to the late nineteenth/early twentieth centuries. Use-wear and residue studies show that several of the glass artefacts were used in woodworking and plant processing activities. The artefacts not only document the presence of Aboriginal people in this area at a time when the historical record is silent, but demonstrate continuing Aboriginal use of known places on the landscape and continuing application of food-processing technologies into the historical period using artefacts manufactured on European raw materials