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An
Aboriginal man done to death on the dunes 4000 years ago was recently discovered during excavations beneath a bus shelter in Narrabeen on Sydney's northern beaches. The presence of backed microliths and the evidence for trauma in the bones showed that he had been killed with stone-tipped spears.
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Further examination revealed that
Narrabeen Man was approximately 183 cm tall, estimated from the length of his limbs, 30–40 years old. His height was above average for Aboriginal men at this time. It is also speculated that Narrabeen Man was not from a tribe from the greater Sydney region, as his
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The spear barbs found in the skeleton were most likely from what post-settlement
Europeans sometimes called "death spears". Although they may have been used in ritual punishments, it seems likely the same type of spears was used for killing game, such as
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of the bone suggested an age of around 4,000 years for the skeleton. The
Narrabeen man was suspected to be 30–40 years old when he died. This is recorded to be Sydney's oldest aboriginal skeleton and is Australia's third oldest skeletal remains behind
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McDonald, Josephine J.; Donlon, Denise; Field, Judith H.; Fullagar, Richard L.K.; Coltrain, Joan
Brenner; Mitchell, Peter; Rawson, Mark (December 2007). "The first archaeological evidence for death by spearing in Australia".
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Dr Donlon: I estimated from his limb bones that he was 183 cm tall, which is about eight-foot in the old terminology and this is very tall for an
Aboriginal man and the average height for Aboriginal men was ten-foot
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There is no conclusive evidence as to why he was killed. A Narrabeen cultural heritage officer, Allen Madden, suggested in 2008 that a ritualistic murder of this type represents the farthest extent of
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along the head of the bullet, creating a serrated edge behind the point. The pieces of rock tend to break free from the resin and remain in the flesh of the victim. Gun bullets like these date to the
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Now we know how these backed points were used. A punishment ritual is implied by analogies with contact-period observations made in the eighteenth century AD.
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multiple uses for backed artefacts, a paper by G. Robertson, V. Attenbrow and P. Hiscock see also section referring to
Narrabeen Man on pp 297-298
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Fullagar, Richard; Ulm, Sean; Australian
Association of Consulting Archaeologists; Jo McDonald Cultural Heritage Management Pty Ltd (2008),
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The
Narrabeen Man was found by contractors digging for electricity cables near the corners of Octavia Street and Ocean Street, Narrabeen. A
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McDonald, Josephine; Donlon, Denise; Field, Judith; Fullagar, Richard; Coltrain, Joan; Mitchell, Peter; Rawson, Mark (December 2015).
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period, and in
Australia are referred to as "backed artefacts" meaning microliths or "bladelets" having retouched edges.
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An archaeological dig at the site revealed that Narrabeen Man was found in a posture unlike a tribal
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Salvage excavation of human skeletal remains at Ocean and Octavia streets, Narrabeen site #45-6-2747
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129:(unless the rite was introduced locally in more recent times than Narrabeen Man's demise).
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two front teeth were not removed - in line with a regional initiation rite at the time of
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and near other parts of the body. This indicated death by spearing and suggested to
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https://www.academia.edu/235125/Multiple_uses_for_Australian_backed_artefacts
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that Narrabeen Man was perhaps the first physical evidence of
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investigation was undertaken and bone samples were sent to
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Narrabeen Man's remains are currently lying under care at
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is the name given to a 4,000-year-old skeleton of a tall
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431:"New Report On First Death By Spearing In Australia"
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218:"Bus stop an execution site ... 1500 years ago"
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31:region of
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