Records of the Western Australian Museum 18: 317-321 (1997). 
An engraved slate fragment from Walyunga, Western Australia 
Robert G. Bednarik 
International Federation of Rock Art Organisations, P.O. Box 216, Caulfield South, Victoria 3162, Australia 
Abstract - A small engraved fragment of slate from an archaeological site 
near Perth is analysed by intensive microscopic examination and through 
replication experiments. Various types of markings are present on both faces 
of the plaque. These intentionally made incisions are identified and 
distinguished from the numerous taphonomic marks also present. The 
anthropic markings are described in terms of their production processes, 
including the sequence in which they were made, and the directions from 
which they were drawn, almost certainly by a steel tool. It is concluded that 
the object was engraved on both sides before it was fractured and then worn 
by sediment. One side bore a very small structured arrangement that may 
have been iconic, the other a rectangular grid pattern. Both were engraved 
with a steel point, and possibly with the same tool. 
INTRODUCTION 
Walyunga is ait archaeological open-air camp 
site, located in the Walyunga National Park, near 
the west bank of the Swan River and 38 km north¬ 
east of Perth. It is marked by a large surface scatter 
of stone tools on the deflated surface of a quartz 
sand dune and has been examined on various 
occasions (Butler 1958; Akerman 1969; Turner 1969; 
Pearce 1978). 
Excavation at the site revealed a vertical 
distribution of occupation evidence to at least 1.4 
m or 1.8 m, at which depth a charcoal sample 
produced a radiocarbon age in the order of 8000 
years. This is in agreement with four other carbon 
dates from further up in the stratigraphy, which 
are all in proper sequence relative to depth (Pearce 
1978, Table 1). The lithics include scrapers, adze 
flakes and 'fabricators', 'flat adzes', geometric 
microliths and asymmetric backed points. The 
latter two types were limited to levels above c. 
3200 years BP, the 'flat adzes' to above c. 4500 BP. 
The prolific artefact assemblage is also 
characterised by typical tula slugs (cf. Bednarik 
1977, Fig. 2). In addition there is a component of 
larger tools. 
A distinctive change in tool material occurs at 
4500 BP: before then, chert and silcrete are 
preferred, but after that time mylonite is used 
almost exclusively. Since this latter material has 
inferior flaking characteristics, it has been 
suggested that the earlier coastal stone sources 
became unavailable, perhaps by a rising sea level 
(Pearce 1978). A similar pattern has been observed 
at other archaeological sites in the region, leading 
to the assumption that Eocene chert sources now 
below sea level were inundated by about 6000 BP 
(Glover 1979, 1984; Glover et al. 1979, 41; Glover et 
al. 1993). 
In the surface deposit of the site, numbers of 
artefacts made from European glass and porcelain 
have been observed, as is also the case at other 
post-contact sites in the area, such as Orange Grove 
(Dodds et al. 1991) and Bullsbrook (C. Dortch, pers. 
comm.). Among the remains at Walyunga, W. H. 
Butler collected a small plaque of slate with incised 
markings in July 1958. It is catalogued in the 
anthropology collection of the Western Australian 
Museum and marked number A12748. This surface 
find appears to be a fragment of a roofing tile, as 
indicated by one straight and artificially bevelled 
edge. Mr C. Dortch and Mr P. Bindon of the 
Western Australian Museum suggest that the slate 
derives from the British Isles, perhaps Wales, and 
was imported in the 19th century. Mr Bindon has 
established that there was a cottage at the site in 
the last century, but he has also pointed out (P. 
Bindon, pers. comm.) that writing slates may bear 
a bevelled edge in the wooden frame. Remains of a 
shepherd's hut were still observed near the 
Walyunga site in the 1950s (G. Kendrick, pers. 
comm.). The occurrence of marine-derived 
calcarenite material in the lithic assemblage at 
Walyunga (G. Kendrick, pers. comm.) suggests that 
this site may have a recent sedimentary history 
similar to that of Orange Grove, where such 
material is thought to have arrived with guano 
fertiliser (Dodds et al. 1991). 
The markings on the Walyunga slate fragment 
had not previously been examined in any detail. It 
was sent to me for study in mid-1996. The 
following report describes the incisions and 
various microscopic observations. 
