Abstract Aboriginal culturally modified trees are a distinctive feature of the Australian archaeological record, generating insights into Aboriginal interactions with wood and bark, which rarely survive in archaeological contexts. However, they are under-studied, in decline and typically presumed to pre-date the 20th century. Here we investigate the origin of a scar with a stone tool embedded in the scar overgrowth, located in the Central Tablelands, New South Wales, on Wiradjuri Country. We consider three datasets for this purpose: the tree and scar features; macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of the embedded stone; and chronology and age of the tree and scar. The origin of the scar and its relationship with the stone tool are unclear. However, the results, together with documentary and oral evidence, suggest that Aboriginal people quarried the stone and probably used it as a wedge to lever bark from the tree, or to make a sign. The results provide a rare glimpse into the continuation of Aboriginal cultural practices and knowledge transmission in the second half of the 20th century.

中文翻译：

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Wala-gaay Guwingal：20世纪原住民经过文化改良的树木，带有嵌入式石器

摘要原住民经过文化修饰的树木是澳大利亚考古记录的一个独特特征，使人们对原住民与木材和树皮的相互作用产生了见识，而这种相互作用在考古环境中很少存在。但是，它们的研究不足，呈下降趋势，通常被认为早于20世纪。在这里，我们使用位于Wiradjuri县新南威尔士州中部高原的疤痕过度生长中嵌入的石器工具调查了疤痕的起源。为此，我们考虑三个数据集：树和疤痕特征；嵌入石材的宏观和微观特性；以及树木和疤痕的年代和年龄。疤痕的起源及其与石材工具的关系尚不清楚。但是，结果以及书面和口头证据，建议原住民采石，并可能将其用作楔子，从树上撬起树皮或做个标志。研究结果为20世纪下半叶土著文化习俗的延续和知识传播提供了难得的一瞥。