The re-excavation of Karnatukul (Serpent’s Glen) has provided evidence for the human occupation of the Australian Western Desert to before 47,830 cal. BP (modelled median age). This new sequence is 20,000 years older than the previous known age for occupation at this site. Re-excavation of Karnatukul aimed to contextualise the site’s painted art assemblage. We report on analyses of assemblages of stone artefacts and pigment art, pigment fragments, anthracology, new radiocarbon dates and detailed sediment analyses. Combined these add significantly to our understanding of this earliest occupation of Australia’s Western Desert. The large lithic assemblage of over 25,000 artefacts includes a symmetrical geometric backed artefact dated to 45,570–41,650 cal. BP. The assemblage includes other evidence for hafting technology in its earliest phase of occupation. This research recalibrates the earliest Pleistocene occupation of Australia’s desert core and confirms that people remained in this part of the arid zone during the Last Glacial Maximum. Changes in occupation intensity are demonstrated throughout the sequence: at the late Pleistocene/Holocene transition, the mid-Holocene and then during the last millennium. Karnatukul documents intensive site use with a range of occupation activities and different signalling behaviours during the last 1,000 years. This correlation of rock art and occupation evidence refines our understanding of how Western Desert peoples have inscribed their landscapes in the recent past, while the newly described occupation sequence highlights the dynamic adaptive culture of the first Australians, supporting arguments for their rapid very early migration from the coasts and northern tropics throughout the arid interior of the continent.

No abstract

No abstract

The presence of Aboriginal people in interior refuges as climate conditions deteriorated with the onset of glacial aridity is now well documented in the Australian arid zone. Further excavation at Yurlu Kankala, a large rock shelter located on an island of high land in the inland Pilbara, demonstrates repeated human occupation from at least 47-43 cal ka BP through the Last Glacial Maximum to the mid-Holocene. Despite the continued presence of bone representing human food remains and an increased occurrence of hearths, after 18-17 cal ka BP there is a dramatic reduction in stone artefact numbers, suggesting that use of the site changed markedly. In exploring the drivers behind this change, we investigate the role of rock shelters in Aboriginal land-use systems in the Pleistocene Pilbara. Yurlu Kankala makes a substantive contribution to answering questions on changing rock shelter and landscape use during the post-LGM movement of people into the wider Pilbara uplands. RÉSUMÉ La présence de population de chasseurs-cueilleurs dans les zones refuges de la zone aride australienne au coeur du dernier maximum glaciaire est aujourd'hui bien documentée. La séquence de Yurlu Kankala, un grand abri sous roche dans les terres intérieures du Pilbara, a révélé une occupation humaine débutantà 47-43 cal BP et persistantà travers le dernier maximum glacière jusqu'au milieu de l'Holocène. Les restes de faune retrouvées et un nombre important de foyers suggèrent des occupations brèves mais répétées au cours du Pléistocène. Cependant, après 18-17 cal BP, une réduction importante de l'industrie lithique suggère un changement d'utilisation du site. En explorant les différents facteurs possiblesà l'origine de ce changement, nous essayons de mieux comprendre le rôle des abris sous roche dans les systèmes d'occupation du territoire dans le Pilbara au Pléistocène. Yurlu Kankala apporte ainsi une contribution importante aux problématiques archéologiques régionales tels que les changements de type d'occupation des abris sous roche au cours du temps mais aussi l'occupation et l'utilisation du territoire dans le Pilbaraà la suite du dernier maximum glaciaire.

No abstract