Bennett’s wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus) marrow quality vs quantity: evaluating human decision-making and seasonal occupation in late Pleistocene Tasmania

Economic utility and nutritional value of the Common wombat (Vombatus ursinus): Evaluating Australian Aboriginal hunting and butchery patterns

“…A preliminary analysis of the distribution of fatty acids in the Tasmanian Common wombat suggested that the flesh, as well as marrow from the humeral and femoral regions, contained relatively low percentages of unsaturated fatty acids, particularly oleic acid, compared to the Bennett's wallaby (Garvey, 2011). This could potentially explain why the wallaby was the dominant species in the late Pleistocene southwest Tasmanian archaeological assemblages, with the hind leg being the most common body part, which were always split open to obtain the highly nutritious bone marrow (Garvey, 2011).…”

“…This could potentially explain why the wallaby was the dominant species in the late Pleistocene southwest Tasmanian archaeological assemblages, with the hind leg being the most common body part, which were always split open to obtain the highly nutritious bone marrow (Garvey, 2011). It has been argued by Binford (1978) that oleic acid is a good proxy for indicating the fat quality of the bone marrow and hence the overall nutritional quality.…”

“…Overall, the Tasmanian Common wombat was found to have a fairly similar fatty acid profile to the Bennett's wallaby, although there is a higher percentage of unsaturated fatty acid in the distal radius or lower forearm, than in the distal tibia or lower hind leg. It is not known what causes this difference, but it was speculated (Garvey, 2011) that it may have been associated with the wombat's morphology; stocky plantigrade herbivore, with a dorsoventrally flattened skull and thick neck, coupled with a robust pectoral girdle, and short and powerful forelimbs for burrowing (Wells, 1989). This current study extends these findings to the mainland Common wombat, with brain, fat, meat and marrow samples taken to investigate their potential nutritional quality.…”

“…The Kidney Fat Index (KFI) developed by Riney (1955), is considered to be a good indicator of a variety of body conditions, although it is thought that it is only reliable when the animal is in good condition (see discussion in Garvey, 2011). The KFI was calculated for each individual (Table 1), with low numbers recorded for the three wombats.…”

“…Skeletochronological or dental growth-increment analysis of wallaby teeth suggested that people hunted on a systematic seasonal basis between highland and lowland sites (Pike-Tay et al, 2008). More recent Bennett's wallaby economic utility and nutritional studies indicated that people routinely selected the body parts with the largest amount of meat, which also provided the best quality and greatest quantity of highly nutritious unsaturated bone marrow (Garvey, 2010(Garvey, , 2011. It was found that the Bennett's wallaby remained a stable and reliable resource throughout the year, with seasonal, environmental and elevational variability only having a very small influence on the nutritional quality of this prey species.…”