Evaluating human responses to ENSO driven climate change during the Holocene in northwest Australia through macrobotanical analyses

Dilkes-Hall, India Ella; Balme, Jane; O’Connor, Sue; Dotte-Sarout, Émilie

doi:10.1177/0959683620950410

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 78 publications

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“…Stone artifacts, ochre fragments, and faunal remains are present throughout the sequence (Balme et al, 2019). Shell and wooden artifact as well as fragile organic material remains such as wood shavings, plant fiber, and macrobotanical elements are only preserved in the Holocene deposits (Balme et al, 2019; Dilkes‐Hall et al, 2020). Together, these materials document some of the activities carried out at the site during periods of human occupation.…”

Section: Archaeological Context For the Riwi Cave Bone Artifactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bone artifacts from Riwi Cave, south‐central Kimberley: Reappraisal of the timing and role of osseous artifacts in northern Australia

Langley

Balme

O’Connor

2021

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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Here, we describe eight bone artifacts recovered from Pleistocene and Holocene contexts at Riwi, a cave site located in Mimbi country of the south-central Kimberley.These artifacts reflect a range of activities occurring at the site-including the manufacture of plant-fiber items, the processing of spinifex resin, and fish or bird hunting. As the oldest four artifacts were found within the Pleistocene deposit and therefore date to older than 35,000 cal. BP, these tools represent some of the most ancient bone technologies thus far identified in northern Australia. Such rare finds are helping to rewrite stories surrounding the innovation and use of osseous technologies on the Australian continent.

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Section: Archaeological Context For the Riwi Cave Bone Artifactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bone artifacts from Riwi Cave, south‐central Kimberley: Reappraisal of the timing and role of osseous artifacts in northern Australia

Langley

Balme

O’Connor

2021

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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Archaeological identification of fragmented nuts and fruits from key Asia‐Pacific economic tree species using anatomical criteria: Comparative analysis of Canarium, Pandanus and Terminalia

Fairbairn

Florin

2022

Archaeology in Oceania

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The fats, protein and carbohydrates afforded by tree nuts and fruits are key resources for communities from Southeast Asia, through Melanesia, Australia and across Oceania. They are important in long‐distance marine trade networks, large‐scale ceremonial gatherings, and are core resources in a wide range of subsistence economies, including foraging systems, horticulture and swidden agriculture. Recent archaeobotanical evidence has also shown their deep‐time importance, being amongst the earliest foods used in the colonisation of novel environments in Australia and New Guinea, as well as the later colonisation of Near and Remote Oceania. The archaeobotanical methods used to identify fruit and nut‐derived plant macrofossils have been largely limited to use of morphological characters of near whole or exceptionally preserved remains, most commonly endocarps, the hard, nutshell‐like interior layer of the fruit protecting the seed. Here we detail how anatomical characteristics of endocarps, visible in light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), can be used with surviving morphological features to identify confidently the use of key Asia‐Pacific economic trees, in this case, Canarium, Pandanus and Terminalia. Systematic anatomical description allows the identification of these important economic taxa, and separation from the remains of others such as Aleurites and Cocos, when found in a range of archaeological assemblages. This includes the often highly fragmented charred assemblages that can be recovered routinely from most sites with appropriate fine‐sieving and flotation methods. These methods provide the basis for a more representative and nuanced understanding of ancient plant use, economy and social systems operating in the region and, being particularly useful in tropical regions, will broaden the archaeobotanical database on ancient foods globally.

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Collaborative anthracology and cultural understandings of wood charcoal in Marra Country (northern Australia)

Walsh,

Dotte-Sarout,

Brady

et al. 2024

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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This paper presents results from the first collaborative anthracological (archaeological wood charcoal analysis) study in northern Australia’s southwest Gulf of Carpentaria region. The analysis focused on charcoal from a Late Holocene combustion feature and surrounding dispersed charcoal on a buried floor surface. The results suggest that the combustion feature likely functioned as a ground oven associated with a potential specific function, with the majority of fuel wood coming from wakuwaku/marnunggurrun (Callitris columellaris or White Cypress Pine) and Myrtaceae species. These species are found in low woodlands associated with hilly and freshwater springs settings, and their abundance and dispersal are influenced by fire regimes (e.g., Aboriginal fire regimes). Information provided by members of the Marra Aboriginal community about our findings focused on the social and cultural significance of wakuwaku/marnunggurrun, with particular emphasis around its role in past and present wood collection strategies (fire-making and transport, high value timber etc.). By exploring how anthracology and cultural knowledge intersect to generate new understandings about the relational qualities of wood (charcoal), we aim to highlight how collaborative archaeobotany can help reorient research questions in the discipline, providing an opportunity to make such specialised analyses meaningful to communities.

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Evaluating human responses to ENSO driven climate change during the Holocene in northwest Australia through macrobotanical analyses

Cited by 6 publications

References 78 publications

Bone artifacts from Riwi Cave, south‐central Kimberley: Reappraisal of the timing and role of osseous artifacts in northern Australia

Bone artifacts from Riwi Cave, south‐central Kimberley: Reappraisal of the timing and role of osseous artifacts in northern Australia

Archaeological identification of fragmented nuts and fruits from key Asia‐Pacific economic tree species using anatomical criteria: Comparative analysis of Canarium, Pandanus and Terminalia

Collaborative anthracology and cultural understandings of wood charcoal in Marra Country (northern Australia)

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