New radiocarbon dates for Kulpi Mara rockshelter, central Australia

Abstract

Kulpi Mara is one of three known late Pleistocene sites in Central Australia. Four recent radiocarbon determinations combined with 7 earlier results clarify the sedimentation history and occupation phases at the rockshelter. The sequence shows a number of pulses of occupation, the earliest dating between c.34,178 and 29,102 cal BP, with little use of the shelter during intermediate periods. This contrasts with the more or less continuous sequence reported for Puritjarra rockshelter 165km to the west. These differences suggest that we can expect intraregional variability in both the geomorphic setting and occupational histories of Pleistocene and Holocene sites in Central Australia and the Western Desert.