A taphonomic analysis of the vertebrate material from Allen's Cave : implications for Australian arid zone archaeology

Abstract

This thesis analyses an extensive bone deposit from Allen's Cave, which is situated on the southern Nullarbor, South Australia. Excavation of the site in 1989 yielded evidence for 38,000 years of human occupation, the first 25,000 years of which took place under extremely arid conditions. A taphonomic analysis of the bone debris was undertaken in order to identify patterns of Aboriginal arid zone subsistence and occupation. The bone debris consists of skeletal material from a range of small to large prey. The smaller species are both better represented and preserved than larger species. Primary deposition by owls and carnivores and significant modification of human-deposited bone is clearly demonstrated. Previous vertebrate analyses which have aimed at identifying humandeposited bone from such mixed and. fragmented deposits were found to display on-going methodological problems. These problems were largely based on misunderstandings about the behavior of predators associated with the cave sites. Therefore a comprehensive review of the taphonomic effects of a range of carnivores in human occupation sites has been undertaken. Revision of earlier methodologies also revealed that expectations concerning the capacity of the highly fragmented and diminished amount of human discard to provide evidence of subsistence and occupation were overstated. Thus a taphonomic methodology focussing on the far greater quantity of non-cultural bone debris has been formulated for Allen's Cave. It is anticipated that this will also be applicable to similar deposits in sites elsewhere.