Late Quaternary human-environment interaction in Bunuba and Gooniyandi country, Western Australia
Abstract
In north Western Australia, records of palaeoenvironmental change are scarce
or under explored, particularly terrestrial archives that allow for comparison with
the archaeological record and examination of human-environment interaction in
the past. The extent to which these records reflect localised vegetation
responses to climate fluctuations, and the manner in which people adapted to
these changes in climate and vegetation, has yet to be investigated within the
context of stratified archaeological inquiry. Analysis of archaeobotanical proxies
excavated in association with other cultural remains provide the obvious
evidential link to this issue; however, archaeobotany is rarely applied in
Australian archaeology due to a lack of application of appropriate field
techniques, limited reference collections, and the poor preservation of organic
remains.
This research, which is part of the ARC Linkage Project: Lifeways of the First
Australians, investigates human-environment interaction using archaeobotanical
techniques at two sites in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia:
Riwi and Mount Behn rockshelter, during the late Quaternary. Located on the
edge of the Great Sandy Desert in Gooniyandi country, Riwi has a discontinuous
occupation sequence of about 45 ka, while Mount Behn rockshelter, located
some 180 km northwest of Riwi in Bunuba country, has an occupation sequence
of ~3 ka. Anthracology (wood charcoal), palynology (pollen and spores), and
wood identification using X-ray microtomography are used alongside other
research from the Lifeways Project to reconstruct vegetation, investigate humanenvironment
interaction, and explore the taphonomy and representativeness of
the different proxy data sets. The findings from each site are then located within
a regional narrative of human-environment interaction.