Bones of Contention: reply to Walshe

Abstract

A recent critique by Walshe of taphonomic analyses made at three key arid zone sites is addressed. We defend our position that the extreme reduction of bone elements in these sites during the Holocene is most likely the product of Aboriginal behaviours rather than natural processes. We argue that the Tasmanian Devil, Sarcophilus, is not implicated in the reduction of bone; indeed there is no convincing evidence that Devils were even present in the Western Desert. We make the case that the likely effects of dingo on these assemblages is not consistent with the observed patterns of bone breakage through time.