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AbstractThis paper presents preliminary results from the 2019 excavations at Walufeni Cave, at the eastern end of the Great Papuan Plateau (GPP) in western Papua New Guinea. Preliminary dating and analysis of the unfinished excavations at Walufeni Cave span the Holocene and probably continue into the Late Pleistocene, confirming the presence of people on the Plateau from at least the Early Holocene and potentially much earlier. The data presented here offer a site-specific model of early intensive site use from at least 10,000 years ago, then ephemeral use, followed by a sustained Late Holocene occupation. Although there are significant changes in the quantity of material discard over time, there is little evidence for significant change in the subsistence base or technology, reflecting a degree of relative homogeneity until the Late Holocene, when we see the introduction of pig, a change of focus in the plant economy and the presence of marine shell from the southern coast.

AbstractThis study presents the first data on a level one archaeology student cohort, exploring their demographic composition and motivations for enrolling, as well as external stressors such as health and caring responsibilities that may influence student study goals, retention, and needs. A survey of 107 students enrolled in introductory level archaeology units at 13 Australian universities was undertaken in Semester 1, 2021. The results show a diverse cohort by age, gender, and educational background. Consistent with the professional Australian archaeological community, there is little diversity in the ethnicity of enrolled students. Further, many respondents reported having caring responsibilities, and both physical and mental health concerns. Students were motivated to enrol both for general interest and future career pathways; however, there was a poor understanding within the cohort of Australian archaeological job opportunities. These results indicate that there is clearly much to be done in public archaeological engagement and outreach in Australia. What is required of the Australian archaeological community is a concerted effort to improve how the discipline is taught and learned across all levels of education, and a collaborative approach to designing teaching methods suitable for our modern student cohort.

An extensive body of engraved rock art on the Great Papuan Plateau is documented here for the first time, along with the first dates for occupation. Consisting largely of deeply abraded or pecked barred ovals and cupules, the rock art of this region does not fit comfortably into any regional models for rock art previously described. It does, however, exhibit some similarity to art in regions to the east and the west of the plateau. Subject to further archaeological testing, we present a number of exploratory hypotheses with which to explain the presence of the engravings; as part of the ethnographic and contemporary Kasua's cultural suite; as part of a relatively recent (late Holocene) migration of peoples from the Gulf to the plateau; or as part of an earlier movement of people from the west, possibly as part of the movement of people into the Sahul continent in the Late Pleistocene. We conclude that the Great Papuan Plateau is not a late and marginally occupied ‘backwater’ but rather part of a possible corridor of human movement across northern Sahul and a region that could allow us to better understand modern humans as they reached the Sahul continent. Un immense corpus d'art rupestre gravé du Grand Plateau de Papouasie‐Nouvelle‐Guinée, est exposé ici pour la première fois, accompagné des premières dates d'occupation humaine qui lui sont associées. L'art rupestre de cette région se compose pour l’essentiel, d'ovales barrés et de cupules profondément abrasés ou piquetés. Cet art ne s’accorde avec aucun des modèles régionaux précédemment décrits. Néanmoins, il présente quelques similarités avec l'art des régions situées à l'est et à l’ouest du plateau. Sous réserve de validation par davantage de faits archéologiques nous présentons plusieurs hypothèses pouvant expliquer la présence des gravures : comme composante ethnographique et contemporaine de la culture Kasua ; comme partie d’une migration relativement récente (Holocène récent) des peuples du Golfe vers le Plateau; ou comme partie d'un mouvement précoce de populations venant de l'ouest ayant pu appartenir à un déplacement de population dans le Sahul au Pléistocène récent. Nous concluons que le Grand Plateau de Papouasie‐Nouvelle‐Guinée n'est pas une zone reculée récemment et marginalement occupée. Il s’agirait plutôt d'un corridor potentiel de déplacement humain à travers la partie septentrionale du Sahul et une région qui pourrait nous permettre de mieux comprendre les humains modernes lorsqu’ils atteignent le continent sahulien.

We review current zooarchaeological practice in Australia, identifying major research themes and key methodological gaps where opportunities exist for the development of Australian zooarchaeology as a discipline. We demonstrate that marsupial remains form a significant component of Australian zooarchaeological assemblages, yet high resolution taxonomic identification of these remains continues to prove challenging, owing to a combination of high species diversity and few resources which provide diagnostic criteria for discriminating morphologically similar, but ecologically variable taxa. The lack of robust protocols for discriminating marsupial taxa significantly impacts our ability to effectively integrate zooarchaeological data into broader narratives of Aboriginal colonisation, resilience and adaptation across Australia. Publication of identification protocols would help refine and standardise diagnostic criteria used between analysts, improve the methodological transparency of zooarchaeological analysis and provide resources for the training of a new generation of specialists. A range of opportunities currently exist, utilising qualitative and quantitative techniques, to significantly contribute towards the methodological robustness of zooarchaeological practice in Australia. Nous passons en revue la pratique de l'archéozoologie en Australie afin d'identifier les grands thèmes de recherche et les principales lacunes méthodologiques où existent des occasions de développement de l'archéozoologie australienne en tant que discipline. Nous démontrons que les restes de marsupiaux constituent une composante significative des assemblages archéozoologiques australiens. Néanmoins, l'identification taxonomique en haute résolution de ces restes demeure un défi, car la grande diversité des espèces se combine à la modicité des ressources qui offrent des critères de diagnostic permettant une discrimination de taxons semblables sur le plan morphologique, mais variables au point de vue écologique. L'absence de protocoles robustes pour la discrimination des taxons marsupiaux a un impact significatif sur notre capacité à intégrer efficacement les données archéozoologiques dans des récits plus vastes de colonisation, de résilience et d'adaptation des Aborigènes sur l'ensemble de l'Australie. La publication de protocoles d'identification contribuerait à affiner et standardiser les critères de diagnostic utilisés par les différents analystes, à améliorer la transparence méthodologique de l'analyse archéozoologique, et à procurer des ressources permettant de former une nouvelle génération de spécialistes. À l'heure actuelle, on trouve une gamme de possibilités qui, en faisant appel à des techniques qualitatives et quantitatives, peuvent contribuer de façon significative à la robustesse méthodologique de la pratique de l'archéozoologie en Australie.

AbstractEthnographic records show that people from Orokolo Bay in the Papuan Gulf (Papua New Guinea) made, used, and exchanged artefacts made from bone and teeth during the twentieth century. Archaeologically, these kinds of artefacts are poorly documented, partly because osseous materials tend to decay rapidly in exposed tropical rainforest sites. Where these artefacts have been found in the Papuan Gulf, only a few have been reported in detail. Here we contribute detailed analyses of eight osseous artefacts from the past village site of Popo which date to within the period 770–220 cal BP. We describe a modified shark tooth, a drilled or pierced dog tooth ornament, several bone points, and a trapezoidal section of modified bone. An ochred bone point shows that people applied pigment to material culture in the period 540–285 cal BP; the item is the only known archaeological evidence for pigment use on bone in the Papuan Gulf. Our analyses provide a starting point for historicising the use of osseous artefacts in this part of the Papuan Gulf.

The establishment of north‐west Australia's nineteenth‐century pearlshell fisheries led to the first occupation of many arid offshore islands since the early mid‐Holocene. The nature of this occupation, and how crews subsisted on such remote landscapes, remains poorly understood. We investigate a rare instance of an archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological record for this colonial‐era activity at Bandicoot Bay, Barrow Island. Varied taxonomic representation suggests an atypical subsistence strategy for a maritime industry, involving broad exploitation of resources over several local landscapes and an absence of remains of provisioned food. Identified plant taxa largely conform to resources known ethnographically to have been exploited by north‐west Aboriginal communities, and many relate to traditional food practices. The spatial patterning of charred wood and bone suggests multiple burning activities and areas of specific use. Conditions of wood fuel on the island may have prompted the augmentation of fuel, indicated by the presence of non‐local wood charcoal and high proportions of calcined bone. These findings (i) are consistent with the hypothesis that the site's occupants originated from the north‐west as part of coerced pearling labour and (ii) provide unique insight into the role offshore islands may have occupied in the management of this industry's labour forces. Au 19esiècle, le développement d'une industrie de pêche des huitres perlières dans le nord‐ouest de l'Australie entraina la première réoccupation de nombreuses îles arides de cette région, après celles datant du milieu de l'Holocène. La nature de ces occupations et la façon dont les équipages purent subsister au sein de milieux si isolés demeurent mal comprises. Nous examinons ici un exemple rare d'assemblages archéozoologiques et archéobotaniques pour ce type d'activités de la période coloniale, dans la baie de Bandicoot, Barrow Island. La diversité des représentations taxonomiques de faune suggère une stratégie de subsistance atypique pour une industrie maritime, incluant un mode d'exploitation extensif des ressources issues de plusieurs environnements locaux, ainsi qu'une absence de restes provenant de nourriture approvisionnée. Les taxons botaniques identifiés correspondent à ceux exploités par les communautés aborigènes du nord‐ouest du continent, selon les données ethnographiques, et beaucoup sont associés aux pratiques de subsistance traditionnelles. La répartition spatiale des restes anthracologiques et de faune suggère l'existence de plusieurs types de combustion et zones d'activités spécialisées. La disponibilité du bois de feu sur l’île a pu motiver la recherche de solutions pour augmenter les ressources en combustible, comme semble l'indiquer la présence de charbons de bois d'essence non locale et les proportions importantes d'os calcinés. Ces résultats (i) supportent l'hypothèse selon laquelle les occupants de ce site étaient originaires du nord‐ouest du continent et furent déplacés par le biais du système de travail forcé imposé par l'industrie perlière, et (ii) offrent un aperçu unique de la façon dont cette industrie utilisa l'isolement de certaines îles pour gérer sa main d’œuvre sous contrainte. The nature of Australia's Northwest 19th century pearlshell fisheries, and how crews subsisted on such remote landscapes, remains poorly understood. We investigate a rare instance of an archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological record for this colonial‐era activity at Bandicoot Bay, Barrow Island. Varied taxonomic representation suggests an atypical subsistence strategy for a maritime industry, involving exploitation from several local landscapes with absence of remains of provisioned food. Identified plant taxa largely conform to resources known ethnographically to have been exploited by northwest Aboriginal communities. The spatial patterning of charred wood and bone suggests multiple burning activities and areas of specific use. Conditions of wood fuel on the island may have prompted the augmentation of fuel, indicated by the presence of non‐local wood charcoal and high proportions of calcined bone. These findings i) are consistent with the hypothesis that the site's occupants originated from the northwest as part of coerced pearling labour and ii) provide unique insight into the role offshore islands may have occupied in the management of this industry's labour forces.

In this paper, we present a terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene archaeological record from John Wayne Country Rockshelter (JWCR), located on Barrow Island in north‐western Australia. The rock shelter was used between 15000 and 7000 calBP, and provides insights into how Aboriginal people interacted with a changing coastal landscape throughout postglacial sea‐level rise. The faunal record reflects this fluctuating local landscape. The late Pleistocene faunal assemblage largely consists of arid plains terrestrial fauna, and then transitions to a diverse marine invertebrate taxa midden. This record demonstrates coastal resource use throughout the terminal Pleistocene, before the expansion of mangrove forests across northern Australia. The stone artefact assemblages indicate varied expedient reduction patterns. The assemblages include artefacts manufactured from local limestone and non‐local sources. Our analyses indicate that occupation durations at JWCR were longer during the late Pleistocene compared to the early Holocene, when productive mangrove environments became proximal. The implications of these results are twofold. First, effective use of coastal plain environments was probably just as important for coastal occupation as marine resource procurement. Second, the presence of relatively dense marine faunal assemblages is not necessarily a reliable proxy for individual coastal‐site occupational intensity under conditions of local resource productivity. Dans cet article, nous présentons un assemblage archéologique datant du Pléistocène terminal / début de l'Holocène et provenant de l'abri sous‐roche“John Wayne Country Rockshelter” (JWCR), situé sur l’île de Barrow dans le nord‐ouest de l'Australie. L'abri a été utilisé entre 15000 et 7000 calBP et permet d'appréhender la façon dont les anciens Aborigènes ont interagi avec un paysage côtier en constante transformation durant la hausse des niveaux marins de la période postglaciaire. Les assemblages fauniques reflètent ce paysage local fluctuant. L'assemblage archéozoologique du Pléistocène tardif est en grande partie constitué de faune terrestre des plaines arides avant d’être remplacé par un dépôt riche en taxons d'invertébrés marins. Ces assemblages enregistrent une utilisation des ressources côtières durant tout le Pléistocène terminal, avant l'expansion des forêts de mangroves dans le nord de l'Australie. Les assemblages d'outillage lithique indiquent des schémas variés de débitage opportuniste. Les assemblages comprennent des outils fabriqués à partir du calcaire local et de sources non‐locales. Nos analyses indiquent que les durées d'occupation à JWCR furent plus longues pendant le Pléistocène tardif qu'au début de l'Holocène, lorsque les milieux productifs de mangrove devenaient plus proches. Les implications de ces résultats sont doubles. Premièrement, l'utilisation efficace des environnements de plaines côtières était probablement tout aussi importante que l'approvisionnement en ressources marines pour l'occupation du littoral. Deuxièmement, la présence d'assemblages relativement denses de faune marine n'est pas nécessairement un indicateur fiable de l'intensité d'occupation de sites côtiers individuels dans des conditions ou les ressources locales sont productives.

Stable isotopic analyses of herbivorous mammal remains are a powerful and globally applied tool for reconstructing past environments and ecological histories from archaeological sites. For Australia, a substantial corpus of foundational literature has competently established the environmental sources of isotopic variation in modern kangaroo and wallaby species. However, despite the pervasive distribution of these kinds of macropods in contemporary and archaeological contexts, isotopic techniques are utilised infrequently. Our review of the history of macropod isotopic analysis identifies and proposes solutions to the complexities that have inhibited its widespread application in Australian archaeology. This includes a description of relevant basic principles including ecology, physiology and isotopic fractionation. To support our claims for the considerable research potential of macropod remains, we present preliminary analyses of tooth enamel carbonates from archaeological deposits at Boodie Cave, Barrow Island, located in Australia's northwest arid zone.

The time of arrival of people in Australia is an unresolved question. It is relevant to debates about when modern humans first dispersed out of Africa and when their descendants incorporated genetic material from Neanderthals, Denisovans and possibly other hominins. Humans have also been implicated in the extinction of Australia’s megafauna. Here we report the results of new excavations conducted at Madjedbebe, a rock shelter in northern Australia. Artefacts in primary depositional context are concentrated in three dense bands, with the stratigraphic integrity of the deposit demonstrated by artefact refits and by optical dating and other analyses of the sediments. Human occupation began around 65,000 years ago, with a distinctive stone tool assemblage including grinding stones, ground ochres, reflective additives and ground-edge hatchet heads. This evidence sets a new minimum age for the arrival of humans in Australia, the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa, and the subsequent interactions of modern humans with Neanderthals and Denisovans.

The role of degradational processes that act on archaeological faunal assemblages after burial has attracted less attention than it warrants, in part because many of the changes take place over time scales that are not amenable to experimental investigation. We propose a straightforward method for evaluating the level of post-depositional degradation in a stratified archaeological faunal assemblage based primarily on trends in the burning composition of the assemblage. The twin foundations of the method are: 1) the experimentally verified changes in physical properties that occur in bone as it is progressively burned through carbonized to calcined stages: and 2) postulated contrasts between burning stages in susceptibility to a suite of degradational processes that operate in the burial context, including a range of microbial, fungal, thermal and chemical processes. We present data from seven archaeological sites from Australasia and three ethnographic assemblages from Papua New Guinea, including sites in open-air, rockshelter and cave contexts, and sites with both acidic and alkaline soil conditions. Each of the archaeological sites is treated as a temporally-seriated assemblage that documents the potential impacts of post-depositional degradation on the faunal assemblage. We compare the relative abundance of unburned, burned/carbonized or calcined bone through each sequence and identify commonalities of pattern that are highly suggestive of post-depositional degradation. For each assemblage, these patterns are verified by visual inspection and identification of classic signs of surface degradation such as pitting and root channelling. In each of the acidic contexts there was a clear trend of increasing degradation of bone with excavation depth (= age). Assemblages from alkaline deposits were more complex, but some also provided more subtle evidence of degradation within the profile. Investigation of burning profiles in combination with careful examination of bone macro-damage provides a useful tool for identifying the pattern of post-depositional degradation within a stratified sequence and for distinguishing this from other various kinds of taphonomic patterning, and from signals produced by human behaviour.

Australian archaeofaunal assemblages are often heavily fragmented by taphonomic agents whose identity or origins are frequently difficult to discern. This study explores whether the fragmentation and accumulation of bone by carnivorous marsupial quolls may be distinguished from that produced by humans. Analyses of 140 scats obtained from captive feeding trials and wild populations of three quoll species (Dasyurus maculatus, Dasyurus viverrinusand Dasyurus hallucatus) indicates that damage to bones by quolls may be identified through a combination of the median length of bone specimens and observations of specific types of damage to the bone surface. Our results demonstrate that bone consumed by D. viverrinusand D. hallucatusis highly unlikely to be confused with human-accumulated assemblages due to low dietary overlap and the very small bone fragment size produced by both quoll species. Bone accumulations of the larger D. maculatusspecies, however, may be incorrectly attributed to humans due to the consumption of medium-large mammals by both humans and quolls, and the larger size of bone fragments produced by D. maculatus. Although fragments as large as 25mm were recovered from wild D. maculatusscats, the median length of scat-bone fragments for D. maculatusfalls between ~8.30–10.40mm. This is significantly different statistically to the median fragment length (11.90mm) of bone in scats of the Tasmanian devil, Sarcophilus harrisii, as reported by Caroline Northwood (1990). Scats from wild D. maculatusindicate that polish and pitting are the most common forms of surface damage to bone, with more than 25% of specimens displaying these marks. Punctures and tooth drag marks are far rarer, with only 5% of bone specimens exhibiting this kind of damage. In light of these results, we advocate for detailed observation of the surface of bone specimens, along with obtaining specimen lengths, in order to distinguish quoll accumulated bone in archaeofaunal assemblages.

•Bones from Australian fauna are heated in hearth fires, earth ovens and a kiln.•Burning characteristics are found to be generally comparable to those of other taxa.•The causes of heated bone at Boodie Cave, northwest Australia are examined.•Burned bone analysis provides insights in the absence of any combustion features.

Archaeofaunal assemblages from southwest Portugal reveal evidence of Upper Palaeolithic resource intensification. Faunal remains recovered from the coastal Upper Palaeolithic site of Vale Boi demonstrate that humans were exploiting rabbits and intensively processing ungulate carcasses by the early Gravettian. Taphonomy of the rabbit assemblage shows no evidence of density-mediated attrition or of specific signatures left by non-human predators. Additionally, the placement of rabbit remains alongside faunal remains clearly deposited by humans, strongly suggests that the leporid assemblage was accumulated by humans. Examination of red deer and horse remains reveals a high percentage of impact damage from stone tools and that nearly all major elements were opened for marrow. Further analysis of medium ungulate long bone epiphyses suggests that humans were preferentially targeting long bone ends containing high yields of bone-grease. Co-occurrence of fire-cracked rock, stone anvils and hammerstones corroborates the suggestion that humans were intensively processing ungulate carcasses. This early coupling of rabbit exploitation with bone grease rendering is distinctive in that it occurs relatively early in the European Upper Palaeolithic.