Australia: The Land Where Time Began |
||||||||||||||
Aboriginal Occupation of
south central Tasmania in the Pleistocene - Palaeoecology
The populations of the Australian Aboriginal people
in the
Pleistocene
have been characterised as being low density and widespread, with little
variation between regions over large areas of the continent (White &
O'Connell, 1982). The nature of the archaeological evidence, being
geographically diverse and in most cases no more than a few material
remains being found, tended to at least partially support these
assumptions. According to the authors contemporary demographic models
(1998) suggest a narrow resource base as being used by Aboriginal
populations in the Pleistocene, the groups were highly mobile, with the
result that site occupation appeared to be ephemeral, which was
reflected in the archaeological record. In a social context these groups
are characterised as egalitarian, with less complex social networks that
was the case in the mid-Holocene (Lourandos, 1983: 88; 1985: 398).
According to this a trajectory exists of socio-economic complexity from
foragers (Pleistocene) to collectors (mid-Holocene) (Lourandos, 1987:
158).
The authors suggest that hunter-gatherer
socio-economic organisation and change are inevitably unidirectional in
such notions where different behaviours over enormous lengths of
time-scales have been blended, promoting ideas of modal behaviours
though denying the existence of alternative behaviours that are
systematic on a regional scale, and possess inherent variability. The
authors agree with the statement 'by equating foraging behaviour with
egalitarian sociopolitical relationships, by merging the means of the
two, we eliminate the range of variability present in each construct' (Soffer,
1987: 492). They say that the range of variability associated with
modern humans is greater than has been realised previously. Evidence has
been found that there is not a 1-to-1 correlation between the advent of
modern Homo sapiens and any particular classes of
stone tools
(Trinkhaus, 1986; Foley, 1987). It has been pointed out that, though the
first people to arrive in Australia were essentially modern humans, the
morphology and technology of their stone artefacts 'could come out of
the African or European Lower Palaeolithic (Gowlett, 1987: 215), a
pattern that had been recognised by early researchers (Jones, 1977:
190-1; White, 1977: 24). Observation that early Aboriginal colonists
must have had an efficient marine technology prior to 40,000 BP [60,000
BP suggested by dating in
NW Australia] to be able to cross
the ocean gaps between the nearest island and the mainland of Greater
Australia, thus extending the contrast (Jones, 1987), as well as
possessing an artistic tradition that was probably older than 30,000
years (Dorn et al., 1988; Nobbs, 1988). Direct implications for
ideas of unidirectional trajectories result from these paradoxes, based
on value-laden archaeological data sets and assumptions employed to
explain changes of human behaviour.
The Tasmanian Aboriginal People have provided models for
reconstructing human behaviour during the Pleistocene for more than 100
years, because of their isolation in the Holocene and their geographical
position that is unique (e.g. Sollas, 1911: 70). The authors say the
practice has continued, in spite of good reasons to question it, one of
the main reasons being the actual nature of human behaviour in Tasmania
during the Pleistocene. Southeast Tasmania during the Holocene has been
seen as a regional exemplar of what is likely to have been indicative of
the character of the behaviour of Aboriginal populations during the
Pleistocene, suggesting that the
Kutikina Cave site (Liernan et al.,
1983) in southwest Tasmania, of Pleistocene age, represents
inland hunting, that is transient, is indicative of Aboriginal behaviour
in the Pleistocene (Lourandos, 1985: 397).
There would be not much variation in the
archaeological record between the 2 regions if this was actually the
case. The actual situation as seen from more recent excavations in
southeast and southwest Tasmania has demonstrated a degree of
archaeological richness and variation not previously reported for any
other part of Australia from the Pleistocene (Goede & Murray, 1977;
Goode et al., 1978; Murray & Goode, 1980; Jones, 1984; Kiernan
et al., 1983; Blain et al., 1982; Jones & Allen, 1984; Jones
et al., 1988; Allen et al., 1988; Cosgrove, 1989; Cosgrove
& Jones, 1989; Allen, 1989; Allen & Cosgrove, 1989; Allen et al.,
1989). 41 sites, both cave and open sites, have been reported from these
areas indicating that occupation of these zones was continuous from
30,000 BP to 11,000 BP. Of the more than 20 radiocarbon dates that had
been reported from the eastern portion of Tasmania prior to 1987 all
were 10,000 BP or younger. The Southern Forests Archaeological Project
was initiated in 1987, with the specific aim of investigation the
temporal paradox, as well as investigating, elaborating and verifying
propositions resulting from previous research, especially at Kutikina
Cave.
It has been found that the periglacial upland areas
of Tasmania were settled by humans in the Late Pleistocene, at least
30,000 BP, 10,000 years earlier than had previously been believed to
have occurred, from western valleys in the southwest, based on
preliminary investigations of archaeological sites in south central
Tasmania. Findings and conclusions that had been advanced for the
Nunamira Cave
site and the
ORS 7
site have been supported by findings from 2 sequences,
Bone Cave and
M86/2
site. Rich faunal assemblages of large bones that are identifiable,
Stone tools that are distinctive,
and stone raw materials that are location specific, allow the sites from
south-western Tasmania dating to the Pleistocene to be distinguished
from other Pleistocene regions of Australia. According to the authors,
the eastern zone can be distinguished from the western zone in the
archaeological signatures within the Pleistocene province. An
archaeological basis has been established for examining the associations
between sites within the province as well as across its boundaries.
The study site in south central Tasmania is at the
division of 2 environmental zones in southern Tasmania, a
fold-structured geology with a vegetation of temperate rainforest to the
west, and to the east, a fault-structured geology with a vegetation
cover of dry sclerophyll forest (Kirkpatrick, 1982) (Fig. 6a.1). The
location is a central pivot from which the variability of southeast and
southwest Tasmania can be compared and contrasted. A palaeoecological
conceptual framework has been used because ethnographic or
archaeological analogues for the Tasmanian deposits are unknown in the
rest of Australia. Their conceptual framework was generated from earlier
archaeological data, as well as information on soils, vegetation and
animal ecology. The authors hope they will be able to observe links and
relationships between the archaeological record, that is static, and
human behaviours that produced them, that are dynamic, by understanding
some ecological aspects of the zone that were present during the
Pleistocene.
The model proposed by the authors suggests that at
any one time in the Pleistocene the ecological make-up of the southwest
region of Tasmania provided an animal resource that was relatively
sedentary and that was potentially concentrated. This appears to be
suggested by the presence of high concentrations of smashed bones,
derived mostly from a single species, the red-necked wallaby, in all
sites that have been excavated. According to the authors, it is
important that a juxtaposed mosaic of ecotones is predicted for the
region by their model, a general expectation of a high level of species
richness and diversity (Wiens, 1985: 184; King & Graham, 1981),
especially in patches of grassy microenvironments that are well watered
are surrounded by scrub and low lying trees. The authors suggest there
could be an expectation that part of the range of habitats in the region
would have been exploited by humans in the Pleistocene, and that some
evidence of this would be found in the excavated sites, in the form of
the remains of a number of species of animal. The only sites where this
has been found to be the case, though to a lesser extent than expected,
the systematically exploited species numbers being low, were at Nunamira
Cave, Bone Cave and M86/2. An example is the low level exploitation of
the emu at Nunamira Cave, where there doesn't appear to be a necessary
correlation between the resources forming the subsistence base and the
range of the available resources that are predicted.
The seasonal presence of humans in at least 1 site,
which corresponds to the most stressful part of the year, late winter
and early spring, is suggested by the presence of emu eggshell. It has
been found that the diets of hunter-gatherers living at high latitudes,
temperate, subarctic and arctic zones, become marginal and inadequate in
late winter and early spring, especially when they rely on lean meat for
energy (Speth & Spielman, 1983). At this time the physical condition of
humans, as well as other animals, is reduced, as a result of higher
metabolic rates, higher calorific requirements and a fatty acid deficit,
especially in environments that are sharply seasonal (Speth & Spielman,
1983: 2). Reliance on a high protein diet, at a time when food plants
are not available, can be detrimental to the physiology of
hunter-gatherers (Speth, 1987; Noli & Avery, 1988).
The meat of
kangaroos and wallabies is
extremely lean and the fat deposits around the kidneys, as well as in
the marrow and on the back and tail are limited (Sinclair, 1988; O'Dea,
1988). In female red-necked wallabies it has been found that in winter
there is a significant drop in the kidney fat, the same effect being
found in wallabies living in dry zones compared to those living in
wetter zones (Driessen, 1988: 16). Towards the end of winter the males
put on condition, presumably in preparation for the mating season (Driessen,
pers. com to Cosgrove et al.). It has also been suggested by
field studies that pasture quality was a factor in the deposition of
kidney fat. Wallabies living in high rainfall areas, on ranges that are
more fertile, appear less stressed and have a physical condition that is
enhanced, according to the available evidence. In areas with lower
rainfall the females have fewer young at foot than those from wetter
areas (Driessen, 1988: 23). In west Tasmania during the Late
Pleistocene, the moister habitats of the region have been suggested by
the authors to possibly have been crucial in the aggregation of animals
in the southwest, as well as to the health of the animals.
Macropod meat has been found to have the potential
to dilate blood vessels and increase blood flow in response to cold.
Experiments with humans, in which the subjects ate kangaroo meat, found
that blood levels of arachidonic acid were increased (O'Dea, 1988). It
is believed that this acid 'modulates the thrombosis tendency by
affecting the platelet aggregation and blood flow' (O'Dea, 1988: 42).
The opposite effect was found in subjects eating lean southern fish;
these subjects had reduced blood flow in response to cold. See
Rocky Cape Food* It
has been suggested by O'Dea that the presence in the blood of such long
chain fatty acids (PUFA) may protect against thrombosis. It is not known
if the Aboriginal population of Pleistocene Tasmania had metabolic rates
that were inherently higher, as has been found at the present in Eskimo
(Inuit) and Patagonian populations (Kirk, 1983: 158). This suggests it
might have been advantageous for the Aboriginal population of glacial
Tasmania to have had PUFA in their blood.
*Could this explain the absence of fish bones from
Tasmania deposits after about 3,500 BP? This is of necessity purely
speculative as I have not seen it mentioned in Sources 1 or elsewhere,
based entirely on the studies of the eating of kangaroo meat and
Tasmanian coldwater fish. I would be interested to know if this has been
suggested as a reason for the removal of fish from the diet, or even if
it is considered a possibly reason. The disappearance of fish bones from
the deposits at Tasmanian occupation sites occurred long after the close
of the glacial period, but even at the present the winters in Tasmania,
especially in some parts, are cold, wet and windy, especially for a
people with a minimum of protection from the weather, as was reported of
the Tasmanian Aboriginal people at the time of first contact.
In the subantarctic environment that existed in
Tasmania during the glacial phase the diet of lean meat would not
provide all essential nutrients in late winter and early spring seasonal
fluctuations, with the absence of plant carbohydrates. It has been
suggested (Bowdler, 1981, 104) that the small daisy yam,
Microseris scapigera, may have been present in glacial Tasmania,
as it presently grows in subalpine grasslands of Tasmania (Jackson,
1973: 71), though no evidence has been found in any of the sites of the
use of plants.
The possibility of protein poisoning would be
increased by the lack of animal fats and carbohydrates (Noli & Avery,
1988: 396). The intensive processing and extraction of marrow (see
Fauna)
has been suggested as a possible solution to this potential problem,
bone marrow containing the essential fatty acids such as linoleic acid,
which is used in protein metabolism, the fats and carbohydrates enhance
the effects of
protein-sparing (Speth & Speilman,
1983: 13).
In the sites that have been excavated some body
parts of macropods are well represented and were systematically broken
in the sites. These bones, wallaby tibia, femurs, metatarsals and
humeri, are the bones that in ungulates, as well as kangaroos, contain
relatively high levels of marrow (Binford, 1978: 152, 188; 1981: 150;
O'Connell & Marshall, 1989; Jones & Metcalf, 1988). It has been
suggested that at high risk times of year they might allow the bridging
of the dietary gap between winter and summer. According to the authors
it is not certain why there was preferential selection of the red-necked
wallaby as the main prey species, as other larger species, such as the
wombat,
the pademelon, the emu and the grey kangaroo, that was much larger, all
of which are species inhabiting the grasslands in the river valleys at
the time, in particular the Florentine Valley, remains of such species
being found in caves and limestone pitfalls. All these animals have long
bones that would have made a good addition to those of the red-necked
wallaby that was the predominant prey species. It has been suggested
that the improved physical condition of the male red-necked wallabies
feeding on better-watered pasture towards the end of winter may have
been a key factor in the exploitation of this species. It has also been
suggested that the unpredictable, nomadic behaviours of the larger
animals, together with their larger ranges and their smaller group
make-up, may have contributed to reduced hunting success (Horton, 1981:
23). The red-necked wallaby would seem to have been an attractive prey
species, based on these criteria, being a more attractive investment of
time and labour, as the hunting success with this species would probably
have been consistent and predictable throughout the year, though it is
not known if the animal composition and abundance was different during
the Late Pleistocene.
According to the authors it is difficult to assess
palaeo-diets, even with well-preserved food refuse in middens and the
use of stable carbon isotope analysis of any human collagen that is
present (Collier & Hobson, 1987). Study of the middens doesn't reveal
the total and exact diet of the occupants of a site, only giving an
indication of the foods eaten over long periods of time, and is not
believed to give a complete picture of the economic strategy. Stable
carbon isotope analysis of the collagen indicates the diet at a specific
location. It has been suggested that wallabies may have performed the
role of a food source that was relatively sedentary, tiding the people
over stressful periods, such as the glacial winters, when food could be
scarce, the dependence on wallabies being suggested as a glacial,
middle-latitude animal correlate of 'low-key dependable vegetable
resources' (Bowdler, 1981, 100). The authors warn of the risk of
overemphasising a diet of terrestrial animals, not recognising the role
of marine and plant food in the diet, the role of these foods in the
overall diet of the population of the southwest during the Pleistocene
being uncertain. The picture given by the food resources exploited is
added to by the presence of stone tools, as they give clues to the
processing and other activities that were taking place in these caves.
Information gained from the study of these sites
indicates they were not used as part of a transient economy with limited
activities (Lourandos, 1983: 88), rather they display a degree of
structuring of their economy that has not been recorded from any other
Pleistocene sites in Australia. These sites appear to indicate that the
behavioural pattern in this region was unique, their signatures being
different from those of sites in south-eastern Tasmania that have been
dated to the Pleistocene. The authors suggest it is not reasonable to
ascribe the behavioural pattern of the southwest as a likely pattern in
all Australian human populations of the Pleistocene (Lourandos, 1987:
158). According to the authors the residues of the southwest differ from
those found in inland karst caves that have been dated to the
Pleistocene, that are widely dispersed around Australia. Examples of
such caves are
Cloggs Cave in Victoria (Flood,
1980: 254),
Devil's Lair, Western Australia
(Dortch, 1984),
Walkunder Arch,
north Queensland (Campbell, 1984: 176) and
Colless Creek, western Queensland
(Hiscock, 1984). In the Pleistocene, the cave deposits of south-western
Tasmania differ in many ways from the sites mentioned above in other
parts of Australia, being as different as are the Holocene sites in
south-eastern Tasmania from those on the mainland of a similar age. The
authors suggest the subtle differences between early Australian sites
should be studied in more detail, and not the continued highlighting of
the similarities of Late Pleistocene residues, 'and by implication the
continuity and unidirectional vectors of Pleistocene human behaviour'
(Cosgrove, Allen & Marshall in Source 1).
For more information, illustrations and photos see
Source 1.
Links |
|
|||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
Author: M.H.Monroe Email: admin@austhrutime.com Sources & Further reading |