New dates on dingo bones from Madura Cave provide oldest firm evidence for arrival of the species in Australia

The dingo is the only placental land mammal aside from murids and bats to have made the water crossings to reach Australia prior to European arrival. It is thought that they arrived as a commensal animal with people, some time in the mid Holocene. However, the timing of their arrival is still a subject of major debate with published age estimates varying widely. This is largely because the age estimates for dingo arrival are based on archaeological deposit dates and genetic divergence estimates, rather than on the dingo bones themselves. Currently, estimates vary from between 5000-4000 years ago, for finds from archaeological contexts, and as much as 18,000 based on DNA age estimates. The timing of dingo arrival is important as post arrival they transformed Indigenous societies across mainland Australia and have been implicated in the extinction of a number of animals including the Tasmanian tiger. Here we present the results of direct dating of dingo bones from their oldest known archaeological context, Madura Cave on the Nullarbor Plain. These dates demonstrate that dingoes were in southern Australia by between 3348 and 3081 years ago. We suggest that following their introduction the dingo may have spread extremely rapidly throughout mainland Australia.Some of this work was undertaken as part of Linkage Grant LP100200415 funded by the ARC with contributions from the Kimberley Foundation Australia and the Department of Sustainability, Water, Populations and Communities

A Pleistocene tradition : Aboriginal fishery on the lower Darling River, Western N.S.W.

The economic life of the early colonisers of semi-arid western New South Wales is represented by many small open sites mainly preserved within sand dunes. Preservation of organic materials in this environment has been dependent upon rapid deposition of overlying sediments to protect them from erosion and degradation. Once uncovered, fragile material such as freshwater crustacea carapace and fish bone rapidly decays, shell fragments and disperses, while other materials such as fish otoliths and clay hearthstones survive much longer. An understanding of this problem has allowed analysis to proceed to the following results: 1. The 232 recorded archaeological sites containing faunal remains and associated with the water channels and lakes of the lower Darling River region in western New South Wales span a period of 27,000 years BP to the present. However preservation of materials within this time span is uneven both spatially and temporally. The distribution pattern of these archaeological sites in time and space is largely a reflection of past geomorphological processes rather than past cultural preference of campsite positions. 2. By noting the condition of the site materials it is possible to determine their contemporaneity to some extent. Typically a well- preserved Pleistocene site in the lower Darling River region consists of a single concentration of bivalve remains but species other than shell fish dominate some of the other Pleistocene sites. Sites dominated by other species, however, resemble the shell middens in that they characteristically consist of a single cluster of faunal remains. Species other than the dominant species are rare or absent. This suggests a foraging strategy in which collectors targeted a single species for each foraging expedition. 3. The large numbers of individual animals in some of the sites which represent such single expeditions indicate that the gathering of aquatic species was not incidental to basic survival strategies. In addition, the large numbers of fish present in such sites coupled with the size distribution of the fish represented in the sites suggests the use of nets to capture the fish. Thus the Darling River material represents the oldest evidence in the world for systematic exploitation of aquatic resources. This and the associated fibre technology may well be a tradition seated deep in Pleistocene Asia

People-plant interaction and economic botany over 47,000 years of occupation at Carpenter's Gap 1, south central Kimberley

Systematic archaeobotanical analysis, conducted in conjunction with archaeological enquiry at Australian archaeological sites, is still rare despite recent developments. It is still rarer that previously analysed macrobotanical assemblages are revisited over time. Extending on macrobotanical research conducted by McConnell in 1997, this paper presents the results of a recent analysis of Carpenter's Gap 1 non-woody macrobotanical remains (seeds, fruits, nuts, and other floristic elements) from the deepest square with the longest chronology, Square A2. Over 47,000 years of time is represented in the sequence, and excellent chronological control, coupled with preservation of carbonised and desiccated macrobotanical remains in the earliest cultural units, allows an examination of plant exploitation over time and human responses/adaptations to periods of documented climatic instability. Carpenter's Gap 1 macrobotanical remains show that diet, subsistence, and site occupation were intimately associated with botanical resources derived from ecologically productive monsoon rainforest environments.The research was funded by the Australian Research Council Linkage Grant [LP100200415] awarded to Sue O’Connor and Jane Balme, with contributions from the Kimberley Foundation Australia and the Department of Sustainability, Water, Populations and Communities

Carpenters Gap 1: A 47,000 year old record of indigenous adaption and innovation

Here we present the first detailed analysis of the archaeological finds from Carpenters Gap 1 rockshelter, one of the oldest radiocarbon dated sites in Australia and one of the few sites in the Sahul region to preserve both plant and animal remains down to the lowest Pleistocene aged deposits. Occupation at the site began between 51,000 and 45,000 cal BP and continued into the Last Glacial Maximum, and throughout the Holocene. While CG1 has featured in several studies, the full complement of 100 radiocarbon dates is presented here for the first time in stratigraphic context, and a Bayesian model is used to evaluate the age sequence. We present analyses of the stone artefact and faunal assemblages from Square A2, the oldest and deepest square excavated. These data depict a remarkable record of adaptation in technology, mobility, and diet breadth spanning 47,000 years. We discuss the dating and settlement record from CG1 and other northern Australian sites within the context of the new dates for occupation of Madjedbebe in Arnhem Land at 65,000 years (±5700), and implications for colonisation and dispersal within Sahul.We thank the Bunuba Aboriginal Corporation for their assistance in this work. Radiocarbon dates obtained in 2013 and 2014 and micromorphological research by Vannieuwenhuyse were funded by the Australian Research Council grant LP100200415 ‘Lifeways of the first Australians’ with contributions from the Kimberley Foundation Australia and the Department of Sustainability, Water, Populations and Communities, awarded to O'Connor and Balme, as well as support from the Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage as well as support from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CE170100015)

Aging traits and sustainable trophy hunting of African lions

Trophy hunting plays a significant role in wildlife conservation in some contexts in various parts of the world. Yet excessive hunting is contributing to species declines, especially for large carnivores. Simulation models suggest that sustainable hunting of African lions may be achieved by restricting offtakes to males old enough to have reared a cohort of offspring. We tested and expanded criteria for an age-based approach for sustainably regulating lion hunting. Using photos of 228 known-age males from ten sites across Africa, we measured change in ten phenotypic traits with age and found four age classes with distinct characteristics: 1-2.9 years, 3-4.9 years, 5-6.9 years, and ≥7 years. We tested the aging accuracy of professional hunters and inexperienced observers before and after training on aging. Before training, hunters accurately aged more lion photos (63%) than inexperienced observers (48%); after training, both groups improved (67-69%). Hunters overestimated 22% of lions <5 years as 5-6.9 years (unsustainable) but only 4% of lions <5 years as ≥7 years (sustainable). Due to the lower aging error for males ≥7 years, we recommend 7 years as a practical minimum age for hunting male lions. Results indicate that age-based hunting is feasible for sustainably managing threatened and economically significant species such as the lion, but must be guided by rigorous training, strict monitoring of compliance and error, and conservative quotas. Our study furthermore demonstrates methods for identifying traits to age individuals, information that is critical for estimating demographic parameters underlying management and conservation of age-structured species.http://www.elsevier.com/ locate/biocon2017-09-30hb2016Centre for Wildlife ManagementMammal Research InstituteZoology and Entomolog

The high-resolution map of Oxia Planum, Mars; the landing site of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission

This 1:30,000 scale geological map describes Oxia Planum, Mars, the landing site for the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission. The map represents our current understanding of bedrock units and their relationships prior to Rosalind Franklin’s exploration of this location. The map details 15 bedrock units organised into 6 groups and 7 textural and surficial units. The bedrock units were identified using visible and near-infrared remote sensing datasets. The objectives of this map are (i) to identify where the most astrobiologically relevant rocks are likely to be found, (ii) to show where hypotheses about their geological context (within Oxia Planum and in the wider geological history of Mars) can be tested, (iii) to inform both the long-term (hundreds of metres to ∼1 km) and the short-term (tens of metres) activity planning for rover exploration, and (iv) to allow the samples analysed by the rover to be interpreted within their regional geological context

Early Modern Humans in Island Southeast Asia and Sahul: Adaptive and Creative Societies with Simple Lithic Industries

There is some debate about the timing of the first occupation of Sahul (Australia, New Guinea and the Aru Islands); however most would agree that the continent was colonised before 45 ka (Bowler et al. 2003) and perhaps as early as 60 ka (Roberts et al. 1994; Gillespie 2002; Veth et al. 2009). People were occupying inland high altitude sites in New Guinea by 45 ka and had reached the far southwest of Sahul (see Summerhayes et al. 2010 for mainland Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Turney et al. 2001a for southwest Australia) before 40,000 years ago. By 35 ka humans had successfully spread into the southern extremes of Tasmania (Cosgrove 1999) and even the very small islands of Southeast Asia (such as the Talauds), and also colonised the arid inland regions of continental Sahul (Figure13.1).However, the tool kits associated with this evidence for rapid adaptation to very dif erent environments continue to be remarked upon as simple and unchanging in comparison to tool kits of similar antiquity in the Old World. For example, Klein (2009, 716�717) describes Australian stone tools as. a loosely defined Core-Tool-and-Scraper Tradition that persisted basically unchanged until roughly 4 ka. Similar artifacts occur widely in southeast Asia in late Pleistocene and early Holocene deposits, and where they are found alone, the behavioural modernity of the makers can be questioned. However, at several Australian sites the flaked stones are accompanied by such advanced behavioural markers as formal bone artifacts. The implication here is that before the mid-Holocene, Australian stone artefacts were so simple that, were it not for the presence of other kinds of archaeological materials, they could be interpreted as not being the work of modern humans. This view of an unchanging 'primitive' undifferentiated stone technology (see also White 1977) lies deep in the history of archaeological research in Australia. Here we review the history of ideas relating to the tools used by the early colonists in this southern region and discuss the ways in which these ideas are now being overturned by an increasing recognition of the variety of stone artefacts, the role of organic tools and 'intangible technology'

Bead Making in Aboriginal Australia From the Deep Past to European Arrival: Materials, Methods, and Meanings

This paper reviews the raw materials used by Indigenous Australians to make beads. It includes beads recovered from archaeological sites, as well as beads collected before 1940 held in museum collections, and those that are described in pre-1940 literature and other archival material. All three sources of information indicate that people were highly selective in their choice of materials for bead production and that availability and abundance only partly determined selection. Grass and reeds, the most widespread material represented in the museum and historic sources, if used in pre-European times, have not been preserved in archaeological sites. Beads made of highly iridescent or luminous shells, that historic sources suggest were regarded as imbued with powerful properties, were selected over other, more abundant colorful or patterned shells. Teeth of large macropod species were more commonly used than any other mammals despite other species being more readily available. On the other hand, dingo teeth, which were just as large and more robust than macropod teeth, were very rarely used, and this seems surprising given dingoes’ ubiquitous presence in Aboriginal society. As dog teeth were commonly used as beads in personal adornments by Melanesian people in Papua New Guinea, and the teeth of now locally extinct dogsized carnivores are found as beads in archaeological contexts, we suggest that the lack of dog teeth beads may reflect the high status of dogs in Aboriginal societies. Although the Australian archaeological bead assemblage is small, comparison with the historically documented beads indicates that the choice of raw material has remained relatively constant for thousands of years. The historical sources also describe human teeth and other bone relics as being worn as pendants for protection for the wearer. However these are often unmodified, being suspended by resin or other non-destructive techniques. This has implications for isolated human skeletal parts found in archaeological contexts.An ARC Linkage Grant (LP100200415) funded the research with contributions from the Kimberley Foundation Australia and the Department of Sustainability, Water, Populations and Communitie

Traditions and Change in Scaphopod Shell Beads in Northern Australia from the Pleistocene to the Recent Past

Shell beads were made in Australia from about 35,000 years ago. They include perforated marine gastropods and intentionally fractured segments of scaphopods. While some of the oldest Australian examples are in archaeological sites that were close to the Pleistocene coastline, in the southern Kimberley of northern Australia, beads are found primarily in early Holocene contexts and in sites that were more than 500 km from the coast at the time of their deposition. This suggests that they were either traded or exchanged “down the line.” Historic photos and ethnographic evidence reveal that in the recent past Indigenous men, women and children in coastal locations wore such beads, whereas in central Australia they took on powerful properties and were used in ceremonial contexts with gender and age restricted use. One of the characteristics of marine shell ornaments in northern Australia is their bright, white or lustrous appearance that seems to have been intrinsic to their selection as body adornments. Distributions of shell beads across time and space in Australia can be interpreted as being related to changes in access to resources and social value which has implications for the interpretation of archaeological beads elsewhere