Mid-Holocene Aboriginal occupation of offshore islands in northern Australia? A reassessment of Wurdukanhan, Mornington Island, southern Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia

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dc.contributor.authorRosendahl, Den_AU
dc.contributor.authorUlm, Sen_AU
dc.contributor.authorSloss, CRen_AU
dc.contributor.authorSteinberger, Len_AU
dc.contributor.authorPetchey, Fen_AU
dc.contributor.authorJacobsen, GEen_AU
dc.contributor.authorStock, Een_AU
dc.contributor.authorRobins, RAen_AU
dc.date.accessioned2025-03-20T01:44:37Zen_AU
dc.date.available2025-03-20T01:44:37Zen_AU
dc.date.issued2015-10en_AU
dc.date.statistics2025-03-04en_AU
dc.description.abstractClaims for mid-Holocene Aboriginal occupation at the shell matrix site of Wurdukanhan, Mornington Island, Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia, are reassessed through an analysis of the excavated assemblage coupled with new surveys and an extensive dating program. Memmott et al. (2006, pp. 38, 39) reported basal ages of c.5000-5500 years from Wurdukanhan as 'the oldest date yet obtained for any archaeological site on the coast of the southern Gulf of Carpentaria' and used these dates to argue for 'a relatively lengthy occupation since at least the mid-Holocene'. If substantiated, with the exception of western Torres Strait, these claims make Mornington Island the only offshore island used across northern Australia in the mid-Holocene where it is conventionally thought that Aboriginal people only (re)colonised islands after sea-level maximum was achieved after the mid-Holocene. Our analysis of Wurdukanhan demonstrates high shellfish taxa diversity, high rates of natural shell predation and high densities of foraminifera throughout the deposit demonstrating a natural origin for the assemblage. Results are considered in the context of other dated shell matrix sites in the area and a geomorphological model for landscape development of the Sandalwood River catchment. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.en_AU
dc.identifier.citationRosendahl, D., Ulm, S., Sloss, C., Steinberger, L., Petchey, F., Jacobsen, G., Stock, E., & Robins, R. (2015). Mid-Holocene Aboriginal occupation of offshore islands in northern Australia? A reassessment of Wurdukanhan, Mornington Island, southern Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia. Quaternary International, 385, 145-153. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2015.02.064en_AU
dc.identifier.issn1040-6182en_AU
dc.identifier.journaltitleQuaternary Internationalen_AU
dc.identifier.pagination145-153en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.02.064en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://apo.ansto.gov.au/handle/10238/16072en_AU
dc.identifier.volume385en_AU
dc.languageEnglishen_AU
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.publisherElsevieren_AU
dc.subjectAustraliaen_AU
dc.subjectIslandsen_AU
dc.subjectArchaeological sitesen_AU
dc.subjectShellsen_AU
dc.subjectAnimalsen_AU
dc.subjectSeasen_AU
dc.subjectGeomorphologyen_AU
dc.subjectIsotope datingen_AU
dc.titleMid-Holocene Aboriginal occupation of offshore islands in northern Australia? A reassessment of Wurdukanhan, Mornington Island, southern Gulf of Carpentaria, Australiaen_AU
dc.typeJournal Articleen_AU
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