Isotopic Indications of Late Pleistocene and Holocene Paleoenvironmental Changes at Boodie Cave Archaeological Site, Barrow Island, Western Australia

Isotopic Indications of Late Pleistocene and Holocene Paleoenvironmental Changes at Boodie Cave Archaeological Site, Barrow Island, Western Australia

This paper presents the first application of mammal tooth enamel carbonate stable isotope analysis for the purpose of investigating late Pleistocene-early Holocene environmental change in an Australian archaeological context. Stable carbon (δ C) and oxygen (δ O) isotope ratios were analyzed from arc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2021-04, Vol.26 (9), p.2582
Main Authors: Skippington, Jane, Manne, Tiina, Veth, Peter
Format: Article
Language:eng
Subjects:
Archaeological sites
Archaeology
Aridity
Bettongia lesueur
Carbonates
Dental enamel
Diet
Divergence
enamel
Environmental changes
Glacial periods
herbivores
Historic buildings & sites
Historic sites
Holocene
Isotope ratios
Isotopes
Laboratories
mammals
paleoenvironments
Pleistocene
Precipitation
Social sciences
Stable isotopes
Teeth
Trends
Vegetation
Weaning
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Summary:This paper presents the first application of mammal tooth enamel carbonate stable isotope analysis for the purpose of investigating late Pleistocene-early Holocene environmental change in an Australian archaeological context. Stable carbon (δ C) and oxygen (δ O) isotope ratios were analyzed from archaeological and modern spectacled hare wallaby ( ) and hill kangaroo ( ) tooth enamel carbonates from Boodie Cave on Barrow Island in Western Australia. δ O results track the dynamic paleoecological history at Boodie Cave including a clear shift towards increasing aridity preceding the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum and a period of increased humidity in the early to mid-Holocene. Enamel δ C reflects divergent species feeding ecology and may imply a long-term shift toward increasing diversity in vegetation structure. This study contributes new data to the carbonate-isotope record for Australian fauna and demonstrates the significant potential of stable isotope based ecological investigations for tracking paleoenvironment change to inter-strata resolution.
ISSN:1420-3049
1420-3049