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<sup>13</sup>C) and oxygen (δ<sup>18<...
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doaj-169121fae1b24176a9ce051c53d8f8742021-04-28T23:07:41ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492021-04-01262582258210.3390/molecules26092582Isotopic Indications of Late Pleistocene and Holocene Paleoenvironmental Changes at Boodie Cave Archaeological Site, Barrow Island, Western AustraliaJane Skippington0Tiina Manne1Peter Veth2Archaeology, School of Social Science, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, AustraliaSchool of Social Science, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, AustraliaArchaeology, School of Social Science, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, AustraliaThis 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<sup>13</sup>C) and oxygen (δ<sup>18</sup>O) isotope ratios were analyzed from archaeological and modern spectacled hare wallaby (<i>Lagorchestes conspicillatus</i>) and hill kangaroo (<i>Osphranter robustus</i>) tooth enamel carbonates from Boodie Cave on Barrow Island in Western Australia. δ<sup>18</sup>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<sup>13</sup>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.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/9/2582isotopesenamelarchaeologypaleoenvironmentsherbivoresmammals |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Jane Skippington Tiina Manne Peter Veth |
spellingShingle |
Jane Skippington Tiina Manne Peter Veth Isotopic Indications of Late Pleistocene and Holocene Paleoenvironmental Changes at Boodie Cave Archaeological Site, Barrow Island, Western Australia Molecules isotopes enamel archaeology paleoenvironments herbivores mammals |
author_facet |
Jane Skippington Tiina Manne Peter Veth |
author_sort |
Jane Skippington |
title |
Isotopic Indications of Late Pleistocene and Holocene Paleoenvironmental Changes at Boodie Cave Archaeological Site, Barrow Island, Western Australia |
title_short |
Isotopic Indications of Late Pleistocene and Holocene Paleoenvironmental Changes at Boodie Cave Archaeological Site, Barrow Island, Western Australia |
title_full |
Isotopic Indications of Late Pleistocene and Holocene Paleoenvironmental Changes at Boodie Cave Archaeological Site, Barrow Island, Western Australia |
title_fullStr |
Isotopic Indications of Late Pleistocene and Holocene Paleoenvironmental Changes at Boodie Cave Archaeological Site, Barrow Island, Western Australia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Isotopic Indications of Late Pleistocene and Holocene Paleoenvironmental Changes at Boodie Cave Archaeological Site, Barrow Island, Western Australia |
title_sort |
isotopic indications of late pleistocene and holocene paleoenvironmental changes at boodie cave archaeological site, barrow island, western australia |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Molecules |
issn |
1420-3049 |
publishDate |
2021-04-01 |
description |
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<sup>13</sup>C) and oxygen (δ<sup>18</sup>O) isotope ratios were analyzed from archaeological and modern spectacled hare wallaby (<i>Lagorchestes conspicillatus</i>) and hill kangaroo (<i>Osphranter robustus</i>) tooth enamel carbonates from Boodie Cave on Barrow Island in Western Australia. δ<sup>18</sup>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<sup>13</sup>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. |
topic |
isotopes enamel archaeology paleoenvironments herbivores mammals |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/9/2582 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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