Short-term late Holocene dry season occupation and sandy-mud flat focused foraging at Murdumurdu, Bentinck Island, Gulf of Carpentaria

Abstract

Archaeological survey, excavations, and analyses of the Murdumurdu shell midden on Bentinck Island, Gulf of Carpentaria are reported. Patterns of subsistence as well as the timing and periodicity of site use are investigated through quantification of cultural materials, AMS radiocarbon dating, stable isotopic analysis of Marcia hiantina shell carbonates (δ 18 O and δ 13 C), magnetic susceptibility analysis of the deposits and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. Exploitation of shellfish focused on sandy-mud flat species (especially M. hiantina and Gafrarium pectinatum) with occupation occurring exclusively during the dry season (May-August). Radiocarbon dating reveals that the main period of occupation was short, albeit intense and occurred c.300 years ago. Initiation of occupation closely follows the establishment of freshwater conditions in the adjacent Marralda Swamp. These factors suggest that use of Murdumurdu was limited, potentially representing a single deposition event or multiple short, discrete episodes, in a landscape rich with similar archaeological deposits.

A late-Holocene record of coastal wetland development and fire regimes in tropical northern Australia

“…Top panel: Occupational phases from six stratified archaeological deposits across Bentinck Island with numbers corresponding to site locations shown in Figure 1. Occupational phases (grey boxes) and periods of intensive occupation (black boxes) after (Peck, 2016; Twaddle et al, 2017). The summed probability plot of calibrated radiocarbon ages (grey line; n = 128) from the South Wellesley Islands is adapted from Memmott et al, (2016).…”

“…discard of more material per unit time) vary between sites with over half of the radiocarbon dates calibrated within the last 300 years (Memmott et al, 2016). Murdumurdu, near Marralda Wetland found peak occupation occurred around 300 years ago (Moss et al, 2015; Twaddle et al, 2017) and intensified occupation is recorded at Wirringaji, Dangkankuruwuru and Thundiy in the last 300 years (Figure 5) (Nagel et al, 2016; Peck, 2016; Twaddle et al, 2017). The Marralda Wetland charcoal accumulation record found local and regional fires increased between 350 and 150 cal.…”

“…Murdumurdu (Figure 1, number 2) is situated on a foredune roughly 500 m west of Marralda Wetland and records a short period of intense occupation around 300 cal. yr BP (Twaddle et al, 2017). West Coast Swamp (WCS01; S 17.0948, E 139.43964; 5 m above modern sea level) is located behind a series of dunes.…”

Creating volume estimates for buried shell deposits: A comparative experimental case study using ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity under varying soil conditions

“…Once excavated, Trench 1 was re‐filled with coarse washed sand, analogous to the environment in which archaeological shell deposits are typically found in northern tropical Australia (e.g. Faulkner, ; Twaddle et al, ). Trench 2 was filled with a garden soil mix designed to represent the more organic‐rich sediments that shell matrices can be found in around the world.…”

“…Australia (e.g. Faulkner, 2013;Twaddle et al, 2017). Trench 2 was filled with a garden soil mix designed to represent the more organic-rich sediments that shell matrices can be found in around the world.…”