Amberat Middens and the Palaeoenvironmental Record of the Inland Pilbara, Western Australia By Emily McBride B. Archaeology A thesis submitted in partial requirements for the degree of Master of Archaeology and Heritage Management, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Education, Humanities and Law, Flinders University, June 2017 Declaration I certify that this thesis does not incorporate without acknowledgment any material previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any university; and that to the best of my knowledge and belief it does not contain any material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text. Name: Emily McBride Signature: Date: TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ....................................................................................................... v List of Tables ...................................................................................................... viii Abbreviations ......................................................................................................ix Abstract ............................................................................................................... x Acknowledgments ...............................................................................................xi 1. Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Research Question and Aims .................................................................................................. 7 1.2 Significance of the Study ......................................................................................................... 7 1.3 Limitations .............................................................................................................................. 8 1.4 The Study Area ....................................................................................................................... 9 1.4.1 Climate .......................................................................................................................... 11 1.5 Thesis Outline ....................................................................................................................... 12 2. Literature Review ........................................................................................ 14 2.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 14 2.1.1 Palaeoenvironment ....................................................................................................... 14 2.2 Human-environmental relationships ..................................................................................... 18 2.3 Amberat Middens ................................................................................................................. 22 2.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 25 i 3. Methodology ............................................................................................... 27 3.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 27 3.2 Field Methods ....................................................................................................................... 28 3.2.1 Survey ........................................................................................................................... 28 3.2.2 Midden Sampling .......................................................................................................... 28 3.3 Laboratory Methods ............................................................................................................. 30 3.3.1 Radiocarbon Analysis..................................................................................................... 32 3.3.2 Pollen and Micro-charcoal ............................................................................................. 33 3.3.3 Macrofossils .................................................................................................................. 35 3.3.4 Ancient DNA .................................................................................................................. 41 4. Results......................................................................................................... 43 4.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 43 4.2 Radiocarbon Dating .............................................................................................................. 43 4.3 Results by Site....................................................................................................................... 47 4.3.1 SNRM_22092015_1 ....................................................................................................... 47 4.3.2 SNRM_24092015_3 ....................................................................................................... 48 4.3.3 PIL_4544 ....................................................................................................................... 50 4.3.4 PIL_2001 ....................................................................................................................... 59 4.3.5 GCE_24062011_10 ........................................................................................................ 63 4.3.6 PIL_2258 ....................................................................................................................... 64 4.3.7 PIL_540 ......................................................................................................................... 67 4.3.8 PIL_542 ......................................................................................................................... 71 ii 4.3.9 PIL_5841 ....................................................................................................................... 80 4.3.10 PIL_7026 ....................................................................................................................... 88 5. Discussion .................................................................................................... 90 5.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 90 5.2 Chronology and Temporal Resolution of Middens ................................................................. 90 5.3 Identification of Midden Contributors ................................................................................... 94 5.4 Contents of the Middens ...................................................................................................... 95 5.4.1 Macrofossils .................................................................................................................. 95 5.4.2 Pollen and Charcoal ..................................................................................................... 101 5.4.3 aDNA ........................................................................................................................... 103 5.4.4 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 105 5.5 Reconstructions of Vegetation Change Through Time ......................................................... 106 5.5.1 SNRM_22092015_1, SNRM_24092015_3 and PIL_2258 .............................................. 106 5.5.2 PIL_4544 ..................................................................................................................... 107 5.5.3 PIL_2001 ..................................................................................................................... 107 5.5.4 PIL_540 ....................................................................................................................... 107 5.5.5 PIL_542 ....................................................................................................................... 108 5.5.6 PIL_5841 ..................................................................................................................... 109 5.6 Synthesis and Human-Environmental Relationships ............................................................ 110 6. Conclusion ..................................................................................................114 6.1 Re-addressing the Research Aims ....................................................................................... 114 6.2 Limitations and Future Research ......................................................................................... 116 iii 6.3 Summary ............................................................................................................................ 121 7. References ..................................................................................................122 8. Appendices .................................................................................................133 8.1 List of Appendices ............................................................................................................... 133 8.2 Appendix 1: Midden Recording Form .................................................................................. 134 8.3 Appendix 2: Lab Recording Form........................................................................................