VOLUME 30 | NUMBER 2 | DECEMBER 2013 AUSTRALASIA Preservation potential of phytoliths in Australia’s northwest Geoarchaeology in the Australian arid zone Iconic Quaternary sites of Western Australia Young scientists abroad VOLUME 30 | NUMBER 2 | DECEMBER 2013 AUSTRALASIA ISSN 0811-0433 CONTENTS 3 Editorial & President’s Pen 4 News JOURNAL ARTICLES 6 A comparative study of phytolith assemblages in modern sediments from the Kimberley, Western Australia by Lynley Wallis 21 Quaternary geoarchaeology in the Olympic Dam desert area – a program overview by Marjorie Sullivan and Philip Hughes REPORTS 24 The contribution of Quaternary scientists to developing iconic sites in Western Australia by Ingrid Ward 32 COST INTIMATE Spring Meeting by Lynda Petherick Inside front cover photo: 34 Conference on Australasian Vertebrate Evolution, Collection of sub-surface artefacts from 1 m Palaeontology and Systematics (CAVEPS) grid squares on Site H299, an artefact scatter by Elen Shute and Esmee Webb in a shallow blowout on a longitudinal dune at Olympic Dam. The dunes here are widely 38 International Interaction and Collaboration: A Summary of the spaced and the swales have small pans and patches of gibber. Second PAGES Young Scientists Meeting by Heidi Roop (Photo Marjorie Sullivan, HEH). 40 IPS 2012, the 12th International Paleolimnology Symposium Front cover photo: by Phuong Doan Brass Tarn (Tegepunkwa), 3940 m alt, was exposed by ice retreat on Mt Wilhelm, 42 Asia Oceania Geosciences Society Meeting, Brisbane, June 2013 PNG about 12800 years ago. Its 9 m of by Claire Krause and Nick Scroxton sediment contain at least 8 volcanic ashes and a record of treeline change. 44 Taking SHAPE (Southern Hemisphere Assessment of (Photo Geoff Hope July 2010.) Paleo-Environments) by Helen Bostock and Drew Lorrey BOOK REVIEW 46 Archaeology in Environment and Technology: Intersections and Transformations by Will Archer THESIS ABSTRACTS 49 Thesis Abstracts: Bella Duncan, Stephanie Kermode, Tanya Lippmann, Julene Marr, Joseph Prebble and Jessica Wilks TRIBUTE 54 “The Hobbit hunter” A tribute to Mike Morwood by June Ross and Kira Westaway 57 Recent publications EDITORIAL | PRESIDENT’S PEN EDITORIAL Dear Fellow Quaternarists, A recent issue of Science magazine focussed on the changing nature of scientific communication through time. One omnipresent theme permeated these opinion articles: communication and genuine exchange of ideas remains the most important tool for scientific progress, desert area of South Australia, demonstrating the utility even if the mode evolves into the twenty-first century. of intensive and systematic survey within spatially This is certainly the case for Quaternarists working in constrained areas for understanding human-environment Australasia, particularly in an increasingly global scientific interactions. Lynley Wallis focuses on the Kimberley community, and given the tyranny of physical distance region of northwest Australia in an investigation of of this region from the more densely populated research phytolith assemblage preservation across a range environments of Europe, North America, and Asia. In of sedimentary contexts, an approach which can be this regard, we’ve been doing pretty well for ourselves! extrapolated to other environments, and which provides This issue sees reports by early career researchers who useful information for the preservation potential of this travelled as far afield as India and Scotland, among proxy within the Quaternary record. other locales, in the quest of furthering international We also pay tribute to archaeologist, Quaternarist and collaboration and scientific exchange. visionary, Professor Mike Morwood, who passed away in Despite expanding our horizons, it is equally important July this year. to retain our local focus. In this issue, Ingrid Ward Finally, we would like to thank our former Co-Editor, provides us with a useful overview of the history of Jasmyn Lynch, for her excellent and thorough efforts Quaternary research and iconic sites in Western Australia, with the last few issues of Quaternary Australasia, and to a region which frequently suffers from scientific neglect welcome our new Co-Editor, Pia Atahan, who takes on the relative to the more intensively investigated southeast job with this issue. of the continent and New Zealand. Marjorie Sullivan Yours Quaternarily, and Philip Hughes discuss the results of intensive geoarchaeological investigations in the Olympic Dam Kathryn Fitzsimmons and Pia Atahan Editors PRESIDENT’S PEN And so the time has come, my friends, to pass the mantle. There is no right answer of how to deal with this. I was By the time the next QA goes to press, AQUA will most lucky – I had a part-time job in a University whilst both likely have a new President (hopefully a very feisty woman of my children were very young, but it was a very task- from across the Tasman). So I would like to take this as oriented position, so not too challenging. As my brain an opportunity to reflect. began to rot, I put my hands up for positions back with my real colleagues – my fellow Quaternarists. This is how I was asked to consider becoming AQUA president two I became involved in AQUA and INTIMATE. To have years back, when I was co-editor of this fine publication. that connection to people who understood where I came Craig Sloss was Vice President at the time, and so next from and what I cared about was critical at that time. in line, but decided to abdicate in view of his many and And I thank you all for the opportunities that presented various international leadership roles. One comment themselves. I also benefited with close collaborations from he made was: “we have all of these keen female ECRs senior colleagues – and I think there is much to be gained coming through and they need a role model – why don’t from this, with mutual benefit. you do it.” Believe me, if you were aware of the appalling juggling act I make of parenting and a career, you would Stay connected – in whatever your capacity, is my take find this notion as amusing as I do – but I took his point. home story. We have a great community that can be very supportive. I hope we get to celebrate this when we next Being a female scientist and approaching your career meet at the AQUA conference in Mildura in July. prime coincident with your peak child-bearing age is a serious challenge and, at least in Australia, can be quite Many thanks, a barrier. These are things we are not supposed to talk Jessica Reeves about – as everything is equal…except that it is not, quite. AQUA President 30 | 2 3 NEWS | NEWS ONLINE AQUA MEMBERSHIP A NEW EDITORIAL TEAM Memberships are well and truly due and you can pay these easily online This issue sees the stepping at: www.regonline.com.au/aqua_membership. There is also a link on the down of Co-Editor Jasmyn Lynch membership page of the new AQUA website. It is easy, so please get yourself (University of Canberra) from the signed up and encourage your colleagues, students and friends. This is a great role. We would like to welcome new time to sign new people up, as anyone that joins AQUA now will automatically Co-Editor Pia Atahan (ANSTO) to have their membership extended right through to 28 February 2015. If, in the AQUA Executive, forming a new the rare case you do have an issue with the online system, please contact our editorial team with Kat Fitzsimmons. treasurer, Steven Phipps ([email protected]). Welcome, Pia! AQUA FACEBOOK PAGE AQUA 2014 CONFERENCE – Join us on the social network and share up-to-date news related to Quaternary BACK TO THE CORE! Science and AQUA activities www.facebook.com/groups/43580401738 AQUA 2014 CONFERENCE Feel free to upload links here to your latest outputs or other Quaternary- Yes, next year sees the 30th related news. anniversary celebration of AQUA by returning to where it all began – MEET A MEMBER OF THE AQUA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Mildura. With a public lecture at the KAT FITZSIMMONS: EDITOR, QUATERNARY AUSTRALASIA Grand Hotel and a fieldtrip to the Kat completed her PhD at Australian National University in aeolian Willandra Lakes, this conference will geomorphology and luminescence dating, focussing on the history of see AQUA return to its homeland. aridity of the central Australian arid zone. Since then she has expanded her The conference will take interests to work on the interactions between humans and their environment, place 29 June – 4 July, with collaborating with archaeologists in the loess steppes of eastern Europe and a pre-conference fieldtrip to central Asia, and the desert regions of Australia, northern and southern Lake Victoria and the Murray Africa. She currently leads the luminescence dating group in the Department floodplain west of Mildura of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in and a post-conference trip to Leipzig, Germany. the Willandra Lakes – both an archeological and geomorphological heartland for us all. Other possible pre-conference fieldtrips will be running from major cities. This will also be a CELL-50K and SHAPE meeting and we are hoping to run sessions on archeology of the Willandra and the use of Quaternary in management. It is shaping up to be a great meeting and we hope to see you all there. Updates will be posted on the web www.aqua.org.au and through aqualist. 4 30 | 2 | NEWS Australasian Quaternary Association Inc. AAQQUUAA Join us in celebrating the 30th anniversary of AQUA by heading back to where it all began... H. Bostock R. Sim AQUA Biennial Conference 29th June to 4th July 2014 S. Phipps The Setts Conference Centre F. Shanhun Mildura, Victoria P. De Deckker K. Fitzsimmons M. Vandergoes H. Bostock K K. Fitzsimmons H. Bostock Conference eldtrips include the Willandra Lakes (Mungo) World Heritage Area, as well as pre- and post-conference P.