scholarly journals The Moyjil site, south-west Victoria, Australia: shells as evidence of the deposit’s origin

2018 ◽  
Vol 130 (2) ◽  
pp. 50
Author(s):  
John E. Sherwood ◽  
Ian J. McNiven ◽  
Laurie Laurenson
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Size Distributions ◽  
Last Interglacial ◽  
South West ◽  
Shell Deposit ◽  
Transport Effects ◽  
Western Victoria

Characteristics of marine shellfish and other species found in a Last Interglacial (LIG) shell deposit at Point Ritchie (Moyjil) at Warrnambool in south-western Victoria have been compared to those from modern and LIG natural beach deposits, Holocene Aboriginal middens and modern Pacific Gull (Larus pacificus) middens. The research was aimed at determining whether properties such as shell speciation, size or taphonomy could identify the mechanism responsible for formation of the Moyjil deposit. Marine species found in the Moyjil deposit resemble those found in both Aboriginal and Pacific Gull middens and are non-discriminatory for the two types. Taphonomic properties such as wear and breakage pattern of opercula of the dominant species, Lunella undulata (syn. Turbo undulatus), are non-diagnostic because of post-depositional erosion and transport effects in the available specimens. The size of L. undulata opercula show clear bias toward larger individuals, in common with Aboriginal and seabird middens, when compared to natural shell deposits. Statistical analysis (ANOVA) of the size distributions shows a greater similarity of the Moyjil deposit to the two seabird middens than the two Aboriginal middens. Small individuals (operculum L. undulata as well as smaller shellfish species are absent from the seabird middens studied, but they are present in Aboriginal middens and in the Moyjil deposit. Overall, we conclude that shell properties alone are not sufficient to distinguish which predator collected the shellfish occurring in the deposit.

scholarly journals The Moyjil site, south-west Victoria, Australia: chronology

2018 ◽  
Vol 130 (2) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
John E. Sherwood ◽  
Jim M. Bowler ◽  
Stephen P. Carey ◽  
John Hellstrom ◽  
Ian J. McNiven ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Last Interglacial ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Shell Deposit ◽  
Shell Deposition ◽  
Closed Systems ◽  
Sediment Cover ◽  
Shell Bed ◽  
Western Victoria ◽  
Amino Acid Racemisation

An unusual shell deposit at Moyjil (Point Ritchie), Warrnambool, in western Victoria, has previously been dated at 67±10 ka and has features suggesting a human origin. If human, the site would be one of Australia’s oldest, justifying a redetermination of age using amino acid racemisation (AAR) dating of Lunella undulata (syn. Turbo undulatus) opercula (the dominant shellfish present) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) of the host calcarenite. AAR dating of the shell bed and four Last Interglacial (LIG) beach deposits at Moyjil and Goose Lagoon, 30 km to the west, confirmed a LIG age. OSL analysis of the host sand revealed a complex mixing history, with a significant fraction (47%) of grains giving an early LIG age (120–125 ka) using a three-component mixing model. Shell deposition following the LIG sea-level maximum at 120–125 ka is consistent with stratigraphic evidence. A sand layer immediately below the shell deposit gave an age of ~240 ka (i.e. MIS 7) and appears to have been a source of older sand incorporated into the shell deposit. Younger ages (~60–80 ka) are due to bioturbation before calcrete finally sealed the deposit. Uranium/thorium methods were not applicable to L. undulata opercula or an otolith of the fish Argyrosomus hololepidotus because they failed to act as closed systems. A U–Th age of 103 ka for a calcrete sheet within the 240 ka sand indicates a later period of carbonate deposition. Calcium carbonate dripstone from a LIG wave-cut notch gave a U–Th age of 11–14 ka suggesting sediment cover created a cave-like environment at the notch at this time. The three dating techniques have collectively built a chronology spanning the periods before and after deposition of the shell bed, which occurred just after the LIG sea-level maximum (120–125 ka).

scholarly journals The Moyjil site, south-west Victoria, Australia: prologue — of people, birds, shell and fire

2018 ◽  
Vol 130 (2) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
John E. Sherwood
Keyword(s):  
Animal Origin ◽  
Human Origin ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Last Interglacial ◽  
South West ◽  
Shell Deposit ◽  
Cultural Status ◽  
Recent Phase ◽  
Mis 5E ◽  
New Phase

Moyjil (also known as Point Ritchie) is the site of an unusual shell deposit in south-west Victoria showing many characteristics of a midden. Earlier research established an age of 60 ka or older for the shell deposit but could not establish whether humans or animals such as seabirds were responsible for its formation. This paper, the first of six in this special issue, summarises the most recent phase (~10 years) of investigations. The site’s age is now fixed as Last Interglacial and following the stage MIS 5e sea-level maximum (i.e. younger than 120–125 ka). Fragmentation and the limited size distribution of the dominant marine shellfish (Lunella undulata syn. Turbo undulatus) confirm the site as a midden. There is also evidence for fire (charcoal and discoloured and fractured stones) and two hearth-like features, one of which has been archaeologically excavated. None of the evidence collected is able to conclusively demonstrate a human versus animal origin for the site. Significantly, a human origin remains to be disproved. These papers provide the basis for a new phase of research into the possible cultural status of the Moyjil site.

scholarly journals The Moyjil site, south-west Victoria, Australia: stratigraphic and geomorphic context

2018 ◽  
Vol 130 (2) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Stephen P. Carey ◽  
John E. Sherwood ◽  
Megan Kay ◽  
Ian J. McNiven ◽  
James M. Bowler
Keyword(s):  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Last Interglacial ◽  
Human Influence ◽  
Calcareous Sand ◽  
South West ◽  
Coastal Marine ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Shell Deposit ◽  
Early Human

Shelly deposits at Moyjil (Point Ritchie, Warrnambool), Victoria, together with ages determined from a variety of techniques, have long excited interest in the possibility of a preserved early human influence in far south-eastern Australia. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the stratigraphy of the host Bridgewater Formation (Pleistocene) at Moyjil and provides the context to the shelly deposits, evidence of fire and geochronological sampling. We have identified five superposed calcarenite–palaeosol units in the Bridgewater Formation, together with two prominent erosional surfaces that may have hosted intensive human activity. Part of the sequence is overlain by the Tower Hill Tuff, previously dated as 35 ka. Coastal marine erosion during the Last Interglacial highstand created a horizontal surface on which deposits of stones and shells subsequently accumulated. Parts of the erosional surface and some of the stones are blackened, perhaps by fire. The main shell deposit was formed by probable mass flow, and additional shelly remains are dispersed in the calcareous sand that buried the surface.

scholarly journals The Moyjil site, south-west Victoria, Australia: fire and environment in a 120,000-year coastal midden — nature or people?

2018 ◽  
Vol 130 (2) ◽  
pp. 71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim M. Bowler ◽  
David M. Price ◽  
John E. Sherwood ◽  
Stephen P. Carey
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Susceptibility ◽  
Strong Correlation ◽  
The Other ◽  
Last Interglacial ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
Thermal Alteration ◽  
South West ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Dark Staining ◽  
Mis 5E

At Moyjil (Point Ritchie), a cliffed site at the mouth of the Hopkins River at Warrnambool, south-eastern Australia, an erosional disconformity of Last Interglacial age on both a rock stack and the adjacent headland represents a surface of possible human occupation. Shells of edible marine molluscs occur on the disconformity, together with a distinctive population of transported stones derived from a calcrete of MIS 7 age and bearing variable dark grey to near-black colouration suggestive of fire. Experimental fire produced similar thermal alteration of calcrete. A strong correlation exists between intensity and depth of dark staining on one hand and increased magnetic susceptibility on the other. Thermal luminescence analyses of blackened stones provide ages in the MIS 5e range, 100–130 ka, consistent with independent stratigraphic evidence and contemporaneous with the age of the surface on which they lie. The distribution of fire-darkened stones is inconsistent with wildfire effects. Two hearth-like features closely associated with the disconformity provide further indications of potential human agency. The data are consistent with the suggestion of human presence at Warrnambool during the Last Interglacial.

scholarly journals The Moyjil site, south-west Victoria, Australia: excavation of a Last Interglacial charcoal and and burnt stone feature — is it a hearth?

2018 ◽  
Vol 130 (2) ◽  
pp. 94
Author(s):  
Ian J. McNiven ◽  
Joe Crouch ◽  
Jim M. Bowler ◽  
John E. Sherwood ◽  
Nic Dolby ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evidence Base ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Last Interglacial ◽  
Natural Origin ◽  
Natural Feature ◽  
South West ◽  
Cultural Status ◽  
Tree Stump ◽  
Age Independent

Claims for a human presence in Australia beyond 60,000 years ago must have a strong evidence base associated with rigorous methodology and intense scrutiny. In this light we present excavation results for Charcoal and Burnt Stone Feature #1 (CBS1) located within coastal dune sediments at Moyjil (Point Ritchie), Warrnambool, that independent geomorphic and OSL dating indicates is of Last Interglacial age (~120,000 years ago). While on plausibility grounds the cultural status of a feature of such great antiquity in Australia is unlikely, a cultural origin for CBS1 is less easily dismissed if assessed with an age-independent methodology. A broad range of macroscale discrimination criteria has been used to assess whether CBS1 is either a cultural hearth or a natural feature such as a burnt tree stump. On balance, evidence marginally supports a cultural origin over a natural origin. However, the absence of associated stone artefacts and faunal remains and the presence of burnt root wood precludes definitive statements on the cultural status of the feature. Our case study is methodologically instructivein terms of the potential complexities and issues of equifinality involved in the archaeological identification of ancient hearths.

Particle size distributions of radioactive pollution soils and its influence on consistence of the shelterbelt forest ranges

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-103
Author(s):  
Маркина ◽  
Zoya Markina ◽  
Вечеров ◽  
Vladislav Vecherov
Keyword(s):  
Size Distributions ◽  
Clay Loam ◽  
Particle Size Distributions ◽  
Glacial Deposits ◽  
Parent Materials ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Soil Fractions ◽  
South West ◽  
Dominant Soil ◽  
Fine Grained Sand

Presents characteristic of the soil texture that formed at mixture of moraine and fluvial-glacial deposits, moraine that overlaid clay loam mantle, clay loam mantle in shelterbelt forest ranges at south-west areas of the Bryansk region that contaminate radioactive fallouts in conse-quence of the Chernobyl accident. Dominant soil fractions determined in soil horizonts, its formed at different parent rock materials. There is a growing number of fine-grained sand and silt soil fractions in the moraine overlaid clay loam mantle compared to fluvio-glacial deposits in the relief of parent materials.

Statistical Analysis of Grain Size Distribution in Pleistocene Sediments from Lake Biwa, Japan

1988 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenji Kashiwaya ◽  
Atsuyuki Yamamoto ◽  
Kaoru Fukuyama
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Grain Size ◽  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Size Distribution ◽  
Lake Biwa ◽  
Size Distributions ◽  
Solar Insolation ◽  
The Past ◽  
Grain Size Distributions ◽  
Milankovitch Theory

Time series of grain-size distributions from Pleistocene sediments deposited in Lake Biwa during the past 550 millennia show dominant periods of 40,000 and 20,000 yr that are very close to those predicted by the Milankovitch theory, as well as a period of about 70,000 yr not directly predicted by this theory. The 70,000-yr period is strongest, followed by the 20,000-yr period. The sequences also show that coarser particles were deposited, in general, during strong solar insolation, whereas finer particles were deposited during weak insolation.

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