Centre for Archaeological Science - UOW

Check out this new research on stone tools from Liang Bua, led by Dr Elspeth Hayes.

Published today in JASR. Conor McAdams, Mike Morley and Richard Roberts present a novel experimental method for relating micromorphological features to past environments, then use it to interpret the sediment record at important archaeological sites in Southeast Asia.

The acid test: An experimental microarchaeological study of guano-driven diagenesis in tropical cave sediments Caves in tropical regions form a key resource for those reconstructing human evolution and dispersals. However, the complex sedimentary records they c…

This piece in the Conversation discusses the unusual research carried out in CAS by Conor McAdams, Mike Morley and Richard Roberts

A batsh*t experiment: bones cooked in bat poo lift the lid on how archaeological sites are formed Laboratory experiments with bat poo reveal how archaeological materials in tropical caves have been chemically altered over the millennia.

An exciting new paper from an international team including UOW CAS researchers Richard Fullagar, Ebbe Hayes, Bordes and Conor Mcadams. Hafting stone stools is a complex and very ancient technological behaviour, this research looks at the ways the physical properties of resins made from Australian plants could be manipulated using heat and additives like kangaroo poo to produce tools suited to different tasks.

https://exarc.net/issue-2020-1/ea/hafted-tool-use-australian-aboriginal

Recent findings published in PNAS by a team of international collaborators, including researchers from the UOW Centre for Archaeological Science and ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, suggest there were two separate dispersals of Neanderthals into southern Siberia. The most recent incursion (between 59 and 49 thousand years ago) appears to have originated in eastern Europe and the northern Caucasus based on the presence of Micoquian-like artefacts.

www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1918047117

Archaeological evidence for two separate dispersals of Neanderthals into southern Siberia

We are happy to announce the next seminar of the Centre for Archaeological Science on Friday 25TH of Oct by ANNETTE OERTLE



“Understanding Shell Taphonomy: High-resolution taphonomic analyses from Golo Cave, Gebe Island, Northern Moluccas”

Abstract

Understanding the formation and transformation of an archaeological site is imperative to creating robust inferences about human behaviour. Relatively little work has been undertaken on the varying anthropic and non-anthropic taphonomic processes that affect shell-bearing archaeological sites, particularly in tropical locations which are prone to extreme weathering and issues of long-term preservation. This talk explores the array of taphonomic processes impacting archaeological shell material and uses this understanding to untangle complex spatial and temporal aspects of an archaeological site in the Indo-Pacific – Golo Cave, Gebe Island, Northern Moluccas.



Experimental studies on thermal processes and acid dissolution provide a valuable starting point in creating a holistic knowledgebase of shell taphonomy. Each shell tells a story; thus, high-resolution taphonomic analyses provides a method to understand how different variables impact the formation and transformation of a site. Analyses include the recording of thermal, fragmentation, chemical, physical and biological processes. This approach to shell analysis can provide a sharper understanding of the occupation of a site, particularly when stratigraphy does not provide a clear picture of site formation. It is through the examination of pre- and post-depositional taphonomic processes that archaeologists can create robust inferences about human behaviour, hence the importance of discerning the effects of varying processes on shell material.



Date: Friday 25TH of Oct

Time: 3:30-4:30 pm

Venue: 41.G03a (map library)

Followed by pizza.



Looking forward to seeing you there.

Today's (11/10/19) CAS seminar is presented by Dr. Brent Koppel who will discuss his work disentangling the complex histories of shell middens

“Temporal Packaging: Deconstructing the formation and transformation of shell middens using amino acid racemisation”

Date: Friday 11TH of Oct

Time: 3:30-4:30 pm

Venue: 41.G03a (map library)

Followed by snacks and refreshments.

Abstract

Deconstructing archaeological deposits is a problematic affair. In the field, we rely on our senses to differentiate between sedimentary units, and to inform our strategies for excavation practices – be that in spits or through layers and horizons. Problems arise when the effects of transformation processes conflate the material of temporally distinct units that, at best, we notice these influences post-excavation, or at worst, they go unnoticed which obviously compromise our results and interpretations. In many ways, shell middens amplify transformation processes as a result of their structure and composition. New research has demonstrated the novel application of amino acid racemisation dating on midden shell to successfully disentangle these processes post-excavation. The significance of this research is not only being able to identify the presence and extent of transformation processes (such as time-averaging), but also creates the opportunity to engage with a new way of engaging with archaeological deposits by grouping together in a direct and demonstrable sense temporally related archaeological material. These ‘envelopes’ of samples can then be interrogated using the full suite of analytical techniques. This concept, here termed ‘temporal packaging’, is the focus of this seminar.



Date: Friday 11TH of Oct

Time: 3:30-4:30 pm

Venue: 41.G03a (map library)

Followed by snacks and refreshments.



Looking forward to seeing you there.

Paper in Geoarchaeology today, detailing a long history of human occupation and environmental change at Con Moong Cave, North Vietnam, using guano-driven diagenetic change to identify periods of human absence throughout the Pleistocene.

Written by C.A.S. Ph.D. candidate Conor McAdams with Mike Morley (Now Flinders University), Xiao Fu (now Zhejiang University) and Richard G. Roberts (also of CABAH), along with international collaborators A. Kandyba and A. Derevianko from the Russian Academy of Sciences and D. T. Nguyen and N. G. Doi from the Vietnamese Institute of Archaeology.

The Pleistocene geoarchaeology and geochronology of Con Moong Cave, North Vietnam: Site formation processes and hominin activity in the humid tropics - McAdams - - Geoarchaeology - Wiley Online Library Abstract This paper presents the results of geoarchaeological and geochronological investigations at Con Moong Cave, North Vietnam. Beneath the published, terminal Pleistocene sequence, recent exca...

PLEASE NOTE UPDATED TIME [11:30 am - 12:30 pm] of TODAY’s CAS seminar, with

Sara Watson

What is a microlith? Reevaluating form and context of small tool technologies in the late Pleistocene

Sara Watson is a PhD candidate in the Evolutionary Wing at the University of California, Davis Anthropology Department. Her research focuses on stone tool technology used by early modern humans in southern Africa during the late Pleistocene. She will be discussing her dissertation research and experimental work at the University of Wollongong.

Seminar overview

Microlithic technologies are argued to be a vitally important adaptive strategy in human evolution as part of a “modern behavioral suite” that was essential to the global spread and success of early modern humans. But what is a microlith? The only consistent component of current definitions is the presence of small flakes within an assemblage. Despite variability in their size, form, and degree of standardization, microliths are typically treated as a homogeneous entity when considering questions of their origin, context of development, and supposed global spread. In my research, I am examining the systems of production used to create microlithic technologies in the Middle and Later Stone Age of southern Africa to understand how specific manifestations of microlithic technologies fit into the concept of a “modern behavioral package.”

Date: 2 July 2019

Time: 11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Venue: 41.G03a (map library)



Looking forward to seeing you there.

After lots of hard work, the mechanical flaking machine (“Rogi”) at the UOW Centre for Archaeological Science is now fully operational. A big shout out to Sara Watson, who is visiting us from UC Davis, for all of her hard work on preparing the stone core samples for machine testing. Sara made a beautiful blade on a mudstone core this morning. Watch this space for more exciting stone tool experiments to come!

Research team includes Sam Lin Alex Mackay and Sara Watson

We are happy to announce the next seminar this session of the Centre for Archaeological Science on Friday 21 June.

Laura Martin-Francés
Atapuerca: the paradigm changer?

Laura Martín-Francés, member of the Atapuerca team since 2010, is a post-doctoral research fellow (IdEx) at the University of Bordeaux in France. Her research is focused on the evolution of the dentition and tracing the last common ancestor of Neanderthals and modern humans investigating the inner dental structure.
Seminar overview

The Atapuerca site represent a milestone in the study of human evolution. So far the human fossil findings, assigned to three different species (H. sp, H. antecessor and Pre-Neanderthals), challenge long established hypotheses such as the late population of Europe, the last common ancestor of Neanderthals and modern human as well as the assumption of Africa being the sole birthplace of the majority hominin species.
This talk summarizes the main findings unearthed in Atapuerca combining data on morphological and metrical traits, chronology and archaeology, revealing aspects of the taxonomy and phylogeny of the species. As well as the illustration of case studies resulting from paleopathology and forensic investigations.

Date: Friday 21 June 2019
Time: 3:30-4:30 pm
Venue: 41.G03a (map library)
Followed by snacks and refreshments.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

We are happy to announce the next seminar this session of the Centre for Archaeological Science, tomorrow.

Friday 3rd of May 2019.

Susan Hayes

An active member of CAS since 2012, Susan’s multi-disciplinary research concerns 2D human craniofacial variation, facial identification, geometric morphometrics, and methods of artistic depiction across the forensic, perceptual and archaeological sciences.

The Dead Arts: Forensic Facial Reconstruction

If you are an archaeologist, palaeo-anthropologist, visual artist, biological anthropologist, museologist, police officer, palaeo-artist, museum visitor, enthusiast or student, you may not be aware that there’s been a scientific revolution in estimating faces from skulls.

Focusing on recent and past applications within archaeology and palaeontology, this presentation covers some of the pitfalls of the enduring, yet invalidated, secret science of forensic facial reconstruction. In particular, the tendency for facial reconstruction practitioners to colonise the face of the deceased, and in so doing, both overwrite and overshadow much of our current understandings regarding human craniofacial variation and human evolution.

However, even though it is now possible to estimate facial appearance in reference to predominantly validated skull-soft tissue relationships, this revolutionary approach is not without its own problems. Firstly, it’s predicated on applied research, which may be why a paradigm shift is yet to happen. Secondly, experience has shown that adhering to repeatability and transparency has a dark side – somewhat ironically, the application of scientifically validated research renders results that are extraordinarily popular with those who seek to deny human evolution.

Date: Friday 3 May 2019

Time: 3:30-4:30 pm

Venue: 41.G03a (map library)

Looking forward to seeing you there.