Modern emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) butchery, economic utility and analogues for the Australian archaeological record

Abstract

Australia's largest flightless bird, the emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae), has been an important prey animal for Indigenous people for millennia, especially in arid/semi-arid areas where, along with large kangaroos, they can provide high economic returns from single kills. Understanding modern prey selection, butchering patterns and the relative nutritional value of the different body portions in these animals has important implications for interpreting patterns of species and body part representation in the archaeological record. A butchery study, economic utility assessment, and meat and marrow fatty acid analysis of the Australian emu has established the relative economic importance of different body parts. The results show that the femur/pelvic region yielded the greatest amount of meat, and that the quantity and quality of fats associated with these units makes bone fracturing for marrow extraction superfluous. The results provide new insights into the relative importance of emu in Australian Aboriginal diets, past and present, and establish useful comparative data for studies of the now extinct giant flightless bird Genyornis newtoni.