Cuddie Springs Research Articles

What does the occurrence of Sporormiella (Preussia) spores mean in Australian fossil sequences?

ABSTRACTUnderstanding the loss of the final few species of Australian megafauna is beset by a paucity of data on human arrival, well‐provenanced megafauna, human/megafauna population range and distribution (coexistence and interaction), and the range, scale and impact of environmental changes spanning the human–megafauna period. To overcome these shortcomings, the occurrence and decline of coprophilous fungal spores of Sporormiella in sediments have been used as a proxy for extinct megaherbivores. The Sporormiella evidence is presented as the key indicator of extinction timing and these reports are often from locations where there is no known archaeological record or megafauna remains. However, interpreting fungal spore occurrence is not straightforward, as demonstrated by studies investigating taphonomy, taxonomy and the types of animal dung where Sporormiella occurs. No detailed studies on these problems exist for Australia and no evidence supporting the use of Sporormiella as a valid proxy has been reported. Here we examine the occurrence of Sporormiella spores from Cuddie Springs in south‐eastern Australia. Despite a well‐preserved suite of megafauna fossils, Sporormiella occurrence is sporadic and frequencies are low. We conclude that using Sporormiella alone as an indicator for the presence of megafauna is premature for the Australian context.

Dietary responses of Sahul (Pleistocene Australia–New Guinea) megafauna to climate and environmental change

AbstractThroughout the late Quaternary, the Sahul (Pleistocene Australia–New Guinea) vertebrate fauna was dominated by a diversity of large mammals, birds, and reptiles, commonly referred to as megafauna. Since ca. 450–400Ka, approximately 88 species disappeared in Sahul, including kangaroos exceeding 200kg in size, wombat-like animals the size of hippopotamuses, flightless birds, and giant monitor lizards that were likely venomous. Ongoing debates over the primary cause of these extinctions have typically favored climate change or human activities. Improving our understanding of the population biology of extinct megafauna as more refined paleoenvironmental data sets become available will assist in identifying their potential vulnerabilities. Here, we apply a multiproxy approach to analyze fossil teeth from deposits dated to the middle and late Pleistocene at Cuddie Springs in southeastern Australia, assessing relative aridity via oxygen isotopes as well as vegetation and megafaunal diets using both carbon isotopes and dental microwear texture analyses. We report that the Cuddie Springs middle Pleistocene fauna was largely dominated by browsers, including consumers of C4shrubs, but that by late Pleistocene times the C4dietary component was markedly reduced. Our results suggest dietary restriction in more arid conditions. These dietary shifts are consistent with other independently derived isotopic data from eggshells and wombat teeth that also suggest a reduction in C4vegetation after ~45 Ka in southeastern Australia, coincident with increasing aridification through the middle to late Pleistocene. Understanding the ecology of extinct species is important in clarifying the primary drivers of faunal extinction in Sahul. The results presented here highlight the potential impacts of aridification on marsupial megafauna. The trend to increasingly arid conditions through the middle to late Pleistocene (as identified in other paleoenvironmental records and now also observed, in part, in the Cuddie Springs sequence) may have stressed the most vulnerable animals, perhaps accelerating the decline of late Pleistocene megafauna in Australia.

Looking for the archaeological signature in Australian Megafaunal extinctions

The decline and disappearance of a range of giant marsupials, reptiles and birds from the Australian landscape during the last Glacial cycle continues to capture the imagination of both researchers and the general public. The events hinted at in the Australian fossil sequences appear to be mirrored on other continents through similar time periods, though the exact cause or sequence of extinctions remains largely unresolved. In recent years debate over megafaunal extinctions in Australia has been dominated by reports that humans were the primary drivers, leading some to assert that it is no longer a question of whether humans drove these extinctions, only how. Following the review of Wroe and Field, new reports have been published that claim support for a human-driven extinction (HDE). On closer scrutiny however, the key sites and samples lack firm contextual data and/or clear provenance. These studies fail to prove a key tenet of the HDE – that all, or even most now-extinct species were present at the time of human colonization of the continent. As compared with the easy assertion 5 years ago that this had been established, there are now more faunal species (c. 69% of total known to have become extinct) that cannot be placed within 50–100 ka of human arrival. There are still only two sites that demonstrate a coexistence of humans with some species of megafauna – Nombe Rockshelter in the PNG highlands and Cuddie Springs in the semi-arid southeast of Australia. If there is so little empirical evidence for coexistence or association of megafauna with humans, then support for an HDE through overhunting and ecosystem disruption is seriously compromised. Furthermore, the popularly cited “extinction window”, proposed as c. 51–39 ka when the HDE is argued to occur, is still only a theoretical construct. There is no clear evidence indicating that this period was particularly significant in terms of faunal loss. At present, the great majority of ‘Pleistocene’ sites remain poorly dated and the understanding of faunal turnover through this epoch is almost non-existent. Small datasets, poorly constructed hypotheses and assertive rhetoric are the prominent features of current discussions on a human role in megafaunal extinctions. Importantly, it is yet to be established whether the extinctions are an archaeological problem. The sparse fossil record known from Australia hampers a clear resolution as to how and when the megafauna disappeared, a situation likely to continue into the near future.

ESR and U-series analyses of faunal material from Cuddie Springs, NSW, Australia: implications for the timing of the extinction of the Australian megafauna

The timing and cause of late Pleistocene faunal extinctions in Australia are subjects of a debate that has become polarised by two vigorously defended views. One contends that the late Pleistocene extinction was a short event caused by humans colonising the Australian continent, whereas the other promotes a gradual demise of the fauna, over a period of at least 10–20 ka, due to a combination of climatic changes and ecological pressures by humans. Cuddie Springs is central to this debate as it is the only site known in continental Australia where archaeological and megafauna remains co-occur. We have analysed more than 60 bones and teeth from the site by laser ablation ICP-MS to determine U, and Th concentrations and distributions, and those with sufficiently high U concentrations were analysed for U-series isotopes. Twenty-nine teeth were analysed by ESR. These new results, as well as previously published geochronological data, contradict the hypothesis that the clastic sediments of Stratigraphic Unit 6 (SU6) are in primary context with the faunal, archaeological and other materials found in SU6, and that all have ages consistent with the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) estimates of 30–36 ka. These young OSL results were used to argue for a relatively recent age of the extinct fauna. Our results imply that SU6 is either significantly older than the OSL results, or that a large fraction of the faunal material and the charcoal found in SU6 was derived from older, lateral deposits. Our U and Th laser ablation ICPMS results as well as the REE profiles reported by Trueman et al. [2008. Comparing rates of recystallisation and the potential for preservation of biomolecules from the distribution of trace elements in fossil bones. C.R. Palevol. General Paleontology (Taphonomy and Fossilization) 7, 145–158] contradict the interpretation of previously reported rare earth element compositions of bones, and the argument based thereon for the primary context of faunal material and clastic sediments in SU6 layers.

Investigating human and megafauna co-occurrence in Australian prehistory: Mode and causality in fossil accumulations at Cuddie Springs

Human arrival in Sahul – Pleistocene Australia and New Guinea – has long been argued as the catalyst in the decline and disappearance of a suite of extinct animals referred to as megafauna. The debate concerning causality in Sahul is highly polarised, with climate change often cited as the alternative explanatory model. On continental Australia, there are few datasets available with which to explore the likely processes leading to the extinction events. At the present time, there is one site in New Guinea (Nombe Rockshelter) and one on continental Australia (Cuddie Springs) where the coexistence and temporal overlap of humans and megafauna has been identified. The Cuddie Springs Pleistocene archaeological site in southeastern Australia contains an association of fossil extinct and extant fauna with an archaeological record through two sequential stratigraphic units dating from c. 36 to c. 30 ka ago. A taphonomic study of the fossil fauna has revealed an accumulation of bone in a primary depositional context, consistent with a waterhole death assemblage. Overall the faunal assemblage studied here (n: 8146; NISP: 1355) has yielded little direct evidence of carnivore damage or human activities. Post depositional factors such as physical destruction incurred by trampling, compaction of sediments, and/or the hydrological status of the lake at that time have played important roles. As the only known site on continental Australia where megafauna and humans co-occur, the Cuddie Springs faunal assemblage yields equivocal evidence for a significant human role in the accumulation of the fauna here. At the present time there is no evidential basis to the argument that humans had a primary role in the extinction of the Australian megafauna. The first colonisers are likely to have preyed upon those few species known to have persisted to this time, but their impact may have been restricted to the tail end of a process that had been underway for millennia prior to human arrival.

Trampling Through The Pleistocene: Does Taphonomy Matter at Cuddie Springs?

After 15 years of continuing investigation, analysis and publication of the sedimentary sequence at Cuddie Springs, the site and its contents continue to draw considerable attention from those investigating the timing and cause of the extinction of the megafauna. The archaeological record commences at Cuddie Springs around 36ka and overlaps with a record of a handful of megafauna species for up to 10,000 years. The main issue for those supporting the popularly cited 46ka terminal extinction date for megafauna are the ‘young’ dates for this site. Arguments have also been forwarded suggesting the sediments are reworked, that artefacts are intrusive in the megafaunal-bearing layers or that material has been redeposited in the claypan deposits as river bedload. These issues relate primarily to taphonomy, in particular site formation processes. However, interdisciplinary studies have shown that Cuddie Springs is an ephemeral lake in a landscape of low relief and within its sediments is preserved a highlystratified record of environment, fauna and humans that has formed over many millennia. Rather than an incoherent mix of material from multiple sources, the data point to an intact accumulation of fossil fauna which, in the upper layers, co-occurs with an archaeological record of human occupation.

Is there a Pleistocene archaeological site at Cuddie Springs?

AbstractThe juxtaposition of stone tools, charcoal and bones at Cuddie Springs has been used to support claims that people were butchering now‐extinct animals, and grinding seeds about 30,000 BP. Statistical analysis of dates for the site shows significant sediment disturbance, and the anomalous presence of hair residues in the absence of bone collagen suggests that bones and stone tools are not the same age. We argue that the published studies on the Cuddie Springs claypan deposits do not show a stratified and undisturbed Late Pleistocene archaeological site, as proposed by the excavators, instead revealing a palimpsest of Late Holocene and European occupational debris superimposed on a much longer‐term record of Quaternary landscape evolution. There is no reliable evidence that extinct Australian megafauna coexisted with people using seed‐grinding technology at Cuddie Springs, nullifying the excavators' support for climate change models of extinction and dietary choice.

Prolonged coexistence of humans and megafauna in Pleistocene Australia

Recent claims for continent wide disappearance of megafauna at 46.5 thousand calendar years ago (ka) in Australia have been used to support a "blitzkrieg" model, which explains extinctions as the result of rapid overkill by human colonizers. A number of key sites with megafauna remains that significantly postdate 46.5 ka have been excluded from consideration because of questions regarding their stratigraphic integrity. Of these sites, Cuddie Springs is the only locality in Australia where megafauna and cultural remains are found together in sequential stratigraphic horizons, dated from 36-30 ka. Verifying the stratigraphic associations found here would effectively refute the rapid-overkill model and necessitate reconsideration of the regional impacts of global climatic change on megafauna and humans in the lead up to the last glacial maximum. Here, we present geochemical evidence that demonstrates the coexistence of humans and now-extinct megafaunal species on the Australian continent for a minimum of 15 ka.

Stable isotope and protein analyses of Cuddie Springs Genyornis

AbstractStable isotopes and proteins in Genyornis remains from Cuddie Springs are too depleted for dating, but this does not imply the bones are older than surrounding sediments.

A Late Pleistocene vegetation history from the Australian semi-arid zone

Cuddie Springs is an ephemeral lake in central northern New South Wales, Australia. The upper 3 m of sediment consist of lacustrine clays containing a Late Pleistocene sequence of extinct and extant fauna, and in the upper 1.7 m, an associated archaeological record. Changes observed in the pollen sequence include: (i) a peak in charcoal values corresponding to a dramatic decline in Casuarina woodland to chenopod shrubland at 2.5 m, respresenting a climatic shift to more arid conditions; (ii) chenopod shrubland moved into decline with the spread of grasslands around 1.7 m, and the amelioration in climatic conditions persisted until approximately 28,000 BP. A regime emerged which resulted in extended lake dry periods and peak aridity by approximately 19,000 BP and (iii) at 1 m depth, around 19,000 BP a shift to peak arid conditions is observed with a return of Chenopodiaceae and a decline in grasses. The lake entered an ephemeral phase that has persisted until the present day. The broad palaeoenvironmental framework of lake history, climate and vegetation change spans the archaeological and faunal records from Cuddie Springs. The direct association enables a closer examination of causation in faunal extinctions and human subsistence activities in the Australian arid zone.

A large area archaeological excavation at Cuddie Springs

Large area excavation at Cuddie Springs has revealed that the Pleistocene sediments have remained undisturbed. This eliminates the possibility that stone artefacts found in association with megafauna may have been introduced by disturbance from higher levels and indicates an overlap of megafauna with humans of at least 10,000 years.

‘Coming back’ Aborigines and archaeologists at Cuddie Springs

Australian archaeologists wishing to undertake research into Aboriginal history in New South Wales are required to consult with local Aboriginal communities and obtain permission to excavate before permits are granted by the government body. We present a case study of Aboriginal community involvement in a major archaeological research project at Cuddie Springs in western NSW. The discussion is based on the experiences of the project director and local Aboriginal people working on the project in various capacities. Cuddie Springs is one example of Aboriginal involvement in archaeology where the needs of both parties have not been compromised in any significant way. There have been costs and gains for the Aboriginal community, researchers and their research. Neither party views this relationship as business-like; instead, the establishment and continual renewal of social commitments provides the foundation of successful collaboration.

‘Coming back’ Aborigines and archaeologists at Cuddie Springs

‘Coming back’ Aborigines and archaeologists at Cuddie Springs

Late Pleistocene Megafauna and Archaeology from Cuddie Springs, South-eastern Australia

The Cuddie Springs site in south-eastern Australia provides the first evidence of an unequivocal association of megafauna with humans for this continent. Cuddie Springs has been known as a fossil megafauna locality for over a century, but its archaeological record has only recently been identified. Cuddie Springs is an open site, with the fossil deposits preserved in a claypan on the floor of an ancient ephemeral lake. Investigations revealed a stratified deposit of human occupation and fossil megafauna, suggesting a temporal overlap and an active association of megafauna with people in the lead up to the Last Glacial Maximum, when conditions were more arid than the present day. Two distinct occupation phases have been identified and are correlated to the hydrology of the Cuddie Springs lake. When people first arrived at Cuddie Springs, sometime before 30,000 BP, the claypan on the lake floor was similar to a waterhole, with five species of megafauna identified. Flaked stone artefacts were found scattered through this level. After the lake dried, there was human occupation of the claypan. The resource base broadened to include a range of plant foods. Megafauna appear to be just one of a range of food resources exploited during this period. A return to ephemeral conditions resulted in only periodic occupation of the site with megafauna disappearing from the record around 28,000 BP. The timing of overlap and association of megafauna with human occupation is coincident with the earliest occupation sites in this region. The archaeological evidence from Cuddie Springs suggests an opportunistic exploitation of resources and no specialised strategies for hunting megafauna. Disappearance of megafauna is likely to be a consequence of climatic change during the lead up to the Last Glacial Maximum and human activities may have compounded an extinction process well under way.

Genyornis newtoni and Dromaius novaehollandiae at 30,000 b.p. in central northern New South Wales

Fossil remains of Genyornis newtoni and Dromaius novaehollandiae recovered from horizons at Cuddie Springs, in central northern New South Wales, are securely dated to greater than 30,000 b.p. Genyornis newtoni and D. novaehollandiae were found in sequential layers in association with artefacts of human occupation and other species of megafauna. Palaeoenvironmental information indicates the specimens of G. newtoni were deposited when the region supported an arid vegetation community, principally chenopod shrubland with scattered Eucalyptus and Acacia species. The appearance of Dromaius and disappearance of Genyornis coincided with a local shift to grasslands and the drying of the Cuddie Springs lake. New evidence is presented for the persistence of Genyornis in the arid zone during the lead up to the Last Glacial Maximum.

Humans and megafauna in a late Pleistocene environment from Cuddie Springs, north western New South Wales

AbstractWe report the first site in Australia with a dated association of human technology and megafauna, in a palaeoenvironmental context. There are few sites in Australia where evidence of humans and Pleistocene megafauna coincide (Flannery and Gott, 1984; Flood, 1983 151–159; Gillespie et al., 1978; Gorecki et al., 1984). Such coincidences are often poorly dated or undated due to their antiquity or stratigraphic context. Cuddie Springs contains several distinct concentrations of megafaunal bone, in addition to a scatter of bone through all the sediments examined. Most of the deposit is beyond radiocarbon dating but an upper portion of sediment has been dated between 19,000 and 30,000 B.P. Artefacts and increased charcoal appear about 30,000 B.P. and then have a continuous presence. The artefact assemblage includes grindstones with starch residues, ochre, a probable cylcon and stone artefacts with reworked edges containing blood and hair. These combine to provide evidence of plant and animal processing and cultural practices at 30,000 B.P. The bones and artefacts were deposited when Cuddie Springs was a shallow freshwater lake surrounded by a relatively arid shrubland, the lake then became ephemeral and the environment more arid as the glacial maximum approached.

X. Evidence of a large extinct lizard (notiosaurus dentatus, Owen) from pleistocene deposit, new south wales, Australia

On the 19th November, 1883, I received from Robt. Etheridge, Jun., Esq., the subject of the present Paper, with the following memorandum which accompanied the specimen transmitted to him by Ch. S. Wilkinson, Esq., F. L. S., F. G. S., of the Department of Mines, Sydney. “Portion of jaw and teeth from Cuddie Springs. These springs are in pleistocene deposits full of bones of Diprotodon , Sthenurus , Crocodile, &c., as far down as they have been sunk into—viz., 30 feet.”

IV. Evidence of a large extinct lizard ( Notiosaurus dentatus , Ow.) from pleistocene deposits, New South Wales, Australia

In this paper the author describes a fragment of jaw with teeth of a fossil from the pleistocene deposits at the "Cuddie Springs,” New South Wales, transmitted by E. S. Wilkinson, Esq., of the Depart­ment of Mines, Sydney.