Isotopic Indications of Late Pleistocene and Holocene Paleoenvironmental Changes at Boodie Cave Archaeological Site, Barrow Island, Western Australia.

ABSTRACT: This paper presents the first application of mammal tooth enamel carbonate stable isotope analysis for the purpose of investigating late Pleistocene-early Holocene environmental change in an Australian archaeological context. Stable carbon (δ¹³C) and oxygen (δ¹⁸O) isotope ratios were analyzed from archaeological and modern spectacled hare wallaby (Lagorchestes conspicillatus) and hill kangaroo (Osphranter robustus) tooth enamel carbonates from Boodie Cave on Barrow Island in Western Australia. δ¹⁸O results track the dynamic paleoecological history at Boodie Cave including a clear shift towards increasing aridity preceding the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum and a period of increased humidity in the early to mid-Holocene. Enamel δ¹³

SUBMITTER: Skippington J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8124622 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature