Using soil magnetic properties to determine the onset of pleistocene human settlement at Gledswood Shelter 1, Northern Australia

Article

Lowe, Kelsey M., Shulmeister, James, Feinberg, Joshua M., Manne, Tiina, Wallis, Lynley A. and Welsh, Kevin. 2016. "Using soil magnetic properties to determine the onset of pleistocene human settlement at Gledswood Shelter 1, Northern Australia." Geoarchaeology: an international journal. 31 (3), pp. 211-228. https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21544
Article Title

Using soil magnetic properties to determine the onset of pleistocene human settlement at Gledswood Shelter 1, Northern Australia

ERA Journal ID1725
Article CategoryArticle
AuthorsLowe, Kelsey M. (Author), Shulmeister, James (Author), Feinberg, Joshua M. (Author), Manne, Tiina (Author), Wallis, Lynley A. (Author) and Welsh, Kevin (Author)
Journal TitleGeoarchaeology: an international journal
Journal Citation31 (3), pp. 211-228
Number of Pages18
Year2016
Place of PublicationUnited States
ISSN0883-6353
1520-6548
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21544
Web Address (URL)http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/gea.21544/abstract;jsessionid=6C946081ED4500F1E3BA1D4B07B45EE9.f02t01?systemMessage=Wiley+Online+Library+will+be+unavailable+on+Saturday+01st+July+from+03.00-09.00+EDT+and+on+Sunday+2nd+July+03.00-06.00+EDT+for+e
Abstract

In regions that lack built structures or stratified open archaeological sites, such as precolonial Australia, rockshelters are a major source of detailed information for understanding the nature and timing of human occupation. A key concern is that the proposed ages for the earliest archaeological sites are based on luminescence dating of sediments, rather than directly of cultural materials, leaving the association between the sediments and evidence of human activity questionable. Here, we present evidence of magnetic enhancement associated with cultural horizons within the deposits of a Pleistocene rockshelter in interior northern Queensland. Soil magnetic studies combined with experimental burning show that magnetically enhanced sediments in Gledswood Shelter 1 are the result of anthropogenic burning of hearth fires, which burn hotter and for a longer time than natural wild fires. These techniques appear to work in this setting because of the nature of the local geology and the geological antiquity of the landscape. Susceptibility and frequency dependence of susceptibility signatures provide a critical tool to resolve that human occupation starts at 2.2 m depth within a stratigraphic section. In conjunction with luminescence dating, soil magnetic studies provide an opportunity for archaeologists to resolve the timing of human settlement in Australia and other intracratonic plate settings.

Keywordsarchaeological sites; luminescence dating; soil magnetic studies; anthropogenic burning;
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020450101. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander archaeology
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Byline AffiliationsUniversity of Queensland
University of Minnesota, United States
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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