AMS dates and phytolith data from mud wasp and bird nests at Carpenter's Gap, Northern Australia

Abstract

This paper reports a small suite of AMS radiocarbon dates and phytolith data derived from mud nests collected at the Carpenter's Gap 1 rockshelter in the southwest Kimberley, a site which has a 40,000 year old human occupation sequence. Examination of mud nests was undertaken to supplement the palaeoecological database of the site and help develop a better understanding of issues of phytolith movement, taphonomy and site deposit formation processes in relation to the accumulation of phytoliths in archaeological rockshelter deposits; however, logistical constraints and the novelty of the approach meant this research was designed to be exploratory in nature, rather than exhaustive.