title: Temporal variability in shell mound formation at Albatross Bay, northern Australia

authors: Holdaway, Simon J.

subjects: Science & Technology

abstract: We report the results of 212 radiocarbon determinations from the archaeological excavation of 70 shell mound deposits in the Wathayn region of Albatross Bay, Australia. This is an intensive study of a closely co-located group of mounds within a geographically restricted area in a wider region where many more shell mounds have been reported. Valves from the bivalve Tegillarca granosa (Linnaeus, 1758) were dated. The dates obtained are used to calculate rates of accumulation for the shell mound deposits. These demonstrate highly variable rates of accumulation both within and between mounds. We assess these results in relation to likely mechanisms of shell deposition and show that rates of deposition are affected by time-dependent processes both during the accumulation of shell deposits and during their subsequent deformation. This complicates the interpretation of the rates at which shell mound deposits appear to have accumulated. At Wathayn, there is little temporal or spatial consistency in the rates at which mounds accumulated. Comparisons between the Wathayn results and those obtained from shell deposits elsewhere, both in the wider Albatross Bay region and worldwide, suggest the need for caution when deriving behavioural inferences from shell mound deposition rates, and the need for more comprehensive sampling of individual mounds and groups of mounds.

text: Temporal variability in shell mound formation at Albatross Bay, northern Australia We report the results of 212 radiocarbon determinations from the archaeological excavation of 70 shell mound deposits in the Wathayn region of Albatross Bay, Australia. This is an intensive study of a closely co-located group of mounds within a geographically restricted area in a wider region where many more shell mounds have been reported. Valves from the bivalve Tegillarca granosa (Linnaeus, 1758) were dated. The dates obtained are used to calculate rates of accumulation for the shell mound deposits. These demonstrate highly variable rates of accumulation both within and between mounds. We assess these results in relation to likely mechanisms of shell deposition and show that rates of deposition are affected by time-dependent processes both during the accumulation of shell deposits and during their subsequent deformation. This complicates the interpretation of the rates at which shell mound deposits appear to have accumulated. At Wathayn, there is little temporal or spatial consistency in the rates at which mounds accumulated. Comparisons between the Wathayn results and those obtained from shell deposits elsewhere, both in the wider Albatross Bay region and worldwide, suggest the need for caution when deriving behavioural inferences from shell mound deposition rates, and the need for more comprehensive sampling of individual mounds and groups of mounds.

year: 2017-08-30

title: Benthic foraminiferal response to changes in bottom-water oxygenation and organic carbon flux in the eastern Mediterranean during LGM to Recent times

authors: Abu-Zied, Ramadan H.

subjects: benthic foraminifera

abstract: We present a high-resolution study of benthic foraminiferal abundances in 4 cores from the central Aegean and NE Levantine Seas, spanning the interval from 30 ka BP to the present. The benthic foraminiferal faunas indicate that during LGM times, bottom waters were well ventilated, while organic flux to the sea floor was significantly higher than today. From 30 to 10.2 ka BP, faunal density and composition suggest a gradual decrease in organic flux to the sea floor. This trend is interrupted by a short return to higher organic flux levels during the Younger Dryas (12.8–11.5 ka BP). The faunas immediately preceding the early to middle Holocene organic-rich layer (sapropel) S1 are very similar to Late Holocene faunas, indicating oligotrophic conditions. The transition from well ventilated bottom waters to anoxic (Levantine Basin) or strongly dysoxic (Aegean Sea) bottom waters appears to take place within a time-span of only 600 years, from ∼ 10.8 to 10.2 ka BP. Sapropel S1 (10.2–6.4 ka BP) is characterized by extended periods of bottom-water anoxia in the Levantine Basin, and by strongly dysoxic conditions punctuated by episodic re-ventilation events in the Aegean Sea. Re-establishment of fully oxygenated bottom-water conditions after sapropel S1 was extremely rapid. The ensuing Late Holocene faunas are very similar to recent faunas found in the Aegean Sea, suggesting much lower fluxes of organic matter to the sea floor than during glacial times.

text: Benthic foraminiferal response to changes in bottom-water oxygenation and organic carbon flux in the eastern Mediterranean during LGM to Recent times We present a high-resolution study of benthic foraminiferal abundances in 4 cores from the central Aegean and NE Levantine Seas, spanning the interval from 30 ka BP to the present. The benthic foraminiferal faunas indicate that during LGM times, bottom waters were well ventilated, while organic flux to the sea floor was significantly higher than today. From 30 to 10.2 ka BP, faunal density and composition suggest a gradual decrease in organic flux to the sea floor. This trend is interrupted by a short return to higher organic flux levels during the Younger Dryas (12.8–11.5 ka BP). The faunas immediately preceding the early to middle Holocene organic-rich layer (sapropel) S1 are very similar to Late Holocene faunas, indicating oligotrophic conditions. The transition from well ventilated bottom waters to anoxic (Levantine Basin) or strongly dysoxic (Aegean Sea) bottom waters appears to take place within a time-span of only 600 years, from ∼ 10.8 to 10.2 ka BP. Sapropel S1 (10.2–6.4 ka BP) is characterized by extended periods of bottom-water anoxia in the Levantine Basin, and by strongly dysoxic conditions punctuated by episodic re-ventilation events in the Aegean Sea. Re-establishment of fully oxygenated bottom-water conditions after sapropel S1 was extremely rapid. The ensuing Late Holocene faunas are very similar to recent faunas found in the Aegean Sea, suggesting much lower fluxes of organic matter to the sea floor than during glacial times.

year: 2008

title: Culture – the foundation of Maori Governance

authors: Toki, Valmaine

abstract: The structure of a governance system specifies the distribution of rights and responsibilities among different participants dictating the mutually agreed rules and procedures for making decisions on business affairs. For Maori, an indigenous people, the unique and pivotal factor that provides the point of difference, for governance, is the importance of their culture. Notwithstanding this point of difference, there exists a paucity of governance structures that adequately cater and provide for culture.

text: Culture – the foundation of Maori Governance The structure of a governance system specifies the distribution of rights and responsibilities among different participants dictating the mutually agreed rules and procedures for making decisions on business affairs. For Maori, an indigenous people, the unique and pivotal factor that provides the point of difference, for governance, is the importance of their culture. Notwithstanding this point of difference, there exists a paucity of governance structures that adequately cater and provide for culture.

year: 2013