Australian Archaeology
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Full Citation Details:
Jones, R. & Allen, J. 1978. Caveat Excavator: A Sea Bird Midden on Steep Head Island, North West Tasmania. 'Australian
Archaeology', no.8, 142-145.
C A V E A T E X C A V A T O R : A S E A B I R D M I D D E N ON S T E E P H E A D I S L A N D , NORTH W E S T T A S M A N I A
Rhys Jones and Jim AZZen
' N i h i 1 Desperandum' ( C i c e r o , Cal i gula e t al. )
A r c h a e o l o g i s t s , even i f t h e y a r e n o t p e s s i m i s t i c by n a t u r e a r e c o n s t a n t l y b e i n g reminded of t h e i n a d e q u a c y o f t h e d a t a upon which t h e y a t t e m p t t o w r i t e h i s t o r y . E t h n o g r a p h e r s , o b s e r v i n g
t h e m i n u t i a e of d a i l y l i f e comment upon how l i t t l e of i t i s f o s s i l i s e d i n t o a non-decayable form c a p a b l e o f b e i n g i n t e r p r e t e d i n t h e f u t u r e . Wanderers a l o n g a s e a b e a c h a f t e r a s t o r m w i l l n o t e t h e p i l e s o f a n c i e n t s h e l l b e i n g washed i n t o t h e s u r f , o r t h e wind p o l i s h i n g t o s h i n y smoothness what o n c e was a s h a r p edge.
Dogs gnaw t h e bones from k i t c h e n t a b l e s a n d h y e n a s r i p and s p r e a d t h e c a r c a s s e s of game k i l l e d by bushmen. S e a l s a n d c r o c o d i l e s w i t h s t o n e s i n t h e i r b e l l i e s , l i k e t h e l e a d b e l t s o f b e - r u b b e r e d scuba d i v e r s , c r a w l l a b o r i o u s l y up sandy c a y s and d i e , t h e p e b b l e s o u t of p l a c e i n s u c h a sandy environment. H e r m i t c r a b s c a r r y t h e i r temporary m o l l u s c a n homes up t r o p i c a l b e a c h e s . A whole new s u b j e c t
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taphonomy, d e s t i n e d s u r e l y t o u s u r p economics as t h e ' d i s m a l s c i e n c e '-
i s b e i n g d e v e l o p e d t o a n a l y s e t h e v a r i o u s p r o c e s s e s by which o b j e c t s become i n c o r p o r a t e d w i t h i n t h e f o s s i l o r a r c h a e o l o g i c a l r e c o r d s . However, i f t h e D e v i l r e a l l y wanted t o tempt t h e f a i t h f u l w i t h h i s ' s p o r t s of n a t u r e ' , he would n o t have chosen h i s Tasmanian namesake who h a s f i l l e d many a c a v e w i t h c a r n i v o r o u s d e b r i s , b u t r a t h e r b i r d s whose c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e a r c h a e o l o g i c a l r e c o r d h a s b e e n more v e r s a t i l e and u b i q u i t o u s . J u n g l e f o w l s of Arnhem Land b u i l d huge e a r t h mounds; emus w a l k around w i t h f o r e i g n s t o n e s i n t h e i r c r o p s ; owls d r o p t h e i r f a e c a l p e l l e t s f u l l of r a t bones o n t o t h e c a r r i o n h e a p s o f h u n t e r s , a n d hawks remove e v i d e n c e o f f i s h h e a d s and o t h e r h a l f e a t e n f o o d ; magpies c o l l e c t s h i n y g l a s s and t i n f o i l f o r t h e i r n e s t s . I t i s a l s o r e a s o n a b l y w e l l known t h a t some s e a b i r d s b u i l d s h e l l middens( c f . f o r a n i n d e p e n d e n t o b s e r v a t i o n o f t h e same phenomena see Horton 1978 i n p r e s s ) and we s h o u l d l i k e t o d e s c r i b e o n e o f t h e s e from Tasmania.
During a n a r c h a e o l o g i c a l s e a r c h o f S t e e p Head, a s m a l l i s l a n d 3 km t o t h e w e s t of Hunter I s l a n d i n t h e H u n t e r Group i n n o r t h w e s t Tasmania, we made a s y s t e m a t i c s e a r c h f o r any t r a c e of s h e l l midden i n o r d e r t o s e e w h e t h e r t h i s i s l e t had b e e n used by Tasmanian A b o r i g i n e s i n t h e p a s t o r w h e t h e r i t was beyond t h e i r c a p a c i t y t o r e a c h ( s e e J o n e s , A l l e n and S t o c k t o n , t h i s volume). B e c a u s e i t was p r o b a b l e t h a t any A b o r i g i n a l v i s i t s would h a v e b e e n f l e e t i n g , and t h e r e s u l t a n t d e b r i s l i m i t e d t o t h e odd m e a l , we w e r e l o o k i n g c a r e f u l l y f o r any t r a c e o f s h e l l s .
On a r i d g e some 70 cm wide a t t h e t o p and 1 5 m l o n g , c o n n e c t i n g two h i g h p o i n t s , we saw some s h e l l s a n d small b o n e s s t r a t i f i e d i n l o o s e s t o n y s o i l . The l o c a t i o n o f t h i s s i t e , compounded by t h e f a c t t h a t b o t h s i d e s of t h e r i d g e f e l l away a l m o s t v e r t i c a l l y 70 m t o a
s u l l e n , g r o w l i n g s e a , p r e c l u d e d any d o u b t s i n o u r mind t h a t t h i s c o u l d h a v e b e e n a human camp. C l e a r l y i t i s t h e l o c a t i o n of a n o l d - n e s t o r f e e d i n g p l a c e of a s e a b i r d , p r o b a b l y t h e l a r g e P a c i f i c G u l l
(Larus
p a c i f i c u s ) . We d e c i d e d t o e x c a v a t e t h i s s e a b i r d midden ( d e s i g n a t e d SBMl i n t h e S e a B i r d S i t e Survey R e g i s t e r o f Tasmania) i n o r d e r t o s e e what i t c o n t a i n e d . The e x c a v a t i o n was c a r r i e d o u t by A l l e n s i t t i n g a s t r i d e i t , u s i n g t h e 'open a r e a ' method o f e x c a v a t i o n , t h e t o t a l b u l k sample b e i n g p u t i n t o a p l a s t i c b a g f o r l a t e r d e t a i l e d l a b o r a t o r y a n a l y s i s f o l l o w i n g t h e t e c h n i q u e a d v o c a t e d by C o u t t s (l97O), C o u t t s (1977: 8 ) , C o u t t s,
W i t t e r , Cochrane a n d P a t r i c k (1976) and C o u t t s a n d W i t t e r (1977).
S h e l l s and b o n e s were found o v e r an a r e a of a b o u t 200 s q cm and s t r a t i g r a p h i c a l l y s p e a k i n g , i n l o o s e s o i l down t o a d e p t h of 2-3 cm, showing t h a t t h e s i t e had p r o b a b l y been used o v e r a
r e a s o n a b l e l e n g t h o f t i m e
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i . e . t h a t i t had been a r e g u l a r f e e d i n g / n e s t i n g p l a c e .The a n a l y s i s o f t h e s h e l l f i s h was c a r r i e d o u t by D r Kathy Conover and o f t h e b i r d s by D r J e a n n e t t e Hope, t h e r e s u l t s b e i n g t a b u l a t e d below ( T a b l e 1 ) . I t can be s e e n t h a t t h e p r e y c o n s i s t e d o f b i r d s i n c l u d i n g t h e mutton b i r d ( P u f f i n u s ) , c r a b / c r a y f i s h and r o c k y c o a s t g a s t r o p o d s
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t h e l i m p e t s , CeZanna s o Z i d a , and w a r r e n e r S u h n i n e l Z a u n d u ~ a t a . ' The l a t t e r was r e p r e s e n t e d by b o t h o p e r c u l a e and body w h o r l f r a g m e n t s . L a r g e g u l l s d r o p t h e s e t y p e s of t u r b o s h e l l s r e p e a t e d l y on r o c k s u n t i l t h e s h e l l s b r e a k (Mr Melvin E v e r r e t , p e r s . comm.). They can t h e n g e t a t t h e f l e s h . The f a r g r e a t e r minimum numbers o f t h i s s h e l l s p e c i e s r e p r e s e n t e d by o p e r c u l a e r a t h e r t h a n body s h e l l s show t h a t o f t e n t h e f l e s h was c a r r i e d t o t h e e a t i n g p e r c h s t i l l a t t a c h e d t o t h e ' c a t s - e y e ' .I n terms of s p e c i e s of s h e l l and b i r d , t h i s assemblage c o u l d b e l o s t i n a s p e c i e s l i s t from a genuine Tasmanian A b o r i g i n a l
midden. B o t h g u l l and man f o r a g e d amongst t h e mutton b i r d r o o k e r i e s and t h e m i d - l i t t o r a l z o n e s of t h e rocky s h o r e l i n e s . The o p e r c u l a e had a l e n g t h d i s t r i b u t i o n of 20.5 2 2.8 cm (N=13). T h i s c o r r e s p o n d s
t o whole s h e l l f i s h w e i g h i n g s l i g h t l y g r e a t e r t h a n 24 gm e a c h , w i t h 8.5 gm s t e a m e d f l e s h ( f i e l d e x p e r i m e n t s a t Rocky Cape, n o r t h Tasmania, 1 9 6 7 ) . S i m i l a r s i z e d SubnineZZa a r e common on west c o a s t Tasmanian middens. For example a f o r e s h o r e midden a t Sundown P o i n t i n 1977 c o n t a i n e d o p e r c u l a e w i t h a l e n g t h d i s t r i b u t i o n of 1 9 . 0
+
3 . 1 cm (N=25) (Mr D. Ranson, p e r s . comm.).Q u i t e o b v i o u s l y , from i t s l o c a t i o n t h i s b i r d midden would
n e v e r b e c o n f u s e d w i t h a human o n e , and d e s p i t e o u r i n i t i a l j e r e m i a d , e v e n i f s u c h b i r d d e b r i s was dropped o n t o a g e n u i n e human midden, i t s c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e l a t t e r would be s t a t i s t i c a l l y i n s i g n i f i c a n t even t o p e d a n t s . However c a s t i n g a s i d e t h e l e v i t y of t h i s n o t e f o r a moment, t h e r e a r e a few a r c h a e o l o g i c a l s i t u a t i o n s where such b i r d middens c o u l d g e n u i n e l y be m i s l e a d i n g .
One i s t h e s i t u a t i o n which l e d u s t o t h i s midden, t h a t i s ,
l o o k i n g f o r t h e m e r e s t p a l i m p s e s t s of A b o r i g i n a l o c c u p a t i o n on i s l a n d s which might h a v e b e e n a t t h e o u t e r m o s t r a n g e of t h e c a p a c i t y of
l Sample h e l d i n t h e a r c h i v e s , Department of P r e h i s t o r y , Research S c h o o l o f P a c i f i c S t u d i e s , The A u s t r a l i a n N a t i o n a l U n i v e r s i t y , u n d e r J o n e s , Rhys (SBM l , 19"'
TABLE 1 Fauna1 content o f the sea b i r d rnidden (SBM 1 )
Common name Linnean name
MO
ZZusca
c h i t o nLimpets
CeZZana s o t i d a
Mussels
Brachidontes ros t r a t u s
ModioZus putex
Warreners
Subnine Z La
unduZata
No. o f i n d i v i d u a l s
?
-
2 1 s e g m e n t s 1 41
3 (body w h o r l f r a g m e n t s
-
m i n i m a l l y 1 i n d i v i d u a l ) 1 3 o p e r c u l a e = 1 3i n d i v i d u a l s
Crustacea
c r a b o r c r a y claw fragment
Aves
Mutton b i r d s P r o c e l l a r i f o r m e s o f
znus
puff'
Diving p e t r e l P e l e c a n o i d i d a e
A b o r i g i n a l w a t e r c r o s s i n g technology. Two o r t h r e e s u c h b i r d middens i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o a s o i l h o r i z o n o r b u r i e d by d r i f t i n g s a n d where t h e ground l e v e l was n o t e x c e s s i v e l y s t e e p o r r e m o t e , might e a s i l y be confused f o r t h e odd s n a c k of a d a r i n g o r d e s p e r a t e t r a v e l l e r d u r i n g a b r i e f s o j o u r n on t h e i s l a n d . Where t i n y s c a t t e r s o f s h e l l a r e t o b e invoked a s e v i d e n c e f o r s u c h human a c t i o n s , t h e n a t l e a s t t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of an a v i a n o r i g i n must f i r s t o f a l l b e d i s c o u n t e d .
The second k i n d of s i t u a t i o n i s one which is l i k e l y t o i n c r e a s e i n f u t u r e r e s e a r c h a s we move from t h e 'cowboy' p h a s e o f A u s t r a l i a n a r c h a e o l o g y t o d e t a i l e d m i c r o - r e g i o n a l s t u d i e s i n v o l v i n g s y s t e m a t i c sampling of t h e t o t a l r a n g e of a r c h a e o l o g i c a l m a n i f e s t a t i o n s down t o t h e l a s t s u p p e r . A t a c e r t a i n p o i n t i t might become g e n u i n e l y
i m p o s s i b l e t o d i s t i n g u i s h between t h e s n a c k o f a b i r d o r a man.
Those who a s p i r e t o s u c h p r e c i s i o n must make s u r e t h a t t h e i r r e s e a r c h d e s i g n d o e s n o t become f i n e r t h a n t h e l i m i t a t i o n s of t h e a r c h g e o l o g i c a l r e c o r d .
D r J e a n n e t t e Hope h a s reminded u s t h a t b i r d middens a r e n o t c o n f i n e d t o r o c k y c o a s t s , b u t t h a t t h e same p r o c e s s e s can b e o b s e r v e d o n t h e l a g o o n s a n d r i v e r banks o f i n l a n d A u s t r a l i a . Here, l i k e t h e a n c i e n t A b o r i g i n e s of Mungo, w a t e r b i r d s have h u n t e d f o r t h e f r e s h w a t e r mussel
VeZesunio ambiguus,
and t h e empty s h e l l s become s c a t t e r e d on l a k e s h o r e s and t h u s i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o l u n e t t e and o t h e r s a n d d e p o s i t s . Add t h i s t o b u r n t t e r m i t e n e s t s b e i n g p r o b a b l y i n d i s t i n g u i s h a b l e from c o o k i n g h e a r t h s madefrom a n t b e d s (Chapman 1977) and w e may on o c c a s i o n s have t o r e t r e a t t o t h e f i n a l f a s t n e s s of t h e a r c h a e o l o g i s t . The unique mark o f man i s t h e a r t e f a c t , t h e m o d i f i e d p i e c e o f s t o n e . But wasn' t t h e r e a l s o a c a s e of b i r d s s e e n d r o p p i n g l i t t l e p e b b l e s and t h u s f l a k i n g them? A s we s a i d i n o u r t i t l e
-
l e t t h e d i g g e r b e w a r e , b u t n e v e r we h o p e , d e s p a i r .References
Chapman, V a l e r i e 1 9 76 The J i n d a b y n e V a l l e y i n S o u t h e r n Up l a n d s P r e h i s t o r y : An A r c h a e o l o g i c a l I n v e s t i g a t i o n . Unpublished MA (Qual) t h e s i s , Department o f P r e h i s t o r y and Anthropology, S c h o o l o f G e n e r a l S t u d i e s , ANU, C a n b e r r a
C o u t t s
,
P. J . F . 1970The ArchaeoZogy o f W i l s m ' s Promontory.
A u s t r a l i a n A b o r i g i n a l S t u d i e s no.28. AIAS: Canberra 1977 Summer f i e l d programme o f t h e V i c t o r i a A r c h a e o l o g i c a l Survey 1976177.
In
P. J. F . Cout t s , D. C.W i t t e r and D.M. P a r s o n s ( e d s ) Notes and News.
Records o f t h e V i c t o r i a n Archaeological Survey
no. 4 . Melbourneand D.C. W i t t e r , R.M. Cochrane and J. P a t r i c k 1976 C o a s t a l a r c h a e o l o g y i n V i c t o r i a .
S i t e s o f special
s c i e n t i f i c i n t e r e s t i n t h e V i c t o r i a n coastal r e g i m :
Ar e p o r t
on t h e archaeoZogicaZ aspects. Town and Country P l a n n i n g Board: Melbourneand D.C. W i t t e r 1977 A g u i d e t o r e c o r d i n g a r c h a e o l o g i c a l s i t e s i n V i c t o r i a .
Records o f t h e V i c t o r i a n Archaeological Survey
no. 3. MelbourneH o r t o n , David 1 9 7 8 ( i n p r e s s ) P r e l i m i n a r y n o t e s on t h e a n a l y s i s o f A u s t r a l i a n c o a s t a l middens.
