Thesis Abstract: Identification and Dental Cementum Analysis of Macropodoidea and Potoroidae Teeth from the ‘Silver Dollar’ Archaeological Site, Shark Bay, Western Australia

Macropod teeth from the Silver Dollar Aboriginal site were used to determine environmental and subsistence changes between the Pleistocene and mid-Holocene in Shark Bay, Western Australia. The study consisted of two parts: identification of faunal remains from Silver Dollar and investigating dental cementum analysis as a way to determine seasonal hunting patterns.

The changing frequencies of species at Silver Dollar demonstrate change in environmental conditions. Faunal remains identified in the Pleistocene layers are dominated by arid adapted species, particularly Lagorchestes hirsutus which is now found primarily in the Tanami desert. Additionally, species commonly associated with less arid conditions, such as Macropus fuliginosus and Macropus robustus, are either absent or negligible in the Pleistocene levels. The appearance of M. fuliginosus, which usually requires a mean annual rainfall exceeding 250mm, in the Holocene levels indicates a shift from an arid Pleistocene environment to a semi-arid environment. Subsistence changes related to the rising sea-levels are also evident, with the incorporation of relatively more marine than terrestrial food sources as the site became coastal.

Dental cementum analysis was investigated to determine its usefulness for identifying season of capture of fauna. The banding of dental cementum has often been suggested to result from the different occlusal forces caused by food types. This study compared cementum banding of 30 macropods collected from both arid and temperate environments. There is a large amount of variation in the pattern and thickness of bands in the samples from both environments. This suggests that there are other factors apart from food type that influence dental cementum banding in macropod teeth. One possibility is that small variations in climate, such as short-term droughts, may prevent bands from forming. A study of animals collected over years with known environmental data is required to test this hypothesis.