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  • From small holes to grand narratives: The impact of taphonomy and sample size on the modernity debate in Australia and New Guinea

    Author(s)
    Langley, MC
    Clarkson, C
    Ulm, S
    Griffith University Author(s)
    Langley, Michelle C.
    Year published
    2011
    Metadata
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    Abstract
    Our knowledge of early Australasian societies has significantly expanded in recent decades with more than 220 Pleistocene sites reported from a range of environmental zones and depositional contexts. The uniqueness of this dataset has played an increasingly important role in global debates about the origins and expression of complex behaviour among early modern human populations. Nevertheless, discussions of Pleistocene behaviour and cultural innovation are yet to adequately consider the effects of taphonomy and archaeological sampling on the nature and representativeness of the record. Here, we investigate the effects of ...
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    Our knowledge of early Australasian societies has significantly expanded in recent decades with more than 220 Pleistocene sites reported from a range of environmental zones and depositional contexts. The uniqueness of this dataset has played an increasingly important role in global debates about the origins and expression of complex behaviour among early modern human populations. Nevertheless, discussions of Pleistocene behaviour and cultural innovation are yet to adequately consider the effects of taphonomy and archaeological sampling on the nature and representativeness of the record. Here, we investigate the effects of preservation and sampling on the archaeological record of Sahul, and explore the implications for understanding early cultural diversity and complexity. We find no evidence to support the view that Pleistocene populations of Sahul lacked cognitive modernity or cultural complexity. Instead, we argue that differences in the nature of early modern human populations across the globe were more likely the consequence of differences in population size and density, interaction and historical contingency.
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    Journal Title
    Journal of Human Evolution
    Volume
    61
    Issue
    2
    DOI
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2011.03.002
    Subject
    Evolutionary biology
    Anthropology
    Archaeology
    Archaeology not elsewhere classified
    Publication URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10072/172773
    Collection
    • Journal articles

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    Tagline

    • Gold Coast
    • Logan
    • Brisbane - Queensland, Australia
    First Peoples of Australia
    • Aboriginal
    • Torres Strait Islander