Comparison of sedimentation and occupation histories inside and outside rock shelters, Keep-River region, northwestern Australia

Abstract

This paper compares archaeological evidence of Aboriginal occupation inside rock shelters and outside in adjacent sand sheets, focusing on two locations in the Keep-River region, northwestern Australia. Luminescence and radiocarbon dating reveal that occupation sequences inside rock shelters are generally younger (< 10,000 yr B.P.) than outside (< 18,000 yr B.P.). Differences in occupation chronology and artifact assemblages inside and outside rock shelters result from depositional and postdepositional processes and shifts in site function. An increase in regional sedimentation rate from 10 cm/ka-1 in the Pleistocene to 20 cm/ka-1 in the Holocene may account for late buildup of sediments wit..