Hearing the evidence: using archaeological data to analyse the long-term impacts of dugong (Dugong dogon) hunting on Mabuyag, Torres Strait, over the past 1000 years

Abstract

Dugong hunting by Torres Strait Islanders has a long history dating back at least 4000 years. Dugongs are highly susceptible to over-predation, due to slow development and low fecundity/reproductive rates. While attempts to model catch sustainability using recent survey and catch data have caused conservation concern, lack of historical data prevents reliable statements on the sustainability of past dugong hunting practices. In the absence of historical data, archaeological data in the form of dugong bones provide a unique and valuable data archive to examine long-term hunting sustainability in terms of changes in prey body size. Dimensional measurements of 229 ear bones (periotic bones) wer..