Jillian Garvey

... Jillian Garvey graduated with a BA-B.Sc. ... alpine biogeography and ecology and interpretations of the past, in Barlow, BA, ed., Flora and Fauna of Alpine Australasia, Ages and Origins: CSIRO and Australian Systematic Botany Society, Melbourne, Australia, p. 229–242. ...

Sarcoptic mange, caused by the parasitic mite Sarcoptes scabiei, causes a substantive burden of disease to humans, domestic animals, and wildlife, globally. There are many effects of S. scabiei infection, culminating in the disease which hosts suffer. However, major knowledge gaps remain on the pathogenic impacts of this infection. Here, we focus on the bare-nosed wombat host (Vombatus ursinus) to investigate the effects of mange on: (i) host heat loss and thermoregulation, (ii) field metabolic rates, (iii) foraging and resting behaviour across full circadian cycles, and (iv) fatty acid composition in host adipose, bone marrow, brain, and muscle tissues. Our findings indicate that mange infected V. ursinus lose more heat to the environment from alopecia affected body regions than healthy individuals. Additionally, mange infected individuals have higher metabolic rates in the wild. However, these metabolic demands are difficult to meet, since infected individuals spend less time foraging and more time inactive relative to their healthy counterparts, despite being outside of the burrow for longer. Lastly, mange infection results in altered fatty acid composition in adipose tissue, with increased amounts of omega-6 acids, and decreased amounts of omega-3 acids, a consequence of chronic cutaneous inflammation and inhibition of anti-inflammatory responses. These findings highlight the interactions of mange induced physiological and behavioural changes, and have implications for the treatment and rehabilitation of infected individuals

This paper provides a summary of a 2015 Honours project that examined changes in shell abundance and taxa within a faunal assemblage from the Late Holocene marine shell midden of Brown Creek 3 in southwestern Victoria. The aim of the study was to investigate Aboriginal coastal resource selection in the region. This was achieved by combining both an archaeological faunal analysis and a modern nutritional analysis of fresh molluscs from the surrounding area, which examined total quantity of fat and the specific fatty acids within the molluscs in addition to 13 important trace elements. Data collected from 16,125 shell fragments suggest that the site was a multi-occupational cultural shell midden dominated by Austromytilus rostratus (beaked mussel) shell, whilst the nutritional analysis concluded that the molluscs are low in fat, but the quality of this fat is high. Trace element analysis determined that these shellfish contain high levels of magnesium, zinc, sodium, and iron, meaning that they would easily satisfy basic human nutritional requirements for the inhabitants of the midden if consumed in large quantities. This would make them desirable resources, especially in consideration of the low-energy expenditure required to collect them. An analysis of ethnographic sources suggests that molluscs were supplemental to a wider and more varied diet, rather than the sole sources of nutrition, but were probably culturally and nutritionally significant resources for women and children.

Warning Aboriginal and Torres Strait readers of this article are warned that it may contain images of ancestral remains. Compiling a history of archaeology is critical for evaluating, understanding and contextualising the current state of the discipline. While oral histories provide vivid accounts of people, events and decisions from sources with direct relationships to these moments in time, they have played a limited role in building historical narratives of archaeology as a discipline. A moderated conversation between Emeritus Professors David Frankel and Jim Allen and Professor Susan Lawrence on the early and more recent history of archaeology at La Trobe University, Melbourne, held during the university’s 50th anniversary celebrations in 2017, provides a glimpse of the discipline’s past, present and future in Australia. This paper presents the key themes and topics from this conversation with accompanying excerpts, providing an important case study of how oral history can assis...

Each year, the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM) receives numerous reports of potential human (Homo sapiens) skeletal remains from the police who obtain information from archaeologists, the public and various other sources. In the majority of cases, a forensic anthropological analysis concludes that the material comprises non-human (i.e. animal) skeletal remains, rather than those derived from a human. As non-human skeletal remains are not of medico-legal significance, the species and elements are not usually identified and it is not necessary to retain this material. A collaborative project was developed between the VIFM and La Trobe University, involving a detailed faunal analysis of non-human skeletal remains admitted to the VIFM between 2005 and mid-2015 to identify patterning in the species, element and context of bones mistaken for human skeletal remains. Preliminary results indicate that a variety of animal taxa, both native and introduced, are admitted to the VIFM, as well as a range of anatomical parts.

Sarcoptic mange, caused by the parasitic mite , causes a substantive burden of disease to humans, domestic animals and wildlife, globally. There are many effects of infection, culminating in the disease which hosts suffer. However, major knowledge gaps remain on the pathogenic impacts of this infection. Here, we focus on the bare-nosed wombat host () to investigate the effects of mange on: (i) host heat loss and thermoregulation, (ii) field metabolic rates, (iii) foraging and resting behaviour across full circadian cycles, and (iv) fatty acid composition in host adipose, bone marrow, brain and muscle tissues. Our findings indicate that mange-infected lose more heat to the environment from alopecia-affected body regions than healthy individuals. Additionally, mange-infected individuals have higher metabolic rates in the wild. However, these metabolic demands are difficult to meet, because infected individuals spend less time foraging and more time inactive relative to their healthy c...

The aim of the Kutikina Cave faunal project is to analyse the animal remains excavated in 1981 by Rhys Jones and Kevin Kiernan. Kutikina Cave (formerly Fraser Cave) is located on the east bank of the Franklin River in south-western Tasmania (Figure 1). Radiocarbon dates (Kiernan et al. 1983: table 1; Figure 2) indicate it was occupied during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) between 15 000 and 20 000 years BP. It was estimated that 75 000 stone artefacts and 250 000 bone fragments were collected from the approximately 0.67 cubic metres excavated (Kiernan et al. 1983). This was thought to represent only about 1% of the entire artefact-bearing deposit in Kutikina, making it one of Australia's richest archaeological sites. [FIGURES 1-2 OMITTED] When Jones excavated Kutikina, he saw immediate parallels between the most southerly population on earth during the LGM in south-western Tasmania, and northern hemisphere Ice Age communities. In particular, he argued that the inhabitants of Kutikina Cave had a tight targetting strategy that concentrated primarily on the Bennett's Wallaby, Macropus rufogriseus (Kiernan et al. 1983). These initial observations resulted in more than a decade of concentrated fieldwork in south-western Tasmania predominantly under the umbrella of the Southern Forests Archaeological Project (SFAP) (Allen 1996; Cosgrove & Allen 2001), producing the most complete regional sequence of late Pleistocene archaeology in Australia. The only faunal analysis of the Kutikina material to date has been an unpublished preliminary report by Geering (1983), who sampled a portion of the collection. Geering's analysis considered only mandibles and maxillae for Minimum Number of Individual (MNI) calculations for all species, and recorded only post-cranial (excluding phalanges, metatarsals, sternum, vertebrae and ribs) for wallaby and wombat. This report is therefore the first complete and formal analysis of the faunal material from Kutikina Cave, approximately 25 years after it was excavated. It should be noted that the faunal material discussed here deals only with that held by the Tasmanian Department of Tourism, Parks, Heritage and the Arts, and does not include selected faunal material retained by Jones at the Australian National University in Canberra. This material has recently been returned to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG), Hobart. Access to this collection will soon be possible, allowing a complete analysis of Kutikina fauna. Excavation Kutikina is a large cave, with the main chamber more than 12 metres wide, almost 20 metres long, and 5 metres high, with the floor rising in 700 mm high banks littered with stone tools and burnt artefacts on three sides (Jones 1987). The excavation was made in one of these banks that provided a natural cross-section, and measured 1 metre wide and 1.3 metres deep. All material was wet-sieved using a three mm-mesh sieve, with all stone, bone, charcoal and other artefacts collected (Kiernan et al. 1983). According to the original excavation field notes, and after study of the faunal collection, it was deduced that the majority of material was collected in two distinct halves within the excavation: north-west (NW) and south-west (SW) cells. Where material was scarce (i.e. Spits 7, 17 to 21, and 23), it was excavated in one distinct unit, with no faunal material collected from Spits 16 or 22 (Figure 2). Kiernan et al. (1983) recognised three stratigraphic units, each representing distinctive periods: approximately 15 to 16 000 years (Surface to Spit 9); approximately 16 to 20 000 years (Spits 10 to 19); and pre-20 000 years (Spits 20 to 23) (Figure 2). For the remainder of this report, the Kutikina collection will be considered in these three units. For all other information concerning the excavation, refer to Kiernan et al. (1983). Kutikina faunal analysis To provide continuity in the analysis of the Kutikina faunal collection with those in other late Pleistocene Tasmanian sites, the general attributes recorded during the SFAP (Allen 1996) were used. …

Abstract The Central Murray River Valley in northwest Victoria contains a rich and diverse archaeological history spanning the last 20,000 years, which has the potential to help inform on past human behaviour and subsistence strategies. In particular, freshwater shell middens are important as they can provide information about the local aquatic economy, and the role of these molluscs in the diet of Aboriginal hunter–gatherers. Many of the middens in the region consist of thin temporal horizons while being laterally expansive in size (some measuring up to 400 m in length). These middens are dominated by two aquatic molluscs: the river mussel Alathyria jacksoni and the river snail Notopala sublineata . However whilst it is generally accepted that Alathyria jacksoni was a common human prey species, it is thought that the smaller gastropod Notopala sublineata was collected accidentally as by-catch and was not economically important. To investigate, two spatially and temporally distinct middens from different land-systems spanning the late Pleistocene to the late Holocene were studied to look at the variety and size of mollusc species. To supplement the archaeological record, the potential economic and nutritional quality of the bivalve Alathyria jacksoni was investigated. The nutritional results indicate that while Alathyria are low in fat (but are good sources of omega 3- and 6-fatty acids), they are high in protein and calorific energy (kj), and are excellent sources of magnesium (Mg), Iron (Fe), Sodium (Na) and Zinc (Zn). These results coupled with the modern behavioural ecology of these freshwater molluscs, as well as ethnographic and modern cooking experiments, help identify human foraging and subsistence strategies in this region. Results indicate that despite earlier ideas, the river snail Notopala sublineata was an important economic aquatic resource during the late Pleistocene and Holocene.

... View Within Article. Ichnofossils in the Snowy Plains Formation were first noted by Sweet (1889) while searching for vertebrate fossils. He mentioned bilobed pittings and fucoids or worm castings on Fish Hill (formally known as Tannery Paddock, Fig. ...

Sarcoptic mange, caused by the parasitic mite <i>Sarcoptes scabiei</i>, causes a substantive burden of disease to humans, domestic animals and wildlife, globally. There are many effects of <i>S. scabiei</i> infection, culminating in the disease which hosts suffer. However, major knowledge gaps remain on the pathogenic impacts of this infection. Here, we focus on the bare-nosed wombat host (<i>Vombatus ursinus</i>) to investigate the effects of mange on: (i) host heat loss and thermoregulation, (ii) field metabolic rates, (iii) foraging and resting behaviour across full circadian cycles and (iv) fatty acid composition in host adipose, bone marrow, brain and muscle tissues. Our findings indicate that mange-infected <i>V. ursinus</i> lose more heat to the environment from alopecia-affected body regions than healthy individuals. Additionally, mange-infected individuals have higher metabolic rates in the wild. However, these metabolic demands are difficult to meet, because infected individuals spend less time foraging and more time inactive relative to their healthy counterparts, despite being outside of the burrow for longer. Lastly, mange infection results in altered fatty acid composition in adipose tissue, with increased amounts of omega-6 acids, and decreased amounts of omega-3 acids, a consequence of chronic cutaneous inflammation and inhibition of anti-inflammatory responses. These findings highlight the interactions of mange-induced physiological and behavioural changes, and have implications for the treatment and rehabilitation of infected individuals.

Review(s) of: Pleistocene Geology, Palaeontology and Archaeology of the Soa Basin, Central Flores, Indonesia, by F. Aziz, M.J. Morwood and G.D. van den Bergh (eds), Special Publication 36, Pusat Survei Geologi, Badan Geologi, Departemen Energi dan Sumber Daya Mineral, Bandung, 2009, iv+146pp, ISSN 0582-873X. Includes references.

Our knowledge of past animal populations, including the geographical ranges of extinct species, has largely been derived from morphological analyses of skeletal fossil remains. However, a major barrier to the identification of the remains of extinct megafaunal species in archaeological and palaeontological sites is the highly fragmented nature of the material, which often precludes confident taxonomic identifications based on morphology. Biomolecular techniques are able to go beyond these limitations and are increasingly being used to make such identifications. Protein analysis offers a promising alternative to DNA techniques because they can be much cheaper, more amenable to high-throughput processing and work on much older specimens. Here we demonstrate the potential of collagen fingerprinting in an Australian context by extracting collagen from 50-ka kangaroo fossils from two caves in Tasmania, and identify several species including the extinct short-faced kangaroo Simosthenurus occidentalis. Importantly, of the five fossil bones sampled that had hitherto been ascribed morphology-based identifications below the family level, three had been incorrectly identified during an initial assessment of photographs taken in the field. Our results highlight the utility of using protein-based methods for making genus-level identification of marsupial bone, especially those that may form a basis for broader arguments such as that of late-surviving megafaunal species.

Detailed research into marsupial behavioural ecology and modelling of past Aboriginal exploitation of terrestrial fauna has been scarce. Poor bone preservation is one limiting factor in Australian archaeological sites, but so has been the lack of research concerning the ecology and physiology of Australia’s endemic fauna. Much research has focused on marine and fresh-water shell-fish found in coastal and inland midden sites. Detailed studies into areas such as seasonality of past human occupation and nutritional returns from terrestrial prey species have not had the same attention. This chapter reviews the current level of published Australian research into two aspects of faunal studies, seasonality and nutrition. It describes the patterns from well-researched faunal data excavated from the Ice Age sites in southwest Tasmania. Concentration is on the vertebrate fauna found in seven limestone cave sites to examine any temporal changes to seasonal butchery and identify any differences...

A pilot study on the fatty acid composition of the bone marrow, brain tissue and muscle (flesh) of the medium-sized marsupial the Bennett’s wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus), aimed to explore the mechanisms behind the dominance of this human prey species in late Pleistocene southwest Tasmania. In particular it was designed to investigate why humans frequently selected and transported the wallaby hindquarters,

ABSTRACT New material of the Australian Lower Carboniferous rhizodontid Barameda provides additional information on poorly known aspects of rhizodontid anatomy, including the braincase and branchial arches, and indicates that two species of Barameda are present in the Mansfield Group, a larger poorly ossified species, B. decipiens, and a new species, Barameda mitchelli n. sp. based on the smaller well ossified specimens previously assigned to B. decipiens. Unusually, in a new pectoral fin specimen assigned to B. decipiens, the ...

The reasons for megafaunal extinction in Australia have been hotly debated for over 30 years without any clear resolution. The proposed causes include human overkill, climate, anthropogenic induced habitat change or a combination of these. Most protagonists of the human overkill model suggest the impact was so swift, occurring within a few thousand years of human occupation of the continent, that archaeological evidence should be rare or non-existent. In Tasmania the presence of extinct megafauna has been known since the early twentieth century (Noetling, 1912; Scott, 1911, 1915) with earlier claims of human overlap being rejected because of poor chronology and equivocal stratigraphic associations. More recent archaeological research has not identified any megafauna from the earliest, exceptionally well-preserved late Pleistocene cultural sites. In 2008 however an argument for human induced megafaunal extinctions was proposed using the direct dates from a small sample of surface bon...

... Wales, the Archaeology Program at La Trobe University and the Australian Research Council. ... recorded include dead chickens and personal items such as gloves, old clothing and ... The precise meanings of these concealed objects remains unclear and may have varied widely ...

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A new specimen of the Early Carboniferous actinopterygian Novogonatodus kasantsevae Long 1988 from the Devil’s Plain Formation, Mansfield Basin, Victoria is described. Previously undescribed elements of the skull, both dorsal and anterior to the orbit, as well as dorsal ridge scales, are shown for the first time. Novogonatodus kasantsevae shows many plesiomorphic characters, including an elongated T-shaped dermosphenotic, contact between the nasals and dermosphenotics, a small quadratojugal and three extrascapular bones. Apomorphies present include small postparietals and lack of intertemporals and supratemporals. The previous assignment to the Family Gonatodidae Gardiner 1967 is no longer supported as most of the characters defining the family are widespread features developed within several lineages of basal actinopterygians. Hence, Novogonatodus kasantsevae is regarded as a plesiomorphic actinopterygian more derived in the scheme of Cloutier and Arratia (2004a) than the clade con...

This paper provides a summary of a 2015 Honours project that examined changes in shell abundance and taxa within a faunal assemblage from the Late Holocene marine shell midden of Brown Creek 3 in southwestern Victoria. The aim of the study was to investigate Aboriginal coastal resource selection in the region. This was achieved by combining both an archaeological faunal analysis and a modern nutritional analysis of fresh molluscs from the surrounding area, which examined total quantity of fat and the specific fatty acids within the molluscs in addition to 13 important trace elements. Data collected from 16,125 shell fragments suggest that the site was a multi-occupational cultural shell midden dominated by Austromytilus rostratus (beaked mussel) shell, whilst the nutritional analysis concluded that the molluscs are low in fat, but the quality of this fat is high. Trace element analysis determined that these shellfish contain high levels of magnesium, zinc, sodium, and iron, meaning that they would easily satisfy basic human nutritional requirements for the inhabitants of the midden if consumed in large quantities. This would make them desirable resources, especially in consideration of the low-energy expenditure required to collect them. An analysis of ethnographic sources suggests that molluscs were supplemental to a wider and more varied diet, rather than the sole sources of nutrition, but were probably culturally and nutritionally significant resources for women and children.

Each year, the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM) receives numerous reports of potential human (Homo sapiens) skeletal remains from the police who obtain information from archaeologists, the public and various other sources. In the majority of cases, a forensic anthropological analysis concludes that the material comprises non-human (i.e. animal) skeletal remains, rather than those derived from a human. As non-human skeletal remains are not of medico-legal significance, the species and elements are not usually identified and it is not necessary to retain this material.

A collaborative project was developed between the VIFM and La Trobe University, involving a detailed faunal analysis of non-human skeletal remains admitted to the VIFM between 2005 and mid-2015 to identify patterning in the species, element and context of bones mistaken for human skeletal remains. Preliminary results indicate that a variety of animal taxa, both native and introduced, are admitted to the VIFM, as well as a range of anatomical parts.

The application of behavioural ecology models to deep time archaeological sites in Australia is often rendered difficult by the poor resolution of the archaeological record coupled with the imprecision in reconstructing past environments at regional levels. Here we report on a series of high latitude late Pleistocene sites in southwest Tasmania, where the conjunction of cultural activities and long term environmental change have preserved rich deposits in a number of cave sites. These data are used to test the utility of several models within optimal foraging theory. The data indicate the intensive and selective pursuit of two mid-size mammals, the Bennett's wallaby and the wombat, at the expense of other prey species that were also likely present. Hunting patterns involved the scheduled seasonal use of lowland and upland valley sites underwriting a regional strategy of moving between focal hunting locations to maximise returns. This strategy continued with little change from c. 40,000 BP to 15,000 BP, providing a stable, predictable and secure food source for people through a period of extreme climatic change. The benefits and limitations of the behavioural ecology models used in this study indicate their utility where the data are sufficiently robust.

The Murray River has been an important lifeline for people
in the otherwise semi-arid Mallee for the last 20,000 years.
Evidence for this significance is easy to see with the high
density of Aboriginal places along the main river channel
and its tributaries, with one of the most obvious and
common place types being freshwater shell middens. Despite
their abundance, little is known about these middens and
the food economy and subsistence strategies used by people
to survive environmental and climatic changes during the
late Quaternary. This paper discusses the archaeological
importance of these middens, but more importantly the
cultural significance to the Traditional Owners, both past
and present.
This paper was first presented at the 2014 Australian
Archaeological Association Conference in Cairns. However,
we felt it was important to present this work at the 2015
Victorian Archaeology Colloquium to highlight this rich
cultural landscape in northwestern Victoria, but also as
a reminder that while archaeologists are concerned with
identifying and recording ‘sites’, these ‘sites’ have personal
significance for the local Indigenous community.