Hay Cave (SU3)
Basic information
Sample name: Hay Cave (SU3)

Reference: H. Lourandos, B. David, N. Roche, C. Rowe, A. Holden, and S. J. Clarke. 2012. Hay Cave: A 30 000 year cultural sequence from the Mitchell-Palmer limestone zone, north Queensland, Australia. In Peopled landscapes: archaeological and biogeographic approaches to landscapes (eds. S. Haberle, B. David), pp. 27-63 [ER 3683]
Geography
Country: Australia

State: Queensland


Coordinate: 16° 6' S, 144° 7' E
Coordinate basis: stated in text

Time interval: Late Pleistocene

Max Ma: 0.032

Min Ma: 0.02324

Age basis: radiocarbon (uncalibrated)

Geography comments: "Hay Cave is a large limestone cave positioned between the Mitchell and Palmer rivers, towards the northern limits of the Mitchell-Palmer limestone belt, 140 km west of the eastern Australian coastline" in Far-North Queensland.
Stratigraphic Unit 3 (SU3) contains the deepest excavated levels, with a near-basal date of 29,700 ± 1100 BP from XU60. The three deeper excavation units were likely deposited from around 32,000 years ago. The upper boundary layer of SU3 has a radiocarbon date of 23,240 ± 320 BP.

Environment
Lithology: limestone

Taphonomic context: cave

Archaeology: stone tools

Habitat comments: The lowermost stratigraphic unit (SU3) is highly compact and clayey. It is culturally sterile compared to the upper units, with no stratigraphic evidence of hearths, although several flaked stone artefacts were present.
The few stone artefacts suggest overall low levels of site use during this time.

Methods
Life forms: rodents,other large mammals,other small mammals

Sampling methods: quarry,screenwash

Sample size: 105 specimens

Years: 1996

Sampling comments: Archaeological excavations were undertaken in 1996.
"Four juxtaposed 50 x 50 cm squares were excavated, the deepest of which (M30) was removed in 63 Excavation Units (XU) of mean 2.0 cm thickness and following Stratigraphic Units (SU) where visible".
"All sediments were sieved in 3 mm mesh sieves".

Metadata
Sample number: 3848

Contributor: Benjamin Carter

Enterer: Benjamin Carter

Created: 2022-01-18 13:03:49

Modified: 2022-01-18 06:01:06

Abundance distribution
18 species
10 singletons
total count 105
geometric series index: 56.4
Fisher's α: 6.253
geometric series k: 0.7954
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.7098
Shannon's H: 1.7810
Good's u: 0.9053
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
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Notamacropus agilis114 kg browser-grazer
"Macropus agilis"
Notamacropus parryi5
"Macropus parryi"
Osphranter robustus114 kg
"Macropus robustus"
Petrogale sp.49
also 25 Macropodidae indet.
Petaurus norfolcensis2
Isoodon macrourus170.3 g
Bettongia tropica1
Phascogale tapoatafa1
also 1 Phascogale sp. and 2 Dasyuridae indet.
Sminthopsis murina1
Conilurus penicillatus6
Mesembriomys gouldii1
Uromys caudimaculatus1
Rattus tunneyi2
also 13 Rattus sp.
Melomys burtoni3
Zyzomys argurus1
Pseudomys gracilicaudatus26
Pseudomys patrius1
Pseudomys sp.2
"sp. 1"; also 156 Muridae indet.