Abstract
[Truncated] North West Cape is the most north westerly point of the Australian
continent. It forms the tip of the narrow Cape Range Peninsula, a
finger of land which stretches out into the Indian Ocean on the
western extremity of the Australian arid zone. Cape Range, a
rugged limestone range, forms the backbone of the peninsula. Its
western coast is bordered by Ningaloo reef, and, at a distance of
only 10 km, is the nearest point on the Australian continent to the
edge of the continental shelf.
This unique topographic configuration provides a rare opportunity
to investigate archaeological sites that once related to Pleistocene
shorelines. Even during the height of the arid conditions of the last
glacial period, when sea level was as much as 150 m lower than
present, rockshelters in the western foothills of Cape Range would
never have been more than 10-12 k m from the coast. In addition,
and perhaps most importantly, the limestone environment of Cape
Range has the potential to preserve organic material such as shell
and bone, the archaeological evidence of human adaptation to
Pleistocene coastal environments.
continent. It forms the tip of the narrow Cape Range Peninsula, a
finger of land which stretches out into the Indian Ocean on the
western extremity of the Australian arid zone. Cape Range, a
rugged limestone range, forms the backbone of the peninsula. Its
western coast is bordered by Ningaloo reef, and, at a distance of
only 10 km, is the nearest point on the Australian continent to the
edge of the continental shelf.
This unique topographic configuration provides a rare opportunity
to investigate archaeological sites that once related to Pleistocene
shorelines. Even during the height of the arid conditions of the last
glacial period, when sea level was as much as 150 m lower than
present, rockshelters in the western foothills of Cape Range would
never have been more than 10-12 k m from the coast. In addition,
and perhaps most importantly, the limestone environment of Cape
Range has the potential to preserve organic material such as shell
and bone, the archaeological evidence of human adaptation to
Pleistocene coastal environments.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Qualification | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Awarding Institution |
|
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Unpublished - 1993 |
Take-down notice
- This thesis has been made available in the UWA Profiles and Research Repository as part of a UWA Library project to digitise and make available theses completed before 2003. If you are the author of this thesis and would like it removed from the UWA Profiles and Research Repository, please contact [email protected]