A taphonomic analysis of the faunal assemblage from Yam Camp rockshelter, S.E. Cape York Peninsula

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a taphonomic analysis of a part of the faunal assemblage recovered from Yam Camp shelter, a prehistoric Aboriginal site located on Shepherd creek, a tributary to the Little Laura River, S.E. Cape York Peninsula.  The site was excavated in July 1989 under the directorship of Dr. Mike Morwood, Department of Archaeology and Paleoanthropology, The University of New England.  Some aspects of the archaeology of this site have already been discussed by Morwood (1989; 1990) and Pearson (1989) and a full excavation report will be published in due course.  Due to the extremely fragmented nature of the faunal assemblage, a detailed reconstruction of the taphonomic history was considered necessary prior to the study of economic patterns at the site.