Interpreting the mammal deposits of Cloggs Cave (SE Australia), GunaiKurnai Aboriginal Country, through community-led partnership research

Palaeontological animal bone deposits are rarely investigated through research partnerships where the local First Nations communities have a defining hand in both the research questions asked and the research processes. Here we report research undertaken through such a partnership approach at the iconic archaeological site of Cloggs Cave (GunaiKurnai Country, East Gippsland), in the southern foothills of SE Australia’s Great Dividing Range. A new excavation was combined with detailed chronometric dating, high-resolution 3D mapping, and geomorphological studies. This allowed for the interpretation of a sequence of stratigraphic layers spanning from a lowermost excavated mixed layer dated to between 25,640–48,470 cal BP, to a dense set of uppermost, ash layers dated to between 1460–3360 cal BP. This long and well-dated chronostratigraphic sequence enabled temporal trends in the abundant small mammal remains to be examined. The fossil assemblage consists of at least 31 taxa of mammals whic...古生物骨骼堆积的相关研究极少采用研究合作模式，即让当地第一民族（First Nations）社区主导拟定研究问题并全程把控研究流程。本研究即通过此类合作模式，在澳大利亚东南部大分水岭南部山麓的标志性考古遗址克洛格斯洞穴（Cloggs Cave，GunaiKurnai领地，东吉普斯兰）开展。本次研究结合全新发掘、高精度年代测定、高分辨率三维测绘与地貌学分析，由此得以解析一套完整的年代地层序列：其最下层发掘出土的混合层年代为25640~48470校准距今年（cal BP），最上层的致密火山灰层年代则为1460~3360校准距今年（cal BP）。这套年代跨度完整、定年精准的年代地层序列，使得我们能够系统分析出土海量小型哺乳动物遗骸的时间演化趋势。该化石组合至少包含31个哺乳动物分类单元，原文描述未完整呈现。