00:00.00 ALEX And we are back with archae animalsal the podcasts all about zooaraeology and today we've been talking about the zoo archaeology of Oceania and as always we are at. The allegedly best part of the show the case studies and I think we are going to start with the zoo archeology of rappa newi also known by some people as Easter Island now rapaui is probably most and known for the moai which are these series of giant monolithic statues humans that are actually made primarily from volcanic ash and although in popular culture people have referred to them as. You know the easter island heads excavations have actually shown that most of the statues are of predominantly full bodies. They're not just the heads now rapa nui is kind of the center of a lot of debate. With regards to the potential ecological and socio-cultural collapse of the polynesian inhabitants prior to the arrival of european colonists again, kind of that theme of the importance of conservation and using the oceanic. Regions as kind of sites of a lot of scientific analysis and you know projects centering this idea of looking at biodiverity and conservation. So rapanui has always kind of been seen as this. Center potentially of a past example of ecological collapse. However, it should be noted that environmental archeology has shown that mass deforestation definitely occurred at some point in the past. 04:13.92 ALEX Interestingly one of the the theories for why deforestation deforestation may have occurred is actually centered on the arrival of an invasive species. The Pacific rat. 02:22.30 S_ Granarius And Ratus excellence. 04:51.60 ALEX Thank you who were originally brought over by the polynesians and was thought to have aided in this rapid deforation through devouring the nuts from the rapa Newi pump. 03:06.95 S_ Granarius Paska Lococo dispeta. 05:35.82 ALEX Always knowing your cue and that was a a I am proud and that was a plant name too which I don't think we've actually done so exciting. 03:18.33 S_ Granarius Ah, are you proud. Are you proud of me. 03:40.19 S_ Granarius Welcome Welcome to occup plans. 06:18.58 ALEX Archeobotany anyway, um archeoplansia I I said archebotany and then realized well our podcast isn't called ZoArcheology so why would I say that? ah. 03:57.41 S_ Granarius All your plans. 04:21.89 S_ Granarius Um, will be ah welcome to a you welcome to Aa zoo just because he does kill. 06:49.76 ALEX And long day folks. 06:58.94 ALEX Well there is you know there are many places in the world where it's called Archaeozoology which sounds wrong. Sorry folks. 04:57.89 S_ Granarius It will arc your zoo I think it you'll catch the mood because that this show does feel like a zoo a lot of the times. 07:34.98 ALEX Yeah, and the animals are loose baby anyway to get back to the case study. Um, the so the Pacific Rat potentially. 05:21.87 S_ Granarius But but. 08:08.28 ALEX May have aided in deforestation because it just devoured the nuts from the rappa newi palm leaving none for actual regrowth. However, revaluation of the evidence which I believe most of the evidence has been kind of ta economic in nature. It's not It's a little doubt of that being the main reason and um, you know there's also in general kind of doubt as to whether or not the kind of collapse is as massive as people make it out to be so you know unsurprisingly. Kind of mo on from that the isotopic analysis of he memains from rabaui has indicated that you know of course more or at least none their diet of the prehistoric inhabitants was marine based and again they were on an island. So not that surprising. Although there's a fair amount that was also based on you know root but crops and things like that. So not just marine food but a good portion for sure and chickens were also consumed having been introduced to the island by the polynesians now. Rapanoi itself is actually a really interesting example of introduced species in a relatively isolated space and I think that's why the debate over the potential collapse has become so heated. As many who argue that there was a massive ecological and sociocultural class often use rapanui as a case study due to these kind of unique characteristics that it's it's isolated that's populated by many invasive species that there's evidence of deforestation. And all that. Ah, but there's been more evidence coming up, especially in the last couple years that suggests that despite all this deforestation there wasn't as much of a dramatic collapse as it was like the theorize so you know that the debate just to. Continues and this is just a little thing I wanted to bring up because I've realized I don't think we've we really don't talk about turtles. But yeah, with regards to animal symbolism sea turtles were actually. Probably a very important part of prehistoric rappanui culture as turtle bones have been found buried alongside human remains. They've been used as ah, a motif in various artworks that have been found and it was actually a pretty important important component to ornamental wire. 13:39.24 ALEX So I think we got to talk about turtles more. 11:23.29 S_ Granarius Of people are interested. We could do a whole episode on turtles. Why not be 1 hour of turtles. 14:16.58 ALEX If you're interested as always let us know because I don't think we we really haven't covered you know reptiles and Amphibians and little things like that. 12:20.55 S_ Granarius But we really haven't we really should the reptiles Amphibians Ah to fair would we? um, um, would we cover insects so that they are animals. 15:16.44 ALEX But we've talked about the grain weevil. 13:01.59 S_ Granarius If but leave poor general Citophilus Carnna you alone is resting. He's had a hard week thieving your grain. 15:48.88 ALEX No, you're right I mean again, we kind of talk a lot about what we know and I mean that's why this miniseries has been a great excuse for us to kind of get out of our our comfort zone and talk about loads of species that we really don't talk about at all. Unless it's a species that the Romans took back with them which to be fair was a lot so not as much not as much that we haven't talked about maybe than we thought but still. 14:23.89 S_ Granarius Yeah, no you, it'll be good. It's something I'll definitely be covering in the future. Also so because these um ah these species like particularly amphibians and reptiles so they have such sort of niche ah environments that they live in that they're very helpful. For pale environmental reconstruction which is something else. We should cover. But um I guess in enough of our things we should cover and back to things that we have already planned to cover our None case study um is the zoo archeology of couldie springs um couldi springs Australia it's a pleistocene site to located in New South Wales um and now like ah technically we're pushing a little bit into paleontology here as the site is probably most well known. Ah for being ah more one of the most renowned sites in Australia. Given the representation of extinct Bega fauna. Um, that wasn'tcovered from these from the context there now there's going to be ah a series of mouthfuls because ah, there's a lot of species names in this I think Alex wishes to test me. Ah so the makeup. I found a bit included but is not limited to Macropus Giganteos Ti 10 an extinct species of Kangaroo that is the likely ancestor of Macropus Giganteos the grey kangaroo kenardis not toni. Also known as the thunder the birdr or mihiunng which was a giant extinct bird species thebratoon a giant marsupio is closest living ancestor probably going to be wombats and koalas theurru and the Soni another extinct kangaroo species. But copter on another extinct Kangaroo Jesus and put them to them. Okay, not a kangaroo but another extinct marsup your mega fauna just kind of similar to wallabies and the palludires formerly known as. Polymonaros but has recently been categorized since twenty ten twenty twenty due to a evaluation of their taxonomy this being an extinct jesus genus of Kagan Nu Crocodile giant crocodile although itscalations were none. 21:27.98 ALEX Um, just. 19:19.55 S_ Granarius Ah started. Ah, Thank you.? Thank you far too kind. Thank you? Um, although Excavations ah Couldie Springs were None mounted by Europeans in the late None century Aboriginal dream time stories regarding the fossils found at the site had already been noted. These findings. However, at least added further confirmation to the connections to the land and then later archeological research on the taking of the site has been done in collaborations with local ah but aboriginal communities. Ah, perhaps the most important um thing recovered at the site. Ah, or the the most important bit of evidence is that flaked stone tools were found in situ alongside the remains of the Mega fauna which just led to the debate of whether or not Couldy Springs Represents proof of human like slash Megafauna coexistence ah interaction. Which in a way makes it archaeological and hence why it is here there you go Boom Um I mean Archaeologists did originally who originally excavated the site did theorize that it was once a site of human occupation in the late pleistocene where Megafauna would have been utilized as a resource. So something I'll be more interesting to hear about in the future as Well. Um, well because there are as you So as you may suspect again. Another one of the running themes. Um, there are arguments against this ah theory of human animal interruption that are mostly based on sort of. Interpretation of stradigraphy. Yeah Matrices So the debate continues because the collective Noun for archaeologists should be an argument. 25:20.96 ALEX Yeah, no, you're right I mean of course it's archeologists who their main argument would be based on strap to graphical interpretation which to be fair, still hurts my brain sometimes to look at a Harris Matrix And. Think about that So don't blame him really. 23:38.83 S_ Granarius Ah, ah no I ah know I love me a good Harris Matrix just give me recuts and just integrating features and just oh no I like me a good matrix. 26:20.26 ALEX I'm sorry you're a freak. No so. How would you? what are your feelings about this debate. Do You think it has merit. Obviously we're not looking at the Harris Matrix himself. But. 24:36.71 S_ Granarius That's the thing that it is hard to tell without looking at the matrix as I mean if the um the megafauna is found in the same context as the lithic. But then again, ah. I Don't know because that's also something that's outside of my expertise because you wouldn't have sort of the matrices as I know them because we're talking about ah ah that sort of appear site far removed into prehistory which of course won't have any archaeological features as we know them sort of even in later Prehistory. Of course there wouldn't have been there would have been little to no farming at the time so there wouldn't be formal like negative features as we know them. So Probably even if I looked at the matrix. Oh that Oh that would be a a head scratcher. 28:28.34 ALEX You sound like your brain. Yeah, you're selling your brain's melting a bit thinking it through I mean. 26:28.90 S_ Granarius Yeah, because of course like the None thing about its prehistoric sites I mean normally that you would identify there. You go down through the horizons be like oh flint's scatter. Um, of course it's not what you tend to find in sights from sort of the but not necessarily the later pre historic period but going into the neolithics sort of with the. Ah, introduction um of agriculture and it becoming widespread as a sustenance strategy you tend to find sort of what are known as the negative features of people sort of purposely digging into the ground whether it is for a rubbish pit or whether it's for. 30:00.68 ALEX So. 27:39.95 S_ Granarius Ah, boundary ditch a variety of like drainage ditches and cultivation systems all like dwellings of which like more often than not, You won't get the dwelling per se because they'll be made at a timber and usually won't preserve very well but you might get sort of the drainage guie going around the building because something as early as that you. Not going to get much in the way of that. 30:51.66 ALEX Um, think you're spiraling are you? okay. 28:37.47 S_ Granarius But it's an argument on our tell this. So yeah, your men to spiral debate talk discuss. 31:18.52 ALEX Yeah, know it's um, yeah, it's one of those things where if you think too hard about it. Your brain starts going into pretzels trying to to argue around itself. It's one of those things where I do like the big questions. Sometimes this isn't even a big question. It's it's about stetigraphy. But even Then. Hurts my brain sometimes to think about it. 29:43.91 S_ Granarius I Can I say send us matrices for faith. 32:14.82 ALEX Please don't please don't send us matrices I don't want to see them send them to simona. 30:03.69 S_ Granarius Yeah, or send them to Tristan. 32:43.12 ALEX He's been through enough anyway. Um I promise you we will not do an episode on matrices. Maybe that will be a bonus episode Simona does by herself where she just talks about matrices and how much she loves them. And I stay as far away from that recording as possible and I think we have reached the end of the episode when we're talking this long about Harris Matrices so as always, you can find us wherever you get your podcasts. So while you're there. You know, tell your friends to follow or subscribe to us leave a review because that always helps us out. You can also find us at Http://archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/animals when you're over there think about becoming a member that supports all of us and there's loads of shows on the network of all different archaeologists who are are funnier and smarter than us and you can listen to them instead. Although I guess we are uniquely funny and smart. We talk about Harris Matrices and follow us on Twitter at archaeo animals. Let us know if for some weird reason you want an episode on Harris Matrices I won't do it but hey maybe Simona will and I think that's it. 33:15.10 S_ Granarius If see you next time. 35:44.64 ALEX See ah.