Devil's Lair, located in western Australia, has been the site for many Archaeological surveys. In the last twenty to thirty years it has been an area of many discoveries. Devil's Lair is a cave, so it was a logical place for many mammals to go to for shelter. The cave was so called because bones of the extinct Tasmanian Devil were found there.
Baynes, Merrilees, and Porter excavated Devil's Lair from 1972-1973. They identified some 35 mammalian species, ten of which are now extinct. Some of the bone fragments were charred, which suggests they were discarded from camp fires. Judging by the size and weight of the bones, many of the animals were relatively large. Some bones also showed evidence that they were used as tools, mainly for eating.
Balme, Merrilees, and Porter excavated Devil's Lair from 1973-1976. During this time they discovered over 20,000 specimens of bone from such animals as birds, reptiles, amphibians and even fish. In 1975 remains were found from the upper level of the Pleistocene era.
Balme discovered more artifacts inside Devil's Lair. He discovered remains of five extinct mammalian taxa. His discovery was later questioned due to the fact that the species he found were covered with cemented sand. This then indicates reworking of bone from an even older bone deposit. It raised the question of whether Balme found an extinct mammal or just artifacts from the lower levels of the Lair.
In April of 1976 Allbrook discovered what appeared to be a human pelvis. Judging by the deposits, the pelvis dated as far back as 12,000 years BP. After studying the pelvis, researchers were able to make other assertions, such as it was a male pelvis and he died of old age.
In order to really get an understanding of the cave we have to get a small idea of the culture that lived within its walls. Their main food source is thought to be megafauna such as the giant kangaroos. Aside from what they ate, there is also evidence from the limestone cave that the Australians made weapons using bones and decorated themselves with beads, indicating a concern for issues other than survival.
It has been discovered that the many incredible rock formations in Devil’s Lair have been dated to approximately 35,000 years ago. The cave wall markings may be the oldest rock art on the continent.
Devil's Lair has been a popular site for archaeological research for the last twenty or more years. There have even been some surveys around the Devil's Lair in order to increase the findings of artifacts related to extinct mammals. Due to the fact that Devil’s Lair was and still is subject to frequent surges from the ocean, it is often hard to get to.
Additional Information:
Note . . . this information is from the site mentioned below. The information given has been rewritten for easier comprehension. Visit the site for exact terminology.
1. “An apparent association of artifacts and extinct fauna at Devil's Lair, Western Australia”(1978)
The remains of sixteen mammals are found, five of which are now extinct, and eleven are now locally extirpated from the Cape Leeuwin-Cape Naturaliste region.
2. “Artificial bias in a sample of kangaroo incisors from Devil's Lair, Western Australia” (1979)
Numbers of lower or upper incisors of the Western Grey kangaroo, Western brush wallaby, brush tailed possum, common ringtail are found much lower then expected (when compared with numbers of other teeth of the same species in the area) in Devil's Lair. It is thought that the discrepancies in numbers of teeth from the Western Grey kangaroo, and the western brush wallaby may be the result of misidentification and/or preservation. The occupants of Devil’s Lair most likely attribute the absence of lower incisors of Western Grey kangaroo and Western brush wallaby to use of lower incisors as tool material.
3. “An analysis of the charred bone from Devil's Lair, Western Australia”(1980)
It is thought that Charred bone might have been incorporated into the deposits of Devil's Lair by natural bush fires and/or by natural human activity. The significant correlation’s between charred bone and bone artifacts in the deposits, and the uneven distribution of charring across animal species, suggests that this bone is cultural in origin. Several species which show little charring but which appear only in cultural levels of the deposits were probably also deposited by people.
4. “Some archaeological studies on a bone accumulation from Devil's Lair, Western Australia”(1980)
“Although it is not possible to identify whether individual bone fragments have been accumulated by humans or by other means, it is nevertheless possible to obtain from the faunal remains, diverse information about the human occupants of Devil's Lair cave. A brief summary of recent work on the faunal remains was presented, focusing upon changes through time in the species present, food preference of the human occupants of the cave and disparities in the numbers of skeletal elements of some mammals."
5. “An 8,000 to 12,000 years old human tooth from Western Australia”(1968)
A single human tooth was discovered among finds recovered during paleontological research at Devil's Lair dating to approximately 8,500 and 12,175 years BP.
6. “A possible pendant of marl from Devil's Lair, Western Australia” (1980)
A perforated fragment of marl recovered from part of the Devil's Lair cave deposit radiocarbon dated 12000 to 19000 BP is thought to be an ornamental pendant. If so, it is the oldest known example of this Australian artifact class and suggests that occupants of the cave were capable of making and wearing perforated stone pendants.
“Object of interest from Devil’s Lair is a perforated fragment of soft marl in the shape of a bird’s head, also dated to 15,000 years b.p. The perforation, which may be either natural or artificial, could have had a couple of functions:
Considering the scarcity of Pleistocene sites and data, it is no wonder that ascertaining the specific meanings of cultural relics has proved such a puzzle.”
7. A Sedimentological study of Devil's Lair, Western Australia (1978)
Sedimentological analyses of deposits excavated during 1970 and 1974 at Devil’s Lair are presented. Grain size distributions and chemical composition support the interpretation that sediment accumulated in intermittent episodes, probably transported into the cave by water.
No. 14: Late Pleistocene Archaeological Sites in Australia, New Guinea and
The remains of five mammalian taxa now extinct, and eleven taxa now locally extirpated from the Cape Lee.
http://members.tripod.com/citrusking/anthro/australia.htm
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Greg Hilger, Andrea Kielbasa