Using foraminifera to distinguish between natural and cultural shell deposits in coastal eastern Australia

Abstract

Foraminifera are single cell protozoa that are ubiquitous in marine environments. Although the hard casings, or tests, of foraminifera are routinely studied in the earth sciences, they have been little studied by archaeologists, despite their potential to contribute to understandings of coastal site formation processes and palaeoenvironments. In this study techniques and methods of foraminiferal analysis are developed and applied to the problem of distinguishing between natural and cultural marine shell deposits, using the Mort Creek Site Complex, central Queensland, Australia, as a case study. Results allow separation of natural and cultural deposits based on foraminiferal density. Natural deposits were found to have >1000 foraminifera per 100 g of sediment, while cultural deposits exhibited <50 foraminifera per 100 g of sediment. Results allow us to better understand site formation processes at the Mort Creek Site Complex and highlight the potential of foraminiferal analyses in the interpretation of terrestrial marine deposits.