Age of mythology mega series#

We found numerous specimens, but these were often isolated bones sitting on eroded surfaces.Д«ut one specimen found a few decades before our search did provide an excellent dating opportunity. A groundbreaking fossil find вЂ“ in the museumДЄfter much field work spread over a number of years we had very little luck in finding in situ fossils.

Unfortunately carbon dating does not work within the Willandra for megafauna fossils as there never seems to be enough collagen left in the bone to obtain a carbon date. By dating the sand grains that a fossil is found in we arrive at the maximum age range. If we can find fossils still encased within their original sediments, then we can date the age of the sand grains using a technique called optically stimulated luminescence dating (OSL for short).Д«y dating the fossil directly with U-series we arrive at a minimum age estimate.

Age of mythology mega series#

We can get age estimates on these fossils using uranium series (U-series) dating, but they only represent minimum age estimates. While there are megafauna fossils found across the Willandra landscape, many of these have eroded out of their original burial contexts. In theory this sounds quite straightforward, but unfortunately it is far from the case. Searching for megafauna fossils in the Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area. If we show that megafauna and people co-existed for many years, then we may have to seek other explanations for their demise.

If we can show that megafauna disappear soon after the arrival of the First Australians, then we have support for the rapid extinction model. There are very few localities like this but one exception in Australia is the Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area, in New South Wales. These landscapes should ideally also have conditions for the preservation of fossil bones. One way of testing the various extinction models is by looking for megafauna in landscapes that show continuous Aboriginal occupation over the past 50,000 years. Some have argued that it is possible many of the 45 or so megafauna species thought to have become extinct after 50,000 years ago may have in fact slipped into the extinction abyss tens of thousands of years before the First Australians arrived. In recent years it has been suggested there are very few good dates for the extinction of megafauna. If two different dating techniques arrive at similar dates, then this is a very good sign for the age of a species. A dating gameД¬ritical to understanding when the megafauna became extinct is dating, and ideally, the application of multiple dating techniques will provide the finest resolution. More careful analysis of the record often reveals a very different picture. The genomic evidence suggests that for tens of thousands of years, Aboriginal populations were not that large. Our genomic research has revealed that significant demographic changes did not occur until some 10,000 years ago. It seems that Aboriginal populations may not have been that large until much later in prehistory. The evidence for firing of the landscape, as studied through the genomes of fire sensitive plants, shows no record of plants going through genetic bottlenecks as a result of significant firing events. Firstly the egg shells thought to be from Genyornis are considered by leading palaeontologists to perhaps be from a much smaller megapode. One species in particular, the giant flightless bird Genyornis newtoni was investigated and shown to have succumbed to significant habitat change and direct predation.Д«ut the hypothesis for GenyornisвЂ extinction has come under significant criticism due to the emergence of counter evidence. Many researchers have previously argued that the megafauna became extinct soon after the arrival of the First Australians.ДЇor example, it has been argued that perhaps firing of the landscape dramatically altered ancient AustraliaвЂ™s ecology.