Rachel Wood
Biographic Data
| ID | 5218014 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Rachel Wood |
| GIVEN NAMES | Rachel |
| FAMILY NAME | Wood |
| SIGNATURE | WOOD R |
| AFFILIATIONS | Australian National University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1694-3295 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 88 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 1010 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 88 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 14 |
MicroCT analysis of archaeological parenchyma identifies underground storage organs from late Holocene contexts at Birriwilk rockshelter, Manilikarr Country, northern Australia
MicroCT analysis of archaeological parenchyma fragments has identified Aboriginal exploitation of underground storage organs (USOs) at Birriwilk rockshelter, Arnhem Land, northern Australia. A variety of USO types were identified from late Holocene contexts, including bulbs/corms, dicotyledon primary/tap roots and monocotyledon stem tubers. The range of USOs exploited is consistent with ethnographic accounts of plant exploitation practices by Abo…
Rapid minimally invasive subsurface archaeological site prospection on Roti Island, Indonesia
A compound-specific radiocarbon dating protocol for archaeological pottery at the Orau
Radiocarbon dating is essential for establishing robust chronologies in archaeological and paleoenvironmental contexts spanning the last 55,000 years. Pottery, pervasive in the archaeological record, offers a crucial framework for dating human activity during the Holocene. Traditionally, radiocarbon dating of pottery has relied on targeting carbonaceous inclusions such as organic temper or measuring stratigraphically associated materials like bon…
Jaguars and raptorial birds
A range of scientific methods are used to explore the histories (14th-17th centuries) of a collection of wooden carvings from the Trombetas region of northeastern Brazil. • The first multidisciplinary scientific study of a rare group of Amazonian ceremonial wood carvings in 19th century museum collections. • Radiocarbon dating provides far deeper histories, with the earliest examples extending back to the 14th century. • Wood identification indic…
Industry Tensions
To move beyond the framework of platform labor as either exploitative or empowering, this panel considers intricate forms of self-reinvention within the realm of cultural work. Our inquiries into the labor subjectivities that emerge from processes of adaptation to platform work are oriented around the cultures, practices, and ideals of social media influencer careers. These papers discuss the mechanisms by which different actors within the influe…
On the impact of micro-CT scanning on radiocarbon dating of fossil material
In this study, we investigate the impact of X-rays produced by conventional mCT instruments on fossil materials dated by radiocarbon. Our results clearly show a decrease on the collagen preservation in fossil and modern bones and teeth, and therefore on the radiocarbon analytical results (in particular, the collagen yield and, possibly, stable isotope composition), after mCT scanning. In other words, all the samples analysed here have experienced…
A microCT assessment of archaeological parenchyma from three riverine shell middens dating to the early Holocene, Yongjiang River Basin, Guangxi, southern China
Years of radiocarbon dating in Australian archaeology
Assessing a Modified Carbonate Digestion Protocol for Increased Carbon Dioxide Recovery During Cremated Bone Pretreatment
Cremated bones are a commonly preserved material and often found in burial environments where unburned bone may not be preserved. As such direct radiocarbon dating of cremated bone could be essential in determining the chronology of an event. Pretreatment of cremated bone exploits the structural carbonate component of the bone which survives cremation. However, due to the low abundance (ca. 0.1%) of this component, the extraction of an amount of …
Achieving Low Backgrounds During Compound-Specific Hydroxyproline Dating
Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon ( 14 C) dating is central to the development of robust chronologies in archaeological and paleoenvironmental contexts spanning the last 50,000 years. For dates to be accurate, samples must be free of exogenous carbon contamination. At the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU), considerable advancements in the dating of bone collagen have been made through the development of a high performance l…
The Size Inherited Age Effect on Radiocarbon Dates of Alluvial Deposits
Radiocarbon dates on charred plant remains are often used to define the chronology of archives such as lake cores and fluvial sequences. However, charcoal is often older than its depositional context because old-wood can be burnt and a range of transport and storage stages exist between the woodland and stream or lake bed (“inherited age”). In 1978, Blong and Gillespie dated four size fractions of charcoal found floating or saltating in the Macdo…
Living by the lake
This paper explores the relationship between wetland ecosystems and prehistoric lakeshore settlements within the Lake Ohrid basin (a biodiversity hotspot) by considering plant food systems at Ploča Mičov Grad, North Macedonia. The mid‐fifth millennium (c.4555–4373 to 4437–4241 cal BCE) waterlogged assemblage contained a diverse spectrum of crops and ‘wild’ resources, providing resilience against crop failure. Comparisons to earlier (c.5787–5722 t…
The mulla-mullung ’s Bulk
Recent archaeological mapping of, and excavations at, Cloggs Cave, in GunaiKurnai Aboriginal Country in Southeastern Australia, have revealed a rich underground landscape of stone arrangements, broken stalactites, and what appear to be crushed crystalline minerals and ritual ash layers. Here we examine the stone artifacts to determine how they can shed further light on how the cave was used, and what a GunaiKurnai perspective can tell us about ho…
Đầu Rằm
Archaeological excavations at the site of Đầu Rằm in northern Việt Nam provided new insights into the chronology of Tràng Kênh settlement sites that emerged in the Red River delta during first half of the 2nd millennium BCE. The investigations produced evidence for the production of nephrite/jade rings. This study confirms that Đầu Rằm was a settlement associated with the Tràng Kênh culture that specialised in the manufacture of nephrite jeweller…
Inherited age of floating charcoal fragments in a sand-bed stream, Macdonald River, NSW, Australia
Radiocarbon dates on multiple individual charcoal fragments floating together down the Macdonald River, New South Wales, Australia, have calibrated ages spanning >1700 years. Partial explanations of this range of inherited ages can be attributed to the inbuilt age of living biomass, charcoalisation conditions, hillslope transport and storage and/or valley floor (fluvial) transport and storage, but the contribution of each of these components can …
SahulArch
Reliable chronological frameworks for archaeological sites are essential for accurate interpretations of the past. Geochronology represents the core of interdisciplinary research because it allows integration of diverse data on a common timeline. Since the radiocarbon revolution in Australian archaeology in the 1950s, thousands of ages have been produced across Sahul (combined landmass of Australia and New Guinea). Methods such as thermoluminesce…
Sample Preparation Methods Used at the Australian National University Radiocarbon Facility
The Single Stage AMS radiocarbon facility at the Australian National University has operated for the past 14 years. This paper presents the pretreatment methods used for the major sample types dated and reflects on whether quality assurance protocols can adequately detect altered materials. The majority of fossil samples dated by the facility are from tropical and arid environments where diagenesis of both organic samples and carbonates is often …
The meanings of the Critical Zone
A large-scale environmental strontium isotope baseline map of Portugal for archaeological and paleoecological provenance studies
Site formation processes of outdoor spaces in tropical environments
Paradigm shifts and ontological turns at Cloggs Cave, GunaiKurnai Country, Australia
In recent years, a number of authors have theorized an “ontological turn” that is reorienting research in the human and social sciences. In this setting, we have witnessed an increasing number of anthropological and archaeological works seeking to recognize ontological difference among a variety of human groups, from Indigenous societies to Paleolithic hunter-gatherers. While ontological approaches have been restricted to anatomically modern huma…
El Niño Cave (Aýna, Albacete, Spain)
El Niño cave, located on the south-eastern border of the Spanish Meseta, hosts a discontinuous sequence including Middle Palaeolithic and Neolithic levels, along with Upper Palaeolithic and Levantine style paintings. It is a key site for understanding human occupations of inland Iberia during the Palaeolithic and early prehistory. This paper summarises the main results of a multidisciplinary project aimed at defining the prehistoric human occupat…
Osteoarchaeological evidence for medical dissection in 18th to 19th century Aberdeen, Scotland
This paper describes the analysis of a small assemblage of fragmentary human remains discovered during renovations in a residential property in Aberdeen City, Scotland. Two sets of cranial remains display clear evidence for dissection/autopsy activities; a craniotomy and a trephination. Radiocarbon dating places them in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, arguably contemporary with the passing of the Anatomy Act of 1832. Drawing together evid…
Years and Worlds Apart
In this paper we report on new research at the iconic archaeological site of Cloggs Cave (GunaiKurnai Country), in the southern foothills of SE Australia’s Great Dividing Range. Detailed chronometric dating, combined with high-resolution 3D mapping, geomorphological studies and archaeological excavations, now allow a dense sequence of Late Holocene ash layers and their contents to be correlated with GunaiKurnai ethnography and current knowledge. …
Do Weak or Strong Acids Remove Carbonate Contamination From Ancient Tooth Enamel More Effectively? The Effect of Acid Pretreatment on Radiocarbon and Δ 13 C Analyses
In hot environments, collagen, which is normally targeted when radiocarbon ( 14 C) dating bone, rapidly degrades. With little other skeletal material suitable for 14 C dating, it can be impossible to obtain dates directly on skeletal materials. A small amount of carbonate occurs in hydroxyapatite, the mineral phase of bone and tooth enamel, and has been used as an alternative to collagen. Unfortunately, the mineral phase is often heavily contamin…
Τesting models for the beginnings of the Aurignacian and the advent of figurative art and music
The chronology of the earliest Upper Palaeolithic in northern Iberia
Current issues in late Middle Palaeolithic chronology
On the chronology of the Uluzzian
A New Date for the Neanderthals From El Sidrón Cave (Asturias, Northern Spain)
Torres et al . (2010 ) published a series of radiocarbon, AAR, ESR and OSL dates from the site of El Sidrón, northern Spain, which is notable for the discovery of the partial remains of 12 Neanderthals. Whilst the non‐radiocarbon methods suggested an age beyond 32 600–46 300 years, direct radiocarbon dates on the human fossils were inconsistent, ranging between 10 000 and 50 000 bp . This study uses the ultrafiltration pre‐treatment protocol to o…
From revolution to convention
El Castillo (Cantabria, northern Iberia) and the Transitional Aurignacian
U-series and radiocarbon analyses of human and faunal remains from Wajak, Indonesia
Reliability of Nitrogen Content (%N) and Carbon
A recent study into prescreening techniques to identify bones suitable for radiocarbon dating from sites known for poor or variable preservation (Brock et al. 2007, 2010a) found that the percent nitrogen (%N) content of whole bone powder was the most reliable indicator of collagen preservation. Measurement of %N is rapid, requires little preparation or material, and is relatively cheap. The technique reduces the risk of needlessly sampling valuab…
Occupation at Carpenters Gap 3, Windjana Gorge, Kimberley, Western Australia
Carpenters Gap 3 (CG3), a limestone cave and shelter complex in the Napier Range, Western Australia, was occupied by Aboriginal people intermittently from over 30,000 years ago through to the historic period. Excavations at CG3 provide only slight evidence for occupation following first settlement in the late Pleistocene. Analysis of the radiocarbon dates indicates that following this there was a hiatus in occupation during the Last Glacial Maxim…
Emergence and Diversification of the Neolithic in Southern Vietnam
We examine the southern Vietnamese site of Rach Nui, dated to between 3390 and 3850 cal BP, in the context of three major aspects of the Neolithic in Mainland Southeast Asia: mound formation and chronology, construction techniques, and subsistence economy. Results indicate that this ca. 75 m in diameter, 5 m high mound, comprising over a dozen phases of earthen platforms, upon which were raised sophisticated wooden structures, was built in <200 y…
Radiocarbon Dating, Stable Isotope Analysis, and Diet-Derived Offsets in 14 C Ages from the Klin-Yar Site, Russian North Caucasus
The influence of geothermally derived carbon on the radiocarbon dating of human bone from archaeological sites is poorly understood and has rarely been rigorously examined. This study identifies a previously unknown reservoir effect at the archaeological site of Klin-Yar in the Russian North Caucasus. AMS-dated human bones yielded results that were older than expected when compared with dates of coins found in the same grave contexts. We investig…
Skeletal arsenic of the pre-Columbian population of Caleta Vitor, northern Chile
Sembiran and Pacung on the north coast of Bali
A large-scale environmental strontium isotope baseline map of Portugal for archaeological and paleoecological provenance studies
An Early Upper Palaeolithic decorated bone tubular rod from Pod Hradem Cave, Czech Republic
Personal ornaments are a notable feature of the Early Upper Palaeolithic in Europe and an important expression of modern human identity. The tubular bone rod from Pod Hradem Cave in the Czech Republic is the first example of its kind from Central Europe. Laboratory examination reveals the techniques used in its manufacture and underlines the skill of its maker. AMS dates and Bayesian modelling suggest a cultural association with the Early Aurigna…
Last Neanderthal occupations at Central Iberia
Between foraging and farming
Large, ‘complex’ pre-Neolithic hunter-gatherer communities thrived in southern China and northern Vietnam, contemporaneous with the expansion of farming. Research at Con Co Ngua in Vietnam suggests that such hunter-gatherer populations shared characteristics with early farming communities: high disease loads, pottery, complex mortuary practices and access to stable sources of carbohydrates and protein. The substantive difference was in the use of…
Fishing in life and death
Chronology of the site of Grotte du Renne, Arcy-sur-Cure, France
Higham et al (2010) published a large series of new dates from the key French Palaeolithic site of the Grotte du Renne at Arcy-sur-Cure. The site is important because it is one of only two sites in Europe in which Châtelperronian lithic remains co-occur with Neanderthal human remains. A large series of dates from the Mousterian, Châtelperronian, Aurignacian and Gravettian levels of the site was obtained. The 14C results showed great variability, …
Direct dating of resin hafted point technology in Australia
The rare recovery of hafting technology from archaeological deposits around the world prevents a clear picture of Palaeolithic hafting arrangements. Without the recovery of hafted stone tools, our understanding of this technology is limited to extrapolation from artefact morphology and ethnographic analogy, and such is the case in Australia. Here we present a direct date of 3160–2954 cal. BP, obtained from resin on a stone point recovered from Ca…
Hidden in plain sight
Ethnohistoric accounts indicate that the people of Australia's Channel Country engaged in activities rarely recorded elsewhere on the continent, including food storage, aquaculture and possible cultivation, yet there has been little archaeological fieldwork to verify these accounts. Here, the authors report on a collaborative research project initiated by the Mithaka people addressing this lack of archaeological investigation. The results show th…
Years and Worlds Apart
In this paper we report on new research at the iconic archaeological site of Cloggs Cave (GunaiKurnai Country), in the southern foothills of SE Australia’s Great Dividing Range. Detailed chronometric dating, combined with high-resolution 3D mapping, geomorphological studies and archaeological excavations, now allow a dense sequence of Late Holocene ash layers and their contents to be correlated with GunaiKurnai ethnography and current knowledge. …
Challenges in sample processing within radiocarbon dating and their impact in 14C-dates-as-data studies
Enhancing Radiocarbon Chronologies of Colonization
Accurately dating when people first colonized new areas is vital for understanding the pace of past cultural and environmental changes, including questions of mobility, human impacts and human responses to climate change. Establishing effective chronologies of these events requires the synthesis of multiple radiocarbon ( 14 C) dates. Various “chronometric hygiene” protocols have been used to refine 14 C dating of island colonization, but they can…
Problems with radiocarbon dating the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Italy
Chronology of the Grotte du Renne (France) and implications for the context of ornaments and human remains within the Châtelperronian
There is extensive debate concerning the cognitive and behavioral adaptation of Neanderthals, especially in the period when the earliest anatomically modern humans dispersed into Western Europe, around 35,000–40,000 B.P. The site of the Grotte du Renne (at Arcy-sur-Cure) is of great importance because it provides the most persuasive evidence for behavioral complexity among Neanderthals. A range of ornaments and tools usually associated with moder…
Radiocarbon Dating, Stable Isotope Analysis, and Diet-Derived Offsets in 14 C Ages from the Klin-Yar Site, Russian North Caucasus
The influence of geothermally derived carbon on the radiocarbon dating of human bone from archaeological sites is poorly understood and has rarely been rigorously examined. This study identifies a previously unknown reservoir effect at the archaeological site of Klin-Yar in the Russian North Caucasus. AMS-dated human bones yielded results that were older than expected when compared with dates of coins found in the same grave contexts. We investig…
Chronology of the Grotte du Renne, Arcy-sur-Cure, France
Department of Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Gipsy Lane Site, Headington Campus, Oxford OX30BP, United [email protected] et al emphasise the primacy of stratigraphy intheir reply. Our Bayesian modelling incorporates thesame stratigraphic information in the form of ‘priors’,but the approach also allows us crucially to test theagreement between the radiometric data and the se-quence. Bayesian modelling is the only rob…
Chronology of the site of Grotte du Renne, Arcy-sur-Cure, France
Higham et al (2010) published a large series of new dates from the key French Palaeolithic site of the Grotte du Renne at Arcy-sur-Cure. The site is important because it is one of only two sites in Europe in which Châtelperronian lithic remains co-occur with Neanderthal human remains. A large series of dates from the Mousterian, Châtelperronian, Aurignacian and Gravettian levels of the site was obtained. The 14C results showed great variability, …
Current issues in late Middle Palaeolithic chronology
Radiocarbon dating & Bayesian modelling from the Grotte du Renne & a Neanderthal origin for the Châtelperronian
Hublin et al (2012) have published a new series of AMS determinations from the site of the Grotte du Renne at Arcy-sur-Cure, one of the key sites in discussions regarding late Neanderthal behavior and adaptation. The site is well known as one of the very few Châtelperronian sites that appear to contain evidence for the range of ornaments and objects that are usually found in sites of the Proto- or Early Aurignacian in Europe, and therefore associ…
Reliability of Nitrogen Content (%N) and Carbon
A recent study into prescreening techniques to identify bones suitable for radiocarbon dating from sites known for poor or variable preservation (Brock et al. 2007, 2010a) found that the percent nitrogen (%N) content of whole bone powder was the most reliable indicator of collagen preservation. Measurement of %N is rapid, requires little preparation or material, and is relatively cheap. The technique reduces the risk of needlessly sampling valuab…
Τesting models for the beginnings of the Aurignacian and the advent of figurative art and music
Late Neanderthals at Jarama VI (central Iberia)?
Previous geochronological and archaeological studies on the rock shelter Jarama VI suggested a late survival of Neanderthals in central Iberia and the presence of lithic assemblages of Early Upper Paleolithic affinity. New data on granulometry, mineralogical composition, geochemical fingerprints and micromorphology of the sequence corroborate the previous notion that the archaeological units JVI.2.1 to JVI.2.3 are slackwater deposits of superfloo…
Radiocarbon dating casts doubt on the late chronology of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in southern Iberia
It is commonly accepted that some of the latest dates for Neanderthal fossils and Mousterian industries are found south of the Ebro valley in Iberia at ca. 36 ka calBP (calibrated radiocarbon date ranges). In contrast, to the north of the valley the Mousterian disappears shortly before the Proto-Aurignacian appears at ca. 42 ka calBP. The latter is most likely produced by anatomically modern humans. However, two-thirds of dates from the south are…
A New Date for the Neanderthals From El Sidrón Cave (Asturias, Northern Spain)
Torres et al . (2010 ) published a series of radiocarbon, AAR, ESR and OSL dates from the site of El Sidrón, northern Spain, which is notable for the discovery of the partial remains of 12 Neanderthals. Whilst the non‐radiocarbon methods suggested an age beyond 32 600–46 300 years, direct radiocarbon dates on the human fossils were inconsistent, ranging between 10 000 and 50 000 bp . This study uses the ultrafiltration pre‐treatment protocol to o…
U-series and radiocarbon analyses of human and faunal remains from Wajak, Indonesia
Informing the ‘early years’ agenda in Scotland
BACKGROUND: Providing infants with the 'best possible start in life' is a priority for the Scottish Government. This is reflected in policy and health promotion strategies to increase breast feeding, which gives the best source of nutrients for healthy infant growth and development. However, the rate of breast feeding in Scotland remains one of the lowest in Europe. Information is needed to provide a better understanding of infant feeding and its…
Occupation at Carpenters Gap 3, Windjana Gorge, Kimberley, Western Australia
Carpenters Gap 3 (CG3), a limestone cave and shelter complex in the Napier Range, Western Australia, was occupied by Aboriginal people intermittently from over 30,000 years ago through to the historic period. Excavations at CG3 provide only slight evidence for occupation following first settlement in the late Pleistocene. Analysis of the radiocarbon dates indicates that following this there was a hiatus in occupation during the Last Glacial Maxim…
The chronology of the earliest Upper Palaeolithic in northern Iberia
On the chronology of the Uluzzian
An Early Upper Palaeolithic decorated bone tubular rod from Pod Hradem Cave, Czech Republic
Personal ornaments are a notable feature of the Early Upper Palaeolithic in Europe and an important expression of modern human identity. The tubular bone rod from Pod Hradem Cave in the Czech Republic is the first example of its kind from Central Europe. Laboratory examination reveals the techniques used in its manufacture and underlines the skill of its maker. AMS dates and Bayesian modelling suggest a cultural association with the Early Aurigna…
Radiocarbon dating of Sacred Ibis mummies from ancient Egypt
Emergence and Diversification of the Neolithic in Southern Vietnam
We examine the southern Vietnamese site of Rach Nui, dated to between 3390 and 3850 cal BP, in the context of three major aspects of the Neolithic in Mainland Southeast Asia: mound formation and chronology, construction techniques, and subsistence economy. Results indicate that this ca. 75 m in diameter, 5 m high mound, comprising over a dozen phases of earthen platforms, upon which were raised sophisticated wooden structures, was built in <200 y…
Skeletal arsenic of the pre-Columbian population of Caleta Vitor, northern Chile
From revolution to convention
Direct dating of resin hafted point technology in Australia
The rare recovery of hafting technology from archaeological deposits around the world prevents a clear picture of Palaeolithic hafting arrangements. Without the recovery of hafted stone tools, our understanding of this technology is limited to extrapolation from artefact morphology and ethnographic analogy, and such is the case in Australia. Here we present a direct date of 3160–2954 cal. BP, obtained from resin on a stone point recovered from Ca…
New 14C dates for Spring Creek and Mowbray Swamp megafauna
Bones from extinct Australian marsupials found at Spring Creek, Victoria, and in the Mowbray Swamp, Tasmania, have yielded scattered and anomalously young radiocarbon ages measured on collagen, gelatin or ultrafiltered gelatin. We resampled previously dated material from those two sites and from Mt Cripps, Tasmania, as well as a control sample from Zaglik, Russia, to compare chronologies based on XAD‐2 purified total amino acid fractions and coll…
Shell tool technology in Island Southeast Asia
Archaeology (71 works) · Geography (66 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (63 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (49 works) · Geology (46 works) · Radiocarbon dating (44 works) · History (31 works) · Paleontology (29 works) · Cave (24 works) · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies (24 works)