Richard Cosgrove
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 124430 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Richard Cosgrove |
| NOMBRES | Richard |
| APELLIDO | Cosgrove |
| FIRMA | COSGROVE R |
| AFILIACIONES | La Trobe University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9625-3576 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 42 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 459 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 42 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 1980 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 11 |
Frederick James Allen, 11 September 1938–19 November 2025
Archaeologist F. James Allen, known universally as Jim, died at Moruya Hospital after a short illness on 19 November 2025, aged 87.1 He remained an active scholar to the end with a significant co-a...
Fire Histories and Rainforest Aboriginal Archaeology in the Wet Tropics Bioregion, North Queensland
Unlike the dominant Australian savanna‐sclerophyll vegetation, tropical rainforests do not burn easily. Any evidence of fire in Australian rainforests therefore invites explanations of its source. Analysis of 187 radiocarbon dates that include selected charcoal fragments from 23 soil pits and 7 archaeological sites from the Wet Tropics Bioregion (WTB) in far North Queensland, suggests a strong relationship between natural and cultural firing regi…
The archaeology of eastern Lutruwita (Tasmania)
Fifty years have passed since the first systematic archaeological surveys and excavations were conducted in Lutruwita (Tasmania). Despite numerous Late Pleistocene archaeological discoveries in the southwest region, no indisputable pre‐Holocene sites have been found in eastern Tasmania. This profound difference raises questions about how Aboriginal people utilised the Lutruwita landscape; first as a projecting peninsula into the Southern Ocean an…
In Memoriam
In MemoriamRemembering Anne Pike-Tay (10 June 1956 – 16 April 2020) Veronica Peterson, Ariane Burke, Heidi Katz, Minghao Lin, Richard Cosgrove, and Jillian Garvey Click for larger view View full resolution Anne Pike-Tay at 2014 Vassar College Commencement (photograph courtesy of Gerald Peterson) Anne Pike-Tay, Ph.D. (1989, New York University), Professor Emerita of Anthropology (Vassar College), passed away on 16 April 2020. She is survived by he…
Sourcing hornfels artefacts in eastern Tasmania
Improving the chronological framework for Laugerie-Haute Ouest (Dordogne, France)
Behavioural inferences from Late Pleistocene Aboriginal Australia
Detailed research into marsupial behavioural ecology and modelling of past Aboriginal exploitation of terrestrial fauna has been scarce. Poor bone preservation is one limiting factor in Australian archaeological sites, but so has been the lack of research concerning the ecology and physiology of Australia’s endemic fauna. Much research has focused on marine and fresh-water shell-fish found in coastal and inland midden sites. Detailed studies into…
Consistent C3 plant habitat of hominins during 400–300 ka at the Longyadong Cave site (Luonan Basin, central China) revealed by stable carbon isotope analyses of loess deposits
Population size does not explain past changes in cultural complexity
Significance Archaeologists have long tried to understand why cultural complexity often changed in prehistory. Recently, a series of highly influential formal models have suggested that demography is the key factor. According to these models, the size of a population determines its ability to invent and maintain cultural traits. In this paper, we demonstrate that the models in question are flawed in two important respects: They use questionable a…
Optimality models and the food quest in Pleistocene Tasmania
Human-environment dynamics during the Holocene in the Australian Wet Tropics of NE Queensland
The Archaeology of Australia's Deserts
This is a grand archaeological and ethnographic narrative covering at least 45,000 years of Aboriginal settlement and more than 3 million kilometres of Australia's desert interior. It is a signific
Economic utility and nutritional value of the Common wombat (Vombatus ursinus)
Raw material movement and past Tasmanian Aboriginal interaction
The study of stone artefact raw material distribution from point sources to archaeological sites has been important in understanding patterns of long‐term human interaction. Proximity to raw material sources has been emphasised in many studies, particularly the distance over which items travel and the nature of the social interactions reflected in such patterns. Tasmania provides an example where the ethnohistorical documents have played an impor…
Tasmanian Archaeology and Reflections on Modern Human Behaviour
Transforming the inedible to the edible
In ethnohistorical records, tree nuts are frequently referred to as important food sources for Aboriginal people in the tropical rainforest region of northeast Queensland. Experimental processing and chemical analyses were undertaken of nuts from yellow walnut (Beilschmiedia bancroftii), black walnut (Endiandra palmerstonii), black pine nut (Sundacarpus amara) and black bean (Castanospermum australe). Their energy values and potential dietary ben…
Age of newly discovered Paleolithic assemblages at Liuwan site Luonan Basin, central China
From the moat to the Murray
This paper presents two current approaches to teaching practical aspects of archaeology at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. One makes use of a simulated site constructed on the university campus where senior undergraduates are introduced to the complexities of excavation and project management from planning through to publication in a ‘safe’, artificial environment. The second is a field school for fourth year Honours students where t…
Multiphase timing of hominin occupations and the paleoenvironment in Luonan Basin, Central China
Thousands of Paleolithic artifacts have been recovered from Paleolithic sites in the Luonan Basin, in the upper South Luohe River of central China. Their discovery suggests that the basin was an important area for hominin settlement during the Pleistocene. However, the initial timing of this occupation and the environmental conditions for this period are still largely unknown. In addition, the sediments are not well dated and most of the artifact…
Ages for hominin occupation in Lushi Basin, middle of South Luo River, central China
Overdone overkill – the archaeological perspective on Tasmanian megafaunal extinctions
Starch residues on grinding stones in private collections
Morahs are incised grinding stones from the tropical rainforests of Far North Queensland. They are made from grey slate, are roughly ovate to rectangular in shape, and have distinctive incised parallel grooves running transversely across the body of the stone. The region in which they are found is also known for the processing of toxic starchy plants by Aborigines. The process involves a relatively complex processing schedule, including cooking, …
Systematic seasonal land use by late Pleistocene Tasmanian Aborigines
Stable isotope and protein analyses of Cuddie Springs Genyornis
Stable isotopes and proteins in Genyornis remains from Cuddie Springs are too depleted for dating, but this does not imply the bones are older than surrounding sediments
The Middle Palaeolithic and late Pleistocene Tasmania hunting behaviour
The murky biological status of Neanderthals has inspired many behavioural paradigms. We ask if it is possible to differentiate behavioural changes in an evolutionary sense (archaic to modern) from innovative/evolutionary changes in behaviour due to localised adaptations to changing environments. Our approach to Neanderthal ecology here is comparative. Both lithic and faunal analyses of Pleistocene Tasmanian sites dating back to 35,000 BP show pat…
Accelerator radiocarbon dating of human blood proteins in pigments from Late Pleistocene art sites in Australia
Absolute dating of rock paintings has always used an indirect means, generally by dating material in strata sealing or overlying the pictures. AMS dating of very small carbon samples now allows direct determination of the age of an organic portion in the matter of the picture itself
Forty-Two Degrees South
Palaeo-ecology and Pleistocene human occupation in south central Tasmania
Evidence for the late-Pleistocene and early-Holocene settlement of Tasmania is now offered by a growing number of sites in a variety of landscapes; among the more remarkable finds are cave-sites with evidence for human settlement of periglacial uplands before 30,000 BP. Good faunal assemblages and environmental records allow the reconstruction of a subsistence system different in character from those modelled on a European Pleistocene prototype
Late Pleistocene behavioural variation and time trends
The newly discovered archaeological site of Parmerpar Meethaner, located in the Forth River valley Tasmania, is described. This important site, 1) has evidence of repeated long term human occupation extending from c.780 BP to c.34,000 BP, 2) crosses all the major large scale climatic events such as the beginning, middle and end of the LGM and the late Pleistocene/Holocene boundary, 3) supports the notion that Tasmania was first occupied 35,000 ra…
Systematic seasonal land use by late Pleistocene Tasmanian Aborigines
Overdone overkill – the archaeological perspective on Tasmanian megafaunal extinctions
Ages for hominin occupation in Lushi Basin, middle of South Luo River, central China
Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) scat‐bone
This paper presents an analysis of the bone recovered from a collection of 50 Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) scats. It formulates a set of signature criteria for recognising S.harrisii as a source of bone in depositional contexts. These criteria are based on patterns in the composition of the scat‐bone assemblage and their interpretation in light of what is presently known about S.harrisii's den and feeding behaviour. We describe the quan…
From Reindeer to Wallaby
New Archaeological Data from the Southern Forests Region, Tasmania
Initial discussion in 1986 between two of us (JA and RC) has led to the formulation of a medium to long-term archaeological enquiry in southern central Tasmania. This project is currently entitled the Southern Forests Archaeological Project, and is based in the Archaeology Department of La Trobe University. It is designed to produce a coherent set of data concerning the occupation of this region by human groups during the late Pleistocene. Such o…
The archaeological attributes of behaviour
Age of newly discovered Paleolithic assemblages at Liuwan site Luonan Basin, central China
Origin and development of Australian Aboriginal tropical rainforest culture
In contemporary green perceptions, rainforests are an Eden of biodiversity. But they seem also to be a famously hard environment for human subsistence, with foods scattered or high up beyond reach - which is why reports of Palaeo-Indians' flourishing in the Brazilian rainforests have caused surprise. What place do the rainforests have in Aboriginal Australian settlement, as archaeologically perceived
The Australian National University-Tasmanian National Parks and Wildlife Service Archaeological Expedition to the Franklin and Gordon Rivers, 1983
Fallen trees in every direction had interrupted our march, and it is a question whether ever human beings either civilised or savage had ever visited this savage looking country. Be this as it may, all about us appeared well calculated to arrest the progress of the traveller, sternly forbidding man to traverse those places which nature had selected for its own silent and awful repose [Jorgen Jorgenson, 19 March 1827; Binks 1980: 75]
The Middle Palaeolithic and late Pleistocene Tasmania hunting behaviour
The murky biological status of Neanderthals has inspired many behavioural paradigms. We ask if it is possible to differentiate behavioural changes in an evolutionary sense (archaic to modern) from innovative/evolutionary changes in behaviour due to localised adaptations to changing environments. Our approach to Neanderthal ecology here is comparative. Both lithic and faunal analyses of Pleistocene Tasmanian sites dating back to 35,000 BP show pat…
Transforming the inedible to the edible
In ethnohistorical records, tree nuts are frequently referred to as important food sources for Aboriginal people in the tropical rainforest region of northeast Queensland. Experimental processing and chemical analyses were undertaken of nuts from yellow walnut (Beilschmiedia bancroftii), black walnut (Endiandra palmerstonii), black pine nut (Sundacarpus amara) and black bean (Castanospermum australe). Their energy values and potential dietary ben…
An Archaeological Reconnaissance of Karst Caves within the Southern Forests Region of Tasmania, September 1987
A recent archaeological exploratory expedition to limestone and dolomite caves in Ihe 'Southern Forests' region of south - central Tasmania has revealed fundamentally new aspects concerning the Pleistocene archaeological record of Tasmania. Plans by the Tasmanian H}'dro-Electric Commission to dam lhe lower Gordon river system led in the early 1980's to a series of archaeological reconnaissances being carried out in karst outcrops, especially alon…
New Evidence for Early Holocene Aboriginal Occupation in Northeast Tasmania
What changes the Tasmanian man must have witnessed. Probably some of these glacial phases with the gradual drowning of the Bass land bridge, which so effectually checked the Australian Pharaoh and his hounds on the Victorian bank. What difference, if any, ensued in his culture as the result of this isolation from the mainland? [Edgeworth David 1924: 144-45]
Improving the chronological framework for Laugerie-Haute Ouest (Dordogne, France)
Raw material movement and past Tasmanian Aboriginal interaction
The study of stone artefact raw material distribution from point sources to archaeological sites has been important in understanding patterns of long‐term human interaction. Proximity to raw material sources has been emphasised in many studies, particularly the distance over which items travel and the nature of the social interactions reflected in such patterns. Tasmania provides an example where the ethnohistorical documents have played an impor…
Stable isotope and protein analyses of Cuddie Springs Genyornis
Stable isotopes and proteins in Genyornis remains from Cuddie Springs are too depleted for dating, but this does not imply the bones are older than surrounding sediments
Jiyer Cave revisited; Preliminary results from northeast Queensland rainforest
The paper presents the initial results of a project that aims to investigate the antiquity of human occupation of Australian tropical rainforests and the role that toxic plants played in the adaptation process. International research suggests that people only permanently occupied rainforests in the last 5000 years with access to agriculture. The fact that Australian rainforest Aborigines were hunter-gatherers using specialised processing technolo…
Late Pleistocene Human Occupation In Tasmania
In a recent paper, Thomas (1993) makes a number of assertions about the human use of the Tasmanian southwest during the late Pleistocene period and comments particularly on a model of human behaviour and ecological interaction by Cosgrove et al. (1990). In using our paper as a stalking-horse, Thomas rnisrepresents us specifically and generally on a number of occasions. He also uses a range of data and sources of various degrees of relevance and a…
From the moat to the Murray
This paper presents two current approaches to teaching practical aspects of archaeology at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. One makes use of a simulated site constructed on the university campus where senior undergraduates are introduced to the complexities of excavation and project management from planning through to publication in a ‘safe’, artificial environment. The second is a field school for fourth year Honours students where t…
Sourcing hornfels artefacts in eastern Tasmania
The Armada in Ireland
The Australian National University-Tasmanian National Parks and Wildlife Service Archaeological Expedition to the Franklin and Gordon Rivers, 1983
Fallen trees in every direction had interrupted our march, and it is a question whether ever human beings either civilised or savage had ever visited this savage looking country. Be this as it may, all about us appeared well calculated to arrest the progress of the traveller, sternly forbidding man to traverse those places which nature had selected for its own silent and awful repose [Jorgen Jorgenson, 19 March 1827; Binks 1980: 75]
New Evidence for Early Holocene Aboriginal Occupation in Northeast Tasmania
What changes the Tasmanian man must have witnessed. Probably some of these glacial phases with the gradual drowning of the Bass land bridge, which so effectually checked the Australian Pharaoh and his hounds on the Victorian bank. What difference, if any, ensued in his culture as the result of this isolation from the mainland? [Edgeworth David 1924: 144-45]
New Archaeological Data from the Southern Forests Region, Tasmania
Initial discussion in 1986 between two of us (JA and RC) has led to the formulation of a medium to long-term archaeological enquiry in southern central Tasmania. This project is currently entitled the Southern Forests Archaeological Project, and is based in the Archaeology Department of La Trobe University. It is designed to produce a coherent set of data concerning the occupation of this region by human groups during the late Pleistocene. Such o…
An Archaeological Reconnaissance of Karst Caves within the Southern Forests Region of Tasmania, September 1987
A recent archaeological exploratory expedition to limestone and dolomite caves in Ihe 'Southern Forests' region of south - central Tasmania has revealed fundamentally new aspects concerning the Pleistocene archaeological record of Tasmania. Plans by the Tasmanian H}'dro-Electric Commission to dam lhe lower Gordon river system led in the early 1980's to a series of archaeological reconnaissances being carried out in karst outcrops, especially alon…
The Management of Archaeological Resources in Forested Areas
The Tasmanian Forest Research Council Inc. has decided to fund an entire research for analyzing the management of archaeological resources that is done in the forested areas of the northwest of the state. The background, objectives, nature and problems associated with the project are all discussed in detail
Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) scat‐bone
This paper presents an analysis of the bone recovered from a collection of 50 Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) scats. It formulates a set of signature criteria for recognising S.harrisii as a source of bone in depositional contexts. These criteria are based on patterns in the composition of the scat‐bone assemblage and their interpretation in light of what is presently known about S.harrisii's den and feeding behaviour. We describe the quan…
Palaeo-ecology and Pleistocene human occupation in south central Tasmania
Evidence for the late-Pleistocene and early-Holocene settlement of Tasmania is now offered by a growing number of sites in a variety of landscapes; among the more remarkable finds are cave-sites with evidence for human settlement of periglacial uplands before 30,000 BP. Good faunal assemblages and environmental records allow the reconstruction of a subsistence system different in character from those modelled on a European Pleistocene prototype
Accelerator radiocarbon dating of human blood proteins in pigments from Late Pleistocene art sites in Australia
Absolute dating of rock paintings has always used an indirect means, generally by dating material in strata sealing or overlying the pictures. AMS dating of very small carbon samples now allows direct determination of the age of an organic portion in the matter of the picture itself
Late Pleistocene Human Occupation In Tasmania
In a recent paper, Thomas (1993) makes a number of assertions about the human use of the Tasmanian southwest during the late Pleistocene period and comments particularly on a model of human behaviour and ecological interaction by Cosgrove et al. (1990). In using our paper as a stalking-horse, Thomas rnisrepresents us specifically and generally on a number of occasions. He also uses a range of data and sources of various degrees of relevance and a…
The Illusion of Riches
Subtitled Scale, resolution and explanation in Tasmanian Pleistocene human behaviour'. This monograph examines prior notions of the uniform behaviour of late Pleistocene humans nad concludes that the archaeological data from Southwest Tasmania challenge this received view. The notion is examined by a detailed comparative analysis of two cave sites located in south central Tasmania. The results from these two sites clearly indicate a strong archae…
Late Pleistocene behavioural variation and time trends
The newly discovered archaeological site of Parmerpar Meethaner, located in the Forth River valley Tasmania, is described. This important site, 1) has evidence of repeated long term human occupation extending from c.780 BP to c.34,000 BP, 2) crosses all the major large scale climatic events such as the beginning, middle and end of the LGM and the late Pleistocene/Holocene boundary, 3) supports the notion that Tasmania was first occupied 35,000 ra…
Origin and development of Australian Aboriginal tropical rainforest culture
In contemporary green perceptions, rainforests are an Eden of biodiversity. But they seem also to be a famously hard environment for human subsistence, with foods scattered or high up beyond reach - which is why reports of Palaeo-Indians' flourishing in the Brazilian rainforests have caused surprise. What place do the rainforests have in Aboriginal Australian settlement, as archaeologically perceived
The archaeological attributes of behaviour
Forty-Two Degrees South
From Reindeer to Wallaby
Jiyer Cave revisited; Preliminary results from northeast Queensland rainforest
The paper presents the initial results of a project that aims to investigate the antiquity of human occupation of Australian tropical rainforests and the role that toxic plants played in the adaptation process. International research suggests that people only permanently occupied rainforests in the last 5000 years with access to agriculture. The fact that Australian rainforest Aborigines were hunter-gatherers using specialised processing technolo…
Stable isotope and protein analyses of Cuddie Springs Genyornis
Stable isotopes and proteins in Genyornis remains from Cuddie Springs are too depleted for dating, but this does not imply the bones are older than surrounding sediments
The Middle Palaeolithic and late Pleistocene Tasmania hunting behaviour
The murky biological status of Neanderthals has inspired many behavioural paradigms. We ask if it is possible to differentiate behavioural changes in an evolutionary sense (archaic to modern) from innovative/evolutionary changes in behaviour due to localised adaptations to changing environments. Our approach to Neanderthal ecology here is comparative. Both lithic and faunal analyses of Pleistocene Tasmanian sites dating back to 35,000 BP show pat…
Systematic seasonal land use by late Pleistocene Tasmanian Aborigines
Starch residues on grinding stones in private collections
Morahs are incised grinding stones from the tropical rainforests of Far North Queensland. They are made from grey slate, are roughly ovate to rectangular in shape, and have distinctive incised parallel grooves running transversely across the body of the stone. The region in which they are found is also known for the processing of toxic starchy plants by Aborigines. The process involves a relatively complex processing schedule, including cooking, …
Overdone overkill – the archaeological perspective on Tasmanian megafaunal extinctions
Multiphase timing of hominin occupations and the paleoenvironment in Luonan Basin, Central China
Thousands of Paleolithic artifacts have been recovered from Paleolithic sites in the Luonan Basin, in the upper South Luohe River of central China. Their discovery suggests that the basin was an important area for hominin settlement during the Pleistocene. However, the initial timing of this occupation and the environmental conditions for this period are still largely unknown. In addition, the sediments are not well dated and most of the artifact…
Ages for hominin occupation in Lushi Basin, middle of South Luo River, central China
From the moat to the Murray
This paper presents two current approaches to teaching practical aspects of archaeology at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. One makes use of a simulated site constructed on the university campus where senior undergraduates are introduced to the complexities of excavation and project management from planning through to publication in a ‘safe’, artificial environment. The second is a field school for fourth year Honours students where t…
Geography (36 obras) · Archaeology (34 obras) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (34 obras) · Pleistocene (18 obras) · Biology (17 obras) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (16 obras) · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies (15 obras) · Ecology (14 obras) · History (14 obras) · Cave (12 obras)