Shell middens on the Mitchell Plateau: A reflection of a wider phenomenon?

In a recent paper Bailey (1993) made the observations that all A. granosa middens appear to be confined to the last 2000-3000 years and that this species has many similarities with r-selected species (see below for a discussion on the meaning of r-selected). This paper explores some of the implications of these observations in relation to three large shell middens excavated on the Mitchell Plateau, in the northern Kimberley region of Western Australia. I offer a different perspective from the more established view that large shell middens dominated by A. granosa are largely a product of environmental factors (e.g. O’Connor and Sullivan 1994; White (and O’Connell 1982:156-7). ...