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Tasmanian Devils Coexisted with Ancient Pilbara Humans, New Fossils Reveal
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Core Discovery at Juukan Gorge
Archaeologists uncovered two Tasmanian devil fossils—a lower-jaw fragment and a premolar tooth—in the Juukan 2 rockshelter, Western Australia’s Pilbara region. The jaw dates to the Holocene, about 7 000 years ago; the tooth comes from a layer dated 42 500–47 100 years ago. These finds fill a gap in the mainland fossil record, confirming the marsupial lived in north-western Australia for tens of thousands of years.
Historical Context and Site Significance
Juukan 2, on Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) Country, has been used by Aboriginal peoples for at least 47 000 years, surviving the Last Glacial Maximum. It is the only known mainland northern Australian Pleistocene site where animal remains occur alongside stone tools. After mining blasts in 2020 destroyed much of the shelter, extensive re-excavation was undertaken under Traditional Owner direction.
Evidence and Chronology
- Fossil ages: 7 000–7 300 years (jaw) and 42 500–47 100 years (tooth).
- Bone assemblage: Over 8 000 catalogued animal bones have been examined; 55 specimens were analyzed in detail, revealing at least ten with dimensions matching Tasmanian-devil tooth pits.
- Digested fragments: 263 large bone fragments show patterns consistent with digestion by a large dasyurid, most plausibly the Tasmanian devil.
- Temporal distribution: Devil-like marks appear in pre-Last Glacial Maximum deposits (?47 000–26 000 years ago), post-glacial layers (?19 000–11 600 years ago) and the Holocene, indicating repeated scavenging over a substantial span.
Ecological Role and Human Interaction
The devil’s presence appears tied to human camps. Large animal carcasses were brought into the shelter and butchered, while smaller fauna arrived as owl pellets. Devil gnaw marks occur primarily on the larger, human-associated bones, suggesting the marsupials scavenged leftovers and carrion discarded by people. Researchers describe the devils as a “four-legged garbage compactor,” potentially reducing disease risk for shelter occupants.
Possible Dingo Competition and Mainland Extinction
Dingoes arrived on the mainland roughly 4 000 years ago and spread widely thereafter. Devils vanished from the mainland about 3 200 years ago, overlapping with dingo expansion. While dingoes have been implicated in devil decline through predation and competition for carrion, the new evidence proposes an additional mechanism: dingoes may have displaced devils from the scavenging niche around human camps. Researchers caution that a causal link remains unproven.
Official Statements & Responses
Tim Churchill, palaeontologist at UNSW and lead author, emphasized the rarity of the site, noting it is the only northern Australian location where animal remains are found in close association with stone artefacts and human occupation. Burchell Hayes, chair of the PKK Land Committee, described the devil fossils as a reminder of the cultural loss caused by the 2020 destruction and linked ancestors of the Puutu Kunti Kurrama people to the area. Bill Bateman, associate professor at Curtin University, suggested that a combination of dingo competition and climatic aridity may have contributed to the mainland devil extinction.
Why It Matters
The Juukan Gorge discoveries provide a rare, long-term view of human-animal interactions in Australia’s deep past, illustrating how cultural practices shaped ecological dynamics and underscoring the value of sites that combine heritage with paleo-environmental data.
What’s Next
Excavation and rehabilitation of Juukan Gorge continue under PKKP Aboriginal Corporation oversight, with researchers planning further analysis of the extensive bone assemblage to refine understanding of ancient scavenger communities and their relationship to human settlement.
