Archaeologists have identified 12 resin-mounted wallaby teeth at Windmill Way, a rock shelter in Quinkan Country on Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula. The objects appear to be ornaments rather than tools and may have belonged to a headband or necklace.
The teeth were found among animal bones at the shelter, where archaeologist Lynley Wallis of Griffith University noticed a dark, glue-like substance attached to the root of one tooth. Eleven more teeth bearing similar resin were subsequently identified. Phys.org describes the material as about 1,200 years old, while Archaeology Magazine reports the resins as approximately 1,000 years old.
The assemblage is notable because tooth ornaments are generally reported from burials in southeastern Australia. According to the reporting, no animal-tooth jewelry had previously been identified in the Cape York Peninsula despite decades of archaeological research. The Windmill Way discoveries are therefore the first known example from the peninsula and the only known instance of this type of ornament found there outside a burial context.
Researchers worked with Elders and Rangers from the Laura community to identify plants that could have supplied the resin. They then analyzed samples using infrared light and mass spectrometry. The results indicated that all 12 teeth had been mounted with gum from grass trees growing on the rocky slopes around the shelter. One tooth also contained traces of gum from ironwoods found near waterways.
The teeth showed no evidence that they had been used as chisels or drills, tools that can be made from macropod teeth in the region. Instead, plant fibers and a fragment of animal hide remained attached to the resin. These traces led the researchers to suggest that the resin balls may have acted as stoppers, holding the teeth in place on a string or other backing.
The researchers found only one potentially comparable object during their search: a wallaby-tooth necklace in Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum. Its records identify its origin only as “Australia,” so its connection to Cape York Peninsula cannot be established.
The findings, published in Australian Archaeology, provide evidence for the use of organic materials in personal adornment at Windmill Way. Whether resin-mounted tooth jewelry was common in the peninsula remains uncertain; the researchers suggest that, if it was used there, it may have been rare.
