Cultural versus natural explanations for lacunae in Aboriginal occupation deposits in northern Australia

Regional archaeologies in Europe, Africa and Australia have pointed to significant changes in human occupation patterns corresponding with periods of major climatic change. The construction of such regional sequences and models of changing demography and landscapes use rely on the identification of continuities and hiatuses in occupation sequences and the determination of whether gaps in the record are the result of sediment removal due to the operation of geomorphological processes or alternatively record periods of site abandonment. This paper highlights the need for methodological refinement in addresing this issue.