The Mystery of Tropical Caves Revealed: Ancient Humans, Climate Change and Geoconservation, with examples from Malaysia and Fiji
Mark Stephens
Time: 12–1 pm
Venue: GEO01A Tutorial Room, Marine Campus
Caves are geological phenomena that allow people the unique opportunity to observe geological structures and features in three-dimensions. Of particular importance are cave sediments that provide scope for the reconstruction of long-term climatic change from layers deposited over thousands of years. In addition, caves often contain unique flora and fauna and the remains of human, faunal and floral assemblages, and offer a chance to investigate human-environment relationships in prehistory.
I will present the results of climatic reconstructions from two tropical caves in the Pacific region: Niah Cave in Malaysian Borneo, containing evidence for the earliest known Homo sapiens in Southeast Asia, and Volivoli Cave, Sigatoka, southwest Viti Levu, the first fossil site in Fiji containing prehistoric terrestrial animal remains. I will conclude with a discussion of best practice for the geoconservation of such sites.
