Isotopes and isoscapes for Australian archaeology: A review
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: • Isoscapes are important for studies of provenance, migration and diet. • Isoscapes the Australian continent now exist for H, C, N, O, S, Sr, Nd and Pb. • We review the factors controlling isotope variation across Australia. • The development of isoscapes for multiple isotope systems provides new opportunities for archaeology in Australia. Both stable and radiogenic isotope analyses are widely applied in archaeological science to examine questions related to geochronology, diet, mobility, provenance and trade. Increasingly, measurements from materials of archaeological interest are used in conjunction with ‘isoscapes’ − spatially explicit maps of isotope composition from regional to continental scale. Comparison of analytical results to the spatial information available from isoscapes provides more nuanced interpretive power, particularly when several isotope systems are used in combination. Several isoscapes have become available for part or all the Australian continent in the last decade, generally developed for users in ecology, hydrology and mineral resource exploration. Here we review the development and interpretation of Australian isoscapes for hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, strontium, neodymium and lead. We then assess the possibilities and limitations of these isoscapes to address contemporary challenges in Australian archaeology.
Language: English
Subfield: Paleontology
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,910
Funder: Australian Research Council
OpenAlex ID: W7160636899