Jaw and premolar fragments from the Juukan 2 rockshelter place Tasmanian devils in Western Australia's Pilbara about 47,000 to 7,000 years ago. Gnawing marks and large digested bones from the same deposits point to visits for food scraps around the human camp. The fossil sequence spans different climate phases; the proposed dingo role in the mainland population's loss remains an interpretation.
Two fossils from the Juukan 2 rockshelter date Tasmanian devils in the Pilbara to two periods. Sediment around a lower-jaw fragment holding the first two molars dates to 6,900-7,300 years ago, while a lower-premolar fragment came from a layer dated to 42,500-47,100 years ago. Both fossils place the species in an arid, rocky northwestern setting far removed from its cool, wet habitat today. People were using the same shelter at least 47,000 years ago.[1], [2]
More than 1,000 of over 8,000 animal bones recovered from Juukan 2 bear chewing or gnawing marks. Of 55 pieces measured closely, at least ten have tooth pits closest in size to those left by Tasmanian devils. Another 263 digested fragments are too large for the smaller carnivores now living in the Pilbara. Devil-like damage on medium and large animals that people brought to the shelter and butchered points to scavenging among the camp's food scraps. The two devil fossils bear no signs of cutting or cooking.[1], [2]
Gnawing traces place Tasmanian devils repeatedly around Juukan from the cool, dry Last Glacial Maximum through warmer, wetter intervals. The species disappeared from mainland Australia about 3,200 years ago, after dingoes had spread across the continent. Researchers propose that dingoes may have displaced devils through competition for prey, carcasses and the dependable food scraps around human camps. That explanation remains an interpretation of the fossil record. Work at Juukan 2, which Rio Tinto severely damaged with blasting in 2020, continues under the direction of the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura Traditional Owners.[1], [2]
