Establishing accurate chronologies is a major challenge facing vertebrate palaeontologists studying Australian Quaternary deposits. This is particularly so for cave environments which preserve much of this fossil record. The accumulative mechanisms and depositional environments associated with caves range from the simple to the complex. Processes such as sediment reworking and slumping, differential transport and mixing of skeletal elements and datable material, multiple collection modes and bioturbation have the potential to confound attempts to establish a reliable chronology. The signatures left by these processes within cave deposits must be identified to ensure the accuracy of chronological inferences. Results of case studies from sites in the World Heritage Naracoorte Caves Conservation Park are discussed as examples.