Research reveals earliest evidence that humans used fire to shape Tasmania’s landscape

Some of the first humans to arrive in Tasmania more than 41,000 years ago used fire to shape and manage the landscape, some 2,000 years earlier than previously thought.

A British-Australian research team analyzed charcoal and pollen in ancient mud to uncover how Tasmanian indigenous people shaped their surroundings. This is the earliest record of humans using fire to shape Tasmania’s environment.

Early human migration from Africa to the southern part of the planet was well underway during the beginning of the last ice age, with humans reaching northern Australia by about 65,000 years ago. When the first Palawa/Pakana (Indigenous Tasmanian) communities eventually reached Tasmania (known to the Palawa people as Lutluwita), it was the furthest southerly that humans had ever settled.

These early Aboriginal communities used fire to infiltrate and modify dense, wet forests for their own use. This is illustrated by the sudden increase in charcoal that accumulated in ancient mud 41,600 years ago.

The researchers say their findings, reported in the journal Science Advances, not only help us understand how humans have shaped the Earth’s environment over tens of thousands of years, but also provide important long-term It said it could also help understand the connections between Aboriginal people and landscapes across the world. In today’s Australian landscape management.

Tasmania is currently located approximately 240 kilometers off Australia’s southeast coast, separated from mainland Australia by Bass Strait. However, during the last Ice Age, Australia and Tasmania were connected by a huge land bridge, allowing people to reach Tasmania on foot. This land bridge remained until the end of the last Ice Age, around 8,000 years ago, when rising sea levels eventually separated Tasmania from mainland Australia.

“Australia is home to the world’s oldest indigenous culture, lasting more than 50,000 years,” said lead author of the study, Dr Matthew Adery from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Geography. “Previous research has shown that Aboriginal communities on mainland Australia used fire to shape habitat, but we don’t have similarly detailed environmental records for Tasmania.”

Researchers studied ancient mud taken from islands in Bass Strait. Bass Strait is now part of Tasmania, but during the last ice age it would have been part of the land bridge between Australia and Tasmania. Sea levels were low at the time, allowing Palawa/Pakana communities to migrate from mainland Australia.

Analysis of ancient mud showed a sudden increase in charcoal about 41,600 years ago, followed by a major change in vegetation about 40,000 years ago, as indicated by different types of pollen in the mud.

“This suggests that these early inhabitants were burning and clearing forests to create open space for survival and perhaps cultural activities,” Adelai said. “Fire was an important tool and was probably used to promote vegetation and landscapes that were important to them.”

Researchers believe that humans used fire during their migration across the glacial regions of Sahul (a paleocontinent that included modern-day Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, and eastern Indonesia) as part of a large-scale migration from Earth. It is likely that they learned to cut down and manage forests. Africa.

“As natural habitats adapt to these managed burns, we are seeing an expansion of fire-adapted species such as eucalyptus, primarily on the wetter eastern side of the Bass Strait Islands,” Mr Adelai said. .

Indigenous communities in Australia still practice burning today for purposes such as landscape management and cultural activities. However, the use of this type of burning, known as cultural burning, to manage Australia’s severe bushfires remains controversial. Researchers say understanding this ancient land management practice could help define and restore pre-colonial landscapes.

“These early Tasmanian communities were the island’s first land managers,” Mr Adelai said.

“If we are to protect Tasmania and Australia’s landscapes for future generations, we need to listen to and learn from Indigenous communities who want a greater role in managing Australia’s landscapes into the future. It’s important.”