Ancient Tasmanians used fire to shape their environment 41,600 years ago, earliest evidence shows

A new study published in Science Advances reveals that over 41,000 years ago, the first inhabitants of Tasmania used fire to manage and modify the landscape. This research provides the earliest record of humans using fire to shape the Tasmanian environment, predating previous estimates by 2,000 years.

Analysis of ancient mud revealed a sudden increase in charcoal around 41,600 years ago, coinciding with a change in vegetation. This increase in charcoal suggests that Tasmanian Aborigines used fire to clear forests, creating open spaces for subsistence and cultural activities. The researchers studied ancient mud taken from islands in the Bass Strait, which is part of Tasmania today but would have been part of the land bridge connecting Australia and Tasmania during the last ice age.

During the last ice age, Australia and Tasmania were connected by a huge land bridge, which allowed people to reach Tasmania on foot. Due to low sea levels at the time, Palawa/Pakana (Tasmanian Indigenous) communities were able to migrate from the Australian mainland. When these communities eventually reached Tasmania, known to the Palawa people as Lutruwita, it was the furthest south humans had ever settled.

"Australia is home to the world's oldest Indigenous culture, which has endured for over 50,000 years," said Dr. Matthew Adeleye from Cambridge's Department of Geography, the study's lead author, said, according to Phys.org. "Earlier studies have shown that Aboriginal communities on the Australian mainland used fire to shape their habitats, but we haven't had similarly detailed environmental records for Tasmania," he said.

The researchers found that the increase in charcoal was followed by a major change in vegetation about 40,000 years ago, as indicated by different types of pollen in the mud. Dr. Adeleye said, "This suggests these early inhabitants were clearing forests by burning them, in order to create open spaces for subsistence and perhaps cultural activities." He added, "Fire is an important tool, and it would have been used to promote the type of vegetation or landscape that was important to them."

The study indicates that humans likely learned to use fire to clear and manage forests during their migration across the glacial landscape of Sahul. Sahul was a paleocontinent that encompassed modern-day Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, and eastern Indonesia, as part of the extensive migration out of Africa. As natural habitats adapted to these controlled burnings, the researchers observed the expansion of fire-adapted species such as Eucalyptus, primarily on the wetter, eastern side of the Bass Strait islands.

Burning practices are still practiced today by Aboriginal communities in Australia, including for landscape management and cultural activities. However, using this type of burning, known as cultural burning, for managing severe wildfires in Australia remains contentious. The researchers argue that understanding these ancient practices could help restore pre-colonial landscapes in Australia. They say their results could help us understand how humans have been shaping the Earth's environment for tens of thousands of years.

"These early Tasmanian communities were the island's first land managers," Dr. Adeleye said. "If we're going to protect Tasmanian and Australian landscapes for future generations, it's important that we listen to and learn from Indigenous communities who are calling for a greater role in helping to manage Australian landscapes into the future," he emphasided.

Tasmania currently lies about 240 kilometers off the southeast Australian coast, separated from the Australian mainland by the Bass Strait. The land bridge that once connected Australia and Tasmania remained until about 8,000 years ago, after the end of the last ice age, when rising sea levels eventually cut Tasmania off from the Australian mainland.

Sources: Scienze Notizie, Phys.org

This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq