A Comparison of Charcoal and Archaeological Information to Address the Influences on Holocene Fire Activity in the Sydney Basin

The influence of Aboriginal people on fire activity and hence the vegetation of Australia has long been debated. This study aimed to document the local fire activity of the Holocene in the catchment of a small freshwater reed swamp located in the Sydney Basin and to compare this with nearby archaeol...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Australian geographer 2007-07, Vol.38 (2), p.177-194
Main Authors: Mooney, S. D., Webb, M., Attenbrow, V.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aboriginal activity
Aborigines
Archaeological research
Archaeology
Australia
Bgi / Prodig
charcoal and archaeological evidence
Comparative analysis
Environment
Fire
Fires
Geography
Geological time
Historic artifacts
Holocene
Holocene fire activity
Land use
Native peoples
Oceania
Paleoecology
Physical geography
Sydney
Wetlands
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The influence of Aboriginal people on fire activity and hence the vegetation of Australia has long been debated. This study aimed to document the local fire activity of the Holocene in the catchment of a small freshwater reed swamp located in the Sydney Basin and to compare this with nearby archaeological evidence; including artefact discard rates and the number of base camps and activity locations used through time. This archaeological evidence was used as an index of human activity through time to assess anthropogenic influences on fire activity. Charcoal (>250 µm) was quantified in a radiocarbon-dated sediment core from Griffith Swamp covering ∼6000 calibrated years BP. A substantial increase in fire activity was found from ∼3000 years BP and a lesser increase approximately 700 years ago. The change in fire activity at ∼3000 years BP was approximately coeval with changes in archaeological evidence from Upper Mangrove Creek, suggesting either greater human presence in the landscape or altered subsistence and land-use strategies. Fire frequency in the catchment of Griffith Swamp peaked at about eight episodes per century, perhaps in response to environmental change that promoted both increased human activity and a higher natural fire frequency. This study provides an extended temporal perspective on fire and humans in this landscape, demonstrating how palaeoecology can provide practical information for the contemporary management of such fire-prone ecosystems.
ISSN:0004-9182
1465-3311
DOI:10.1080/00049180701392774