A recent study published in Science Advances uncovers that over 41,000 years ago, Tasmania’s first human inhabitants, the Palawa/Pakana people, employed fire to modify and manage their environment. This discovery pushes back the earliest known use of fire for landscape shaping in the region by approximately 2,000 years.

A recent study uncovers that Tasmania’s first human inhabitants employed fire to modify and manage their environment. Public Domain

Researchers from the UK and Australia analyzed ancient mud cores collected from islands in the Bᴀss Strait, a region that once formed a land bridge connecting Tasmania to mainland Australia. Charcoal and pollen samples from these cores revealed a sudden spike in charcoal deposits dating back 41,600 years. This was followed by significant changes in vegetation around 40,000 years ago. Lead author Dr. Matthew Adeleye, from the University of Cambridge, explained, “This suggests these early inhabitants were clearing forests by burning them, in order to create open spaces for subsistence and perhaps cultural activities.”

The use of fire likely allowed the Palawa/Pakana to penetrate Tasmania’s dense, wet forests, creating open areas that supported their needs. This method of environmental modification was part of broader fire-management practices employed by humans as they migrated across the glacial landscape of Sahul—a prehistoric supercontinent encompᴀssing modern-day Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, and eastern Indonesia.

“As natural habitats adapted to these controlled burnings, we see the expansion of fire-adapted species such as Eucalyptus, primarily on the wetter, eastern side of the Bᴀss Strait islands,” Adeleye noted.

Dr. Matthew Adeleye, University of Cambridge (left), and Professor David Bowman, University of Tasmania (right), inspect a sediment core containing evidence of ancient burning by the island’s first inhabitants, taken from a swamp on northwestern Tasmania. Credit: Simon Haberle

The Palawa/Pakana people’s arrival in Tasmania marked the southernmost point of human habitation during the last ice age. Approximately 65,000 years ago, humans reached northern Australia, and by 41,600 years ago, the Palawa/Pakana crossed the land bridge to settle in Tasmania, known to them as Lutruwita.

The land bridge, formed due to low sea levels, remained intact until about 8,000 years ago, when rising seas severed Tasmania from the Australian mainland. This separation preserved the region’s unique ecological and cultural developments.

The researchers’ findings provide crucial evidence of early anthropogenic impacts on Tasmania’s environment. “Australia is home to the world’s oldest Indigenous culture, which has endured for over 50,000 years,” said Adeleye. “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.”

Study co-author Professor Simon Haberle of the Australian National University, described the findings as “an affirmation that cultural burning and care for Country has been a feature of the landscape for many, many thousands of years.”

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

University of Cambridge

More information: Adeleye, M. A., Hopf, F., Haberle, S. G., Stannard, G. L., Mcwethy, D. B., Harris, S., & Bowman, D. M. J. S. (2024). Landscape burning facilitated Aboriginal migration into Lutruwita/Tasmania 41,600 years ago. Science Advances, 10(46), eadp6579. doi:10.1126/sciadv.adp6579