Ancient Australia: A land tamed by people and fire

Abstract

This article explores the ancient aboriginal practice of using fire to condition ecosystems, in order to produce food production and procurement. Primarily concerned is the use of fire to create ash, which acted as fertiliser, along with rainwater, in order to bring consistency and change to vegetation, and therefore the animals that fed upon them, and the ancient aboriginals that fed upon vegetation and animals through foraging and hunting. Also considered are typed of plants burned, for the purpose of producing specific types of ash as specific types of fertiliser, for specific types of plant growth. Considered throughout this article is the historical scenario that ancient aboriginals used these methods in order to deliberately manage the land, its vegetation, the animals that fed upon them, and the peoples that fed upon them.