Aboriginal Australian fire-stick agriculture

Timeline

1. 1071–1074Arnhem Land · Arnhem LandAt the start of the dry season, Indigenous people burned low-lying scrub and dry grass with small fires, creating mosaic burn patches; new grass shoots attracted herbivores like kangaroos while promoting sprouting of tubers such as yams and lilies, yielding both hunting and gathering benefits.
2. 1074–1078Central Australia · CentralCommunities in the central arid–semi-arid regions practiced zoned burning along water corridors and dune belts, preventing excessive scrub expansion and maintaining open grasslands; fire use was closely tied to Dreaming narratives, with burning rights regulated by clan land-ownership customs.
3. 1078–1080Gippsland · GippslandIn the southeast coastal wetland-forest ecotone, Indigenous people conducted low-intensity burns during higher-humidity seasons, promoting ferns and rhizome crops and maintaining open woodland grasslands; such fire management shaped the landscape of southeastern Australia before European colonization.