The first Australian plant foods at Madjedbebe, 65,000–53,000 years ago

S. Anna Florin (), Andrew S. Fairbairn, May Nango, Djaykuk Djandjomerr, Ben Marwick, Richard Fullagar, Mike Smith, Lynley A. Wallis and Chris Clarkson ()
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S. Anna Florin: University of Queensland
Andrew S. Fairbairn: University of Queensland
May Nango: Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation
Djaykuk Djandjomerr: Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation
Ben Marwick: University of Washington
Richard Fullagar: University of Wollongong
Mike Smith: Flinders University
Lynley A. Wallis: University of Notre Dame Australia
Chris Clarkson: University of Queensland

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract There is little evidence for the role of plant foods in the dispersal of early modern humans into new habitats globally. Researchers have hypothesised that early movements of human populations through Island Southeast Asia and into Sahul were driven by the lure of high-calorie, low-handling-cost foods, and that the use of plant foods requiring processing was not common in Sahul until the Holocene. Here we present the analysis of charred plant food remains from Madjedbebe rockshelter in northern Australia, dated to between 65 kya and 53 kya. We demonstrate that Australia’s earliest known human population exploited a range of plant foods, including those requiring processing. Our finds predate existing evidence for such subsistence practices in Sahul by at least 23ky. These results suggest that dietary breadth underpinned the success of early modern human populations in this region, with the expenditure of labour on the processing of plants guaranteeing reliable access to nutrients in new environments.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14723-0

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