Sequences at the two sites under study – Urumbal Pocket (a 'Eucalyptus pocket' surrounded by rainforest) and Goddard Creek (within the rainforest) – indicate a human presence since the early Holocene, coincident with the re-establishment of rainforest in the region. Here we explore how the tropical rainforests of northern Queensland were exploited during the late Holocene through an ancient starch and phytolith record spanning the last 2000 years.
In contrast to most other tropical regions, permanent settlement in Australian rainforests developed much later, and in the absence of adjacent agricultural economies. The timing and nature of hunter-gather exploitation of tropical rainforests is a topic of ongoing debate.
This study contributes to the wider research into the history of the wet tropics cultural landscape and is the first application of systematic wood charcoal studies to an archaeological site in the wet tropical rainforests of Australia. These preliminary results demonstrate the potential of anthracological analysis for archaeological interpretations in tropical Australia, while highlighting the continuing efforts required to successfully apply the discipline in this region. branches, possibly for specialised functions, as well as a range of other taxa that were collected according to availability from the surrounding rainforest. Firewood used in association with toxic nut processing at the site consisted of the preferential selection of fresh Rhodamnia sp. The analysis indicates the existence of a floristically rich rainforest site at the time of occupation, with potentially up to 90 different rainforest taxa recorded, including the positive identification of 37 taxa. A pilot study focusing on the identification of firewood taxa from the late Holocene deposit at Goddard Creek has revealed the fuel choices and collection patterns of Rainforest Aboriginal people in the settlement of upland notophyll rainforest on the Evelyn tableland in northeast Queensland, Australia. Anthracology, the systematic recovery and analysis of wood charcoal from archaeological sites, provides insights into past subsistence practices, socio-ecological interactions and palaeoenvironments.
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