Abstract
A continental-scale model of Holocene Australian hunter-gatherer demography and mobility is generated using radiocarbon data and geospatial techniques. Results show a delayed expansion and settlement of much of Australia following the termination of the late Pleistocene until after 9,000 years ago (or 9ka). The onset of the Holocene climatic optimum (9-6ka) coincides with rapid expansion, growth and establishment of regional populations across ~75% of Australia, including much of the arid zone. This diffusion from isolated Pleistocene refugia provides a mechanism for the synchronous spread of pan-continental archaeological and linguistic attributes at this time (e.g. Pama-Nyungan language, Panaramitee art style, backed artefacts). We argue longer patch residence times were possible at the end of the optimum, resulting in a shift to more sedentary lifestyles and establishment of low-level food production in some parts of the continent. The onset of El Niño - Southern Oscillation (ENSO; 4.5-2ka) restricted low-level food production, and resulted in population fragmentation, abandonment of marginal areas, and reduction in ranging territory of ~26%. Importantly, climate amelioration brought about by more pervasive La Niña conditions (post-2ka), resulted in an intensification of the mobility strategies and technological innovations that were developed in the early- to mid-Holocene. These changes resulted in population expansion and utilization of the entire continent. We propose that it was under these demographically packed conditions that the complex social and religious societies observed at colonial contact were formed.
Highlights
At the time of European colonial arrival in the late eighteenth century, Aboriginal populations in Australia were observed to have strong classificatory kinship systems, complex cultural and PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0128661 June 17, 2015The Emergence of Complex Societies in Prehistoric Australia www.arc.gov.au)
The results of our analyses indicate hunter-gatherers were severely disrupted by climate fluctuations during the Pleistocene termination, with populations remaining low and isolated into the early Holocene (11-7ka) (Fig 2A and 2B)
We present a model of the timing, extent and nature of mobility across the Australian continent with which to compare local and regional archaeological records
Summary
At the time of European colonial arrival in the late eighteenth century, Aboriginal populations in Australia were observed to have strong classificatory kinship systems, complex cultural and PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0128661 June 17, 2015. As environmental and social conditions change, so does the optimal ‘diet’, with a broadening of diet frequently associated with anthropogenic resource depression (over-exploitation), demographic pressure restricting access to highly productive patches, climate change and/or landscape degradation. It is in these conditions that diminished returns are often followed by habitat modification [21]. A recent variant of the IFD is the ideal despotic (or dominance) model, which explores the influence of populations defending or controlling resources It provides one possible mechanism for the development of social hierarchies and complex societies, with environmental inequality favoring earliest colonizers settling in the most profitable habitats [21]. Allen [35] in his descriptions of the Bagundji of the Darling Basin, refers to semi-sedentary camps of 45 individuals along several parts of the river system
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