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.
Highlights
There is little evidence for the role of plant foods in the dispersal of early modern humans into new habitats globally
While plant foods may not make up the dominant proportion of early modern humans (EMHs) diets globally, more recent research into plant macro- and micro-fossils is breaking down this paradigm: the use of plant foods, including those associated with later agricultural transitions, such as grass seeds and underground storage organs (USOs), is evidenced in Middle Stone Age sites in Africa and the Middle East[4,5,6,7]; the processing of toxic plants (Dioscorea hispida and Pangium edule) is dated to as early as 46–34 kya in Niah Cave, Borneo[8,9,10]; the translocation of yams (Dioscorea spp.) to high altitudes and management of monodrupe pandanus stands, facilitated early use of highland environments in New Guinea (~49 kya)[11,12]; and associated plant-processing technologies, such as seed-grinding stones, are linked to EMH dispersal into northern Australia[13]
We demonstrate that Australia’s earliest known human population exploited a range of plant foods, including some requiring processing
Summary
There is little evidence for the role of plant foods in the dispersal of early modern humans into new habitats globally. While plant foods may not make up the dominant proportion of EMH diets globally, more recent research into plant macro- and micro-fossils is breaking down this paradigm: the use of plant foods, including those associated with later agricultural transitions, such as grass seeds and underground storage organs (USOs), is evidenced in Middle Stone Age sites in Africa and the Middle East[4,5,6,7]; the processing of toxic plants (Dioscorea hispida and Pangium edule) is dated to as early as 46–34 kya in Niah Cave, Borneo[8,9,10]; the translocation of yams (Dioscorea spp.) to high altitudes and management of monodrupe pandanus stands, facilitated early use of highland environments in New Guinea (~49 kya)[11,12]; and associated plant-processing technologies, such as seed-grinding stones, are linked to EMH dispersal into northern Australia[13] This shift in paradigm is important when considering the southern dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa.
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