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Proceedings of the Fire History Workshop; October 20-24, 1980

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Proceedings of the Fire History Workshop; October 20-24, 1980 This file was created by scanning the printed publication. Errors identified by the software have been corrected; however, some errors may remain. Hunter-Gatherers and Problems for Fire History1 Henry T. Lewis2 Abstract.--Reconstructing fire histories in regions where hunting-gathering peoples once used burning techniques appears to present special problems of interpretation. Studies over the past two decades involving the reconstruc­ tion of indigenous firing practices in western North America and observations of extant practices in northern Australia indicate some of the major difficulties involved. The tropical savanna region of northern North America, the overall strategies employed by Australia is one of the few areas of the world Aborigines and Indians are remarkably similar.4 where indigenous peoples still use fire to modify Of special importance for understanding fire local habitats to manipulate the distribution and histories in the two regions, the argument is here relative abundance of hunting and gathering resources. made that the variable ways by which Aborigines Recent studies in Arnhemland, Northern Territory, and Indians employed fire resulted in difficult, have shown the importance which these practices in some instances insurmountable, problems of have for managing a rang~ of subtropical ecosystems.) interpretation for studies of fire histories. Though these practices apply to a markedly different environmental zone than any of those which have The problem essentially derives from the fact been considered during recent years in western that hunters and gatherers employ patterns of burning which are significantly different from natural patterns of ignition and, with both man­ 1Paper presented at the Fire History Workshop. made and natural fire regimes occurring throughout (Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of a given region and range of micro-habitats, infor­ Arizona, Tucson, October 2Q-24, 1980). mation derived from fire scars may provide little 2uenry T. Lewis is Professor, Department of real insight into the chronology and frequency of Anthropology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, fires. The central problem can be seen with the Alber3a, Canada. major technological considerations that hunting­ Reports on contemporary uses of fire by gathering societies use in their respective fire Aborigines in northern Australia are now beginning technologies: the seasonality and frequency of to appear in print and further studies are in burning, the intensity and size of fires, and the progress. The first to deal with the subject was ways in which fires are applied (or alternately Jones (1975) who, in a subsequent work (1978), has withheld) in different habitats. Paradoxically, incorporated the uses of fire into more general it is the very ways in which prescribed burning has practices of hunting-gathering technology in north­ been used that accounts for its environmental im­ ern Arnhemland. Three papers dealing specifically portance and the paucity of fire scar evidence. with fire uses can be found in the work of Haynes (1978a, 1978b, 1978c); these are especially signif­ Indigenous fire practices in North America icant papers regarding the practices and beliefs have been quite literally extinguished and our of Aborigines in central Arnhemland. The sub­ interpretations of the patterns once involved and stantive materials described in this paper derive the impacts made are based on historical records from Haynes' work plus, on a more personal level, or, in a very few cases, recall data provided by information and assistance that he provided the older informants from isolated areas where burning author while in the Northern Territory from mid­ technologies were employed until forty or more June to mid-August, 1980. A series of unedited years ago (Lewis 1977, 1981b). Though oral discussion papers (Fox 1974) offer a range of histories are potentially far more useful than comments by social scientists and biologists on documented source materials--which most frequently Aboriginal uses of fire in the north. Still other do little more than confirm the fact that Indians writers on the Northern Territory have commented did burn--neither provides the empirical detail on the use and possible significance of Aboriginal that ongoing, contextual studies would reveal. practice (Davidson n.d., Peterson 1971, and Stocker 1966). Considering the dearth of materials on the contextual employment of fire by hunter­ 4studies on Indian uses of fire have included gatherers in other parts of the world, the works by Arthur (1975), Barrett (n.d.), Boyd (n.d.), materials on northern Australia are comparatively Bean and Lawton (1973), Day (1953, Lewis (1973 et rich. al.), Reynolds (1959),and Steward (1951 et al.). 115 Fortunately, important comparable data concerning soon drawn from surrounding vegetation types to extant fire technologies can still be derived from feed there. areas like northern Australia and like situations in isolated parts of Africa and Asia. In this Further removed from the coasts, in areas respect the Arnhemland studies are especially sig­ receiving 750 mm or more annual rainfall, the nificant because for the first time we have field tall-open forests are dominated by evenly spaced studies on the uses of fire by hunting-gathering eucalypts (esp. E. tetrodonta and E. miniata) of peoples. These examples are further important fot from 18 to 24 m high and an understory of grasses what they suggest about f~nctionally similar con­ (particularly Sorghum intrans) and shrubs, the ditions in North America. densities of which are largely determined by the frequency of burning. Though sporadic burning The seasonality, frequency, intensity, scale, begins by mid-April, most burning within open and type of Aboriginal fires in Arnhemland vary forest areas takes place in the two-month period significantly between vegetational communities of mid-June to mid-August. Though individual fires and from one micro-habitat to another. Within are small (1-5 ha) and discontinuous, Haynes (1978b) the four major vegetational types of the Northern estimates that between 25% and 50% of the tall-open Territory's savanna region--monsoon forest, open forests are burned in a given year. An important floodplains, tall-open forest, and eucalypt wood­ feature of controlling these fires involves making lands--firing activity begins in mid-April with use of the relatively high winds (25-35 k.p.h.) the onset of the dry season, continues virtually which occur during the two months. This condition on a day-to-day basis for approximately four is important to Aboriginal burning technology in months, and then sporadically in some areas until that fires are more easily directed (e.g, burning as late as mid-December and the return of monsoonal into previously fired patches or natural firebreaks) rains. Each area, however, is managed in distinct and scorch height is consequently lower, thereby ways. causing less damage to the flowers and buds of important fruiting trees. Related to this is the For the monsoon forest stands (deciduous vine added controlling factor that winds drop off late thickets and semi-evergreen vine forest areas which in the day and fires go out at night during this are seldom more than 10 ha) particular care is cooler period. taken to exclude fire, if at all possible. Because monsoon forest vegetation can sustain severe damage The overall effect of this more-or-less from late, dry season fires (Stocker and Mott 1978), annual frequency of burning is to create a mosaic the surrounding drier grass margins of floodplains of unevenly aged understory plants. Some areas are and the grass and shrub understories of tall-open fired every year, others less frequently, with many forests are burned early in the dry season to burned portions overlapping from one season to create firebreaks. Reasons for excluding fire another d~pending upon the particular clusters of from monsoon forests include a combination of plants and the actual extent and intensity of fires practical considerations (especially to protect in a particular place. The trees of tall-open the vines of yams) and important totemic-religious forest are seldom killed by fires at this time beliefs. (unless already aged, diseased, or termite infested) nor are they frequently or consistently In marked contrast, nearby floodplains are scarred because of the relative low intensity of fired at virtually any time between mid-April and the fires. early August with as much as 90% of these grass­ lands burned in a given year. Mainly in growth The fourth environmental zone is the eucalypt to various species of Cyperaceae and Gramineae woodland, a savanna forest with a lower diversity these coastal floodplains are inundated for the of plant and animal species than that found in tall­ several months of rainy season. Burned for both open forest areas. Usually dominated by E. the small animals killed in such fires and the dichromoploia, and with large numbers of E. miniata secondary green-up that follows, more animals are and !· tetrodonta, these drier (less than-750 mm per annum) and more open regions (the trees more widely spaced and usually less than 12 m high) are 5Except for observations noted in a recent characterized by understory fires that are larger report to the Australian National Parks and Wildlife and more intense. Though the overall floral and Service (Hoare et al. 1980:46), there are no pub­ faunal diversity is less than that of tall-open lished references on northern Australia concerning forests, eucalypt woodlands are the preferred fire scarring. The interpretations made here derive cattle grazing areas ~f the north, supporting from the author's own observations and, more sig­ two-to-three times the number of stock found nificantly, the observations of individuals who in tall-open forest regions (Perry 1960). have worked for a number of nears on related problems of fire effects in northern Australia. However, partly related to the emphasis which Among the people to whom the author is particularly hunting-gathering societies place upon a wide indebted are Chris Haynes (Australian Parks and spectrum of plant and animal resources, the more Wildlife Service, Darwin) and Dr.
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