Fire-stick farming

Fire-stick farming is a phrase that Australian archaeologist Rhys Jones used in 1969. It describes the way that Indigenous Australians used fire regularly to burn the land. This made hunting easier by herding the animals into particular areas. It also caused new grass to grow, which attracted more animals. Over many years it changed the types of plants and animals that lived in certain areas.

Fire-stick farming turned scrub into grassland, which increased the number of grass-eating animals like the kangaroo. Scientists say that the changes caused by fire-stick farming caused the extinction of the Australian megafauna.Prideaux, G.J. et al. 2007. An arid-adapted middle Pleistocene vertebrate fauna from south-central Australia. Nature 445:422-425

In the forests, fire-stick farming opened up clear areas and let more plants grow at ground level. This increased the number of animals that could feed on these plants, such as the herbivore marsupials.

 Related pages 
 Slash-and-burn

References
Jones, R. 1969. Fire-stick Farming. Australian Natural History, 16:224
Miller, G. H. 2005. Ecosystem Collapse in Pleistocene Australia and a Human Role in Megafaunal Extinction. Science, 309:287-290

Category:Indigenous Australian culture
Category:Agriculture in Australia
Category:History of agriculture