Anything more than a picnic? Re‐considering arguments for ceremonial Macrozamia use in mid‐Holocene Australia

Abstract

Influential arguments have been advanced in Australian archaeology concerning the origins and development of social and economic change in the mid-late Holocene (Lourandos 1997). One example used to support this claim is the perceived existence of ceremonial feasting events held in the semi-arid and rugged sandstone gorge systems of central Queensland, attended by large groups of people for extended periods, and underwritten by large quantities of kernels from the cycad Macrozamia moorei (Beaton 1977(Beaton , 1982; see also Lourandos 1997). However the reexamination of the macrobotanical evidence from archaeological sites in this region using taphonomic analysis, replicative processing experiments, recalculations of seed density and estimations of the minimum numbers of seeds, does not support this model. This re-examination questions the role of Macrozamia seeds in the context of socio-economic change and suggests new interpretations of Macrozamia resource use.

Seed dispersal of the Australian cycad Macrozamia miquelii (Zamiaceae): Are cycads megafauna‐dispersed “grove forming” plants?

“…Genyornis and other Pleistocene megafauna disappeared from Australian ecosystems ∼50000 yr ago (Miller et al, 1999; Roberts et al, 2001; Price, 2008). As an aside, Australian Aboriginal people discovered techniques for processing toxic cycad seeds into edible carbohydrate in the mid‐Holocene, around 3000–4000 yr ago (Beaton, 1977; Cosgrove, 1996; David and Lourandos, 1997), but given that the seeds are destroyed in this process (Whiting, 1963; Beaton, 1977; Beck, 1992; Asmussen, 2008), it seems unlikely that such interactions resulted in effective seed dispersal.…”

Contemporary distribution of Macrozamia dyeri (Zamiaceae) is correlated with patterns of Nyungar occupation in south‐east coastal Western Australia

“…Macrozamia seeds have long been utilised as a food source by Aboriginal Australian peoples following processing to remove harmful amounts of cycasin and to aid preservation (Beaton 1982; Asmussen 2008; Hopper & Lambers 2014; Macintyre & Dobson 2018). There are historical and contemporary accounts of Macrozamia use and processing by Noongar first peoples of the SWAFR (Moore 1835; Drummond 1840; Grey 1841; Hassell 1975; Smith 1982; Bindon & Walley 1992) and its abundance at large Noongar occupation sites (Barker 1831; Drummond 1843; Hallam 1989; Hallam 1991; Hercock 2014).…”

“…Granivores probably consume the slightly toxic sarcotesta (Hall & Walter 2014) rather than kernels that contain cycasin at higher toxic levels (Burbidge & Whelan 1982; Hall & Walter 2014). Small mammals have been found to cache and disperse Macrozamia seed over short distances (up to 25 m; Burbidge & Whelan 1982; Snow & Walter 2007; Asmussen 2008; Hall & Walter 2013). Large birds, such as emu ( Dromaius novaehollandiae ) and Australian raven ( Corvus coronoides ), have been recorded moving seed of M. reidlei at least 300 m (Nield 2014).…”

Journeys into the Rainforest (Terra Australis 43)

“…The surrounding vegetation is currently dominated by eucalypts, suggesting that the archaeological plant remains are not the result of nuts and seeds falling into the site from overhanging vegetation. A further indicator that strongly supports the hypothesis that humans discarded the carbonised plant remains at the site is the lack of evidence for animal activity on the archaeological plant remains (see Asmussen 2008). Rodents and cockatoos often feed upon modern nuts and seeds of the species identified archaeologically, leaving distinct gnaw marks (Figs.…”