Toxic Harvest: The antiquity of rainforest Aboriginal occupation and toxic plant use in long-term subsistence patterns [ 2002-02-28 - 2005-02-27 ]

Research Grant

Researchers: Dr Judith Field (Chief Investigator) ,  Dr Richard Cosgrove (Chief Investigator)

Brief description Toxic Harvest: The antiquity of rainforest Aboriginal occupation and toxic plant use in long-term subsistence patterns. The project aims to investigate the antiquity of human occupation of Australian tropical rainforests and the role that toxic plants played in the adaptation process. International research suggests that people only permanently occupied rainforests in the last 5,000 years with access to agriculture. The fact that Australian rainforest Aborigines were hunter-gatherers using specialised processing technology to exploit toxic plant foods and living at high population densities suggests a more complex situation. Outcomes include contribution to international debates on the origin and antiquity of human rainforest settlement, an understanding of the biological properties of rainforest plants and development of research partnerships with Indigenous communities.

Funding Amount $276,568

Funding Scheme Discovery Projects

View this grant in the ARC Data Portal