Aboriginal resources change through time in N ew E ngland upland wetlands, south‐east A ustralia

It has previously been assumed that N ew E ngland high‐country environments were not conducive to intense A boriginal occupation and associated ceremonial activities. How productive were upland wetlands (lagoons) for A boriginal occupation of high country in eastern A ustralia through time? Especially during their intermittent phases, upland lagoons provide a diverse and changing mix of deep water, marsh and the green pick of recently exposed lake bed, a rich aggregation of both plant and animal resources not available in other environments. Upland wetlands can be a surprisingly productive A boriginal resource in an otherwise harsh country, and would at times allow for high population aggregations, such as for ceremonies. We surveyed the ecological literature on N ew E ngland lagoon characteristics, on vegetation and on birds and other fauna used as resources by A boriginal people. This was then compared with palaeo‐environmental data to prepare an account of potential resources for the N ew E ngland region over time. We found that overall productivity of lagoons can be high, with large numbers of plant and animal species present in the wetland environment, especially in the early and very late H olocene. Productivity is highest not at the lake‐full stage, but when the moist littoral zones are at their most extensive. The reasons for the apparent sparseness of occupation of the high country before the mid‐ H olocene are unresolved but open to informed speculation about the changing resource inventory of the wetlands, and the mid‐ H olocene appearance of new technologies that may have enabled more efficient use of resources. In the later H olocene, A boriginal occupation in upland areas became visible in the record, and included an exceptionally high number of ceremonial sites juxtaposed with the areas of greatest lagoon concentration. This suggests either that these wetlands had become more productive and diverse over time or that people had learnt how to make better use of the available wetland resources, to the point of supporting the larger numbers often associated with ceremonial activity. More research into the location and chronology of wetland archaeological sites is required to resolve the question of whether the apparent early lack of sites is a question of visibility or a real hiatus.