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by sriacha 50 days ago
>It's been extensively documented among modern human groups.

Do you have some sources? A quick search doesn't pull up much evidence for current hunter-gatherer dependence on natural fire regime. Or you mean anatomically modern humans?

2 comments

Yes, Tasmanians are the best example that comes to mind. They had a mythology developed around lightning and subsequent fires and would then try to keep a fire going as long as possible.
Interesting, but doesn't seem to be much evidence they depended on natural occurring fire.

Here is a nice report: Fire-Making in Tasmania: Absence of Evidence Is Not Evidence of Absence , Gott 2016: https://sci-hub.su/10.1086/342430

It was personally related to me that it occurs among the northern Aché by an anthropologist who lived with them and had photos of him carrying coals.

The warlpiri and the yuqui are two other examples, along with certain andaman groups.

Tasmanians do start fires, but often prefer to carry. This is a surprisingly common practice. Starting fires is a lot of work.