A note on the diet of the Tasmanian Aborigines

Abstract

The Tasmanian Aboriginal diet was drawn from marine and non-marine environments, in which food resources varied according to habitat. Alpine and rain forest environments provided a limited supply of plant food, whereas the wet and dry schlerophyll forests provided an abundant supply of plant and animal foods. The coastal zones, despite a deceptively barren appearance, supplied a consistently rich plant and marsupial food resource that was supplemented by large shellfish grounds and a seasonal abundance of birds and certain mammals.