The irrepressible Alex did pound his keyboard thus:
>The Aborigines of Tasmania numbered roughly 5000 in an isle at
>least 50 000 km^2 leading to a population density of .1 person
>per km^2. They have a taboo against the consumption of fish
>which would have decreased their population somewhat.
Not quite. The Tasmanoids (quite sensibly, given the number of reports of escaped English & Irish convicts turning to cannibalism out there) avoided large sections of the island's rugged interior and were mainly a coastal people. You'll need to juggle population densities a bit Alex.
The archaeological record reveals that yes, around 6,000 BP the Tasmanians did indeed stop eating fish. This does not seem to have affected population. Anthropologically, the interesting question is about the "carrying capacity" of a culture - for here we have several thousand people living in complete isolation for ten thousand years or more.
Much wonder and respect too, for the Tasmanians at times lived less than two two thousand miles from the southern polar ice cap. Try *that* with your wheatie bits.
Cheers
John
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