Multiproxy archaeobotanical analyses (starch granule, phytolith and microcharcoal) of an abandoned agricultural terrace at Wagadagam on Mabuyag Island, Torres Strait, Australia, document extensive, low-intensity forms of plant management from at least 2,145–1,930 cal yr bp and intensive forms of cultivation at 1,376–1,293 cal yr bp. The agricultural activities at 1,376–1,293 cal yr bp are evidenced from terrace construction, banana (Musa cultivars) cultivation and dramatic transformations to the local palaeoenvironment. The robust evidence for the antiquity of horticulture in western Torres Strait provides an historical basis for understanding the diffusion of cultivation practices and cultivars, most likely from New Guinea. This study also provides a methodological template for the investigation of plant management, potentially including forms of cultivation that were practiced in northern Australia before European colonization.

在澳大利亚托雷斯海峡Mabuyag岛上Wagadagam的一个废弃农业梯田的多代理考古植物学分析（淀粉颗粒，植物石炭和微木炭）记录了至少2,145–1,930 cal bp的广泛，低强度的植物管理 形式和密集形式的以1,376–1,293 cal yr bp进行耕种 。梯田建设，香蕉（Musa）证明了1,376–1,293 cal bp yr bp年的农业活动。 品种）的种植和向当地古环境的巨大转变。托雷斯海峡西部的园艺古代的有力证据为了解栽培习俗和品种的传播提供了历史基础，这种传播很可能来自新几内亚。这项研究还为调查植物管理提供了一种方法学模板，其中可能包括欧洲殖民之前在澳大利亚北部实行的栽培形式。