Fig. 4: The three largest pieces of wood from the two miniature fireplaces at Cloggs Cave, showing details of the two trimmed sticks.

a, The trimmed stick from the XU8–9 fireplace. b, End view of the XU8–9 trimmed stick, showing the large rays (blue arrows) characteristic of Casuarina spp. At this magnification, the smaller rays are not visible. The number of large rays is characteristic of C. cunninghamiana. The vessel distribution and vessel sizes are relatively uniform. c, The proximal end of the trimmed stick from the XU8–9 fireplace. The remnant base of a twig trimmed off flush with the smooth surface of the stick is evident (yellow rectangle). d, The trimmed hooked stick from the XU11 fireplace. The distal end is charred. The blue rectangle shows the proximal end from which the torn and fibrous end was broken from the tree. The red rectangles show larger twigs that were trimmed or broken off. The yellow rectangles show small twig junctions cut or scraped off flush with the stem, creating a smooth shaft on the stick. e, Torn fibrous proximal hooked end of the trimmed stick from the XU11 fireplace. The fibrous elements indicate that the wood was green when broken. The base of a small twig cut or scraped flush with the main stem is evident (yellow rectangle). f,g, Three different bases of twigs (yellow rectangles) cut or scraped flush with the main stem of the stick from the XU11 fireplace. h, Small twig from the XU11 fireplace. It exhibits no signs of twig removal nor charring (photos by Steve Morton).