ASDST Hearths Pre1750 Model: Predictive Likelihood of Aboriginal Hearths in NSW

ASDST Version 7.5 provides a 50-meter resolution raster model predicting the likelihood of Aboriginal hearths across New South Wales prior to European colonization. The model outputs cell values from 0 to 1000, representing relative likelihood rather than probability. It was produced by the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment in 2020 and is part of a larger suite of Aboriginal heritage feature models.

Use Cases

• Assess landscape-scale heritage sensitivity for development planning based on predicted hearth likelihood.
• Identify data gaps and prioritize field survey areas based on model reliability layers.
• Model accumulated historical impacts by comparing pre-colonisation and current landscape predictions.
• Support cultural heritage decision-making for different Aboriginal site feature types like stone artefacts, rock art, and burials.

Strengths

• Model covers the entire spatial extent of New South Wales.
• Provides a specific pre-1750 predictive layer for hearths (HTH) among 10 distinct Aboriginal site feature types.
• Uses a standardized likelihood scale from 0 to 1000 for all feature models.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data may reflect geographic and source bias inherent to the underlying Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System (AHIMS).

Provenance

Source

NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

Collection Method

Derived from the Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System (AHIMS) using predictive modelling techniques.

Time Range

Predicts likelihood prior to European colonization (pre-1750).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-13 00:14:14.381377; freshness should be verified.

Geography

New South Wales, Australia.