Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIA
Australian Aboriginal society has the longest continuous cultural history in the world, its
origins dating back to at least the last ice age. Mystery shrouds many aspects of Australian
prehistory, but it's thought that the first humans probably came here from Southeast Asia
more than 50,000 years ago. Archaeological evidence suggests that descendants of these
first arrivals colonised the continent within a few thousand years.
Aborigines were traditionally tribal people, living in extended family groups. Knowledge
and skills obtained over millennia enabled them to use their environment extensively and
sustainably. Their intimate knowledge of animal behaviour and plant harvesting ensured
that food shortages were rare.
The simplicity of Aboriginal technology contrasted with a sophisticated cultural life. Re-
ligion, history, law and art were integrated in complex ceremonies, which depicted ances-
tral beings who created the land and its people, as well as prescribing codes of behaviour.
Aborigines continue to perform traditional ceremonies in many parts of Australia.
When the British arrived at Sydney Cove in 1788, it's estimated that there were between
500,000 and one million Aborigines across Australia, with between 200 and 250 distinct
regional languages. Governor Arthur Phillip estimated that around 1500 Aborigines lived
around Sydney at first contact, but his figures can't be relied upon.
The coastal people around Sydney were known as the Eora (which literally means 'from
this place'), broken into clans such as the Cadigal and the Wangal. Three main languages
were used by Aborigines in the area, encompassing several dialects and subgroups. Al-
though there was considerable overlap, Ku-ring-gai was generally spoken on the northern
shore, Dharawal along the coast south of Botany Bay, and Dharug and its dialects around
Parramatta on the plains to the Blue Mountains.
Australia's Aborigines were the first people in the world to make polished, edge-ground stone
tools; to cremate their dead; and to engrave and paint representations of themselves and the
animals they hunted.
As Aboriginal society was based on tribal family groups, a coordinated response to the
European colonisers wasn't possible. Without any 'legal right' to the lands they lived on -
the British declared Australia to be terra nullius, meaning 'land belonging to no one' -
Australia's Aborigines were dispossessed. Some were driven away by force, some were
killed, many were shifted onto government reserves and missions, and thousands, including
most of the Cadigal, succumbed to foreign diseases introduced by the Europeans.
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search