Australian Aborigine History
Australia is the last large landmass discovered by the explorers that came from Europe. Europeans where looking for wonderful things that the natural resources of Australia has to offer. They did not expect that there were already people living in this landmass for over ten thousand years.
Seventy thousand years ago, heavy-boned people travel to Australia and fifty thousand years ago, smaller boned people traveled to the outback as the sea level went down. After the ice age, dessert where formed in Australia, which is now called the outback. When the sea level was not moving too much anymore, aborigines started settling in Australia and they created their own culture and community. The common places that the aborigines lived in are in the desert, Tasmania, the coast and the inland non-desert areas. The food that they usually eat is mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects. Fruits are also another food that aborigines eat. Aborigines who live in the coast usually eat shellfish, fish, reptiles, small animals, roots and fruits.
Features
Aborigines in Australia have been around in the continent for 35,000 to 70,000 years. They have dark skin and dark hair. They usually move from one place to another and they usually settle in camps. Aborigines usually live in close strong clans and families. Every clan has its own special land where their spirits return after they die. They protect these places because they believe that their ancestors are in these lands. Aborigines are very multicultural with around 500 tribes recorded.
Living
Aborigine men are usually custodians, hunters and tool-makers while the women take care of the children and the food that the men hunted. Aborigines are also very wise in using their land. They are also very good in determining the right time to harvest the plants. Aborigines are also very adept in trading as they trade all over the country. The things that they usually trade are stones, boomerangs, shells, and even a yellow paint pigment called ocher. As they trade with other tribes, they would perform ceremonies like singing while trading the resources.
English Arrival
The aborigines where not known in the world until the English explorers discovered them during 1788. The English introduced traditions such as music, art, dancing and singing. They introduced art by painting on tree barks using black, brown, yellow, white and red colors. These paintings are usually for traditional and ceremonial purposes. However, during the 1940s, these forms of art became very famous and they were bought for a price. During the 1860, the British settled in Sydney Cove. There were around 300,000 aborigines and 250 languages in Australia during that time. Because the aborigines are uncivilized, the British made them move, and the aborigines got sick and most of them died. The British also brought new animals like sheep, which destroyed the water holes and other ecosystem in Australia. This disrupted the way of living of the aborigines. In the 1900 up to now, the Aborigines can only be found in the Central and Northern Australia.