The Impetus for the Article
It is believed that Australian Aborigines were scattered nomadic tribes of people who did not create
buildings for their own refuge (Dawson, 1881). However, records of the first white settlers who
arrived in Australia claim that Australian Aborigines were a developed society. Moreover,
researchers suggest that the ancestors of these aborigines were the first people to cross the ocean.
The ancestors of Europeans were afraid of the world, while the ancestors of the Australians had
already traveled across Asia and crossed the seas. The study of the Australian Aborigines is an
important key to deciphering the past of non-African humanity. It allows finding the answer to the
key questions of the early history and development of humanity.
A Brief Background to the Piece
When the first European colonists arrived on the Australian continent in 1788, the primitive
communal system was preserved among the locals. They lived in tribal communities, which were
governed by a council of adult men, and led a nomadic lifestyle. Aboriginal main activities were
hunting, fishing, and gathering. The natives skillfully used the nutritional and healing properties
of plants growing around them, collected seafood, but agriculture, even in its infancy, was not
familiar to them. By the time Europeans arrived, Australian Aborigines can be characterized as a
Stone Age people (Pascoe, 2014). “White” colonization was accompanied by deliberate extermination of
the local population, landlessness, and its crowding out into ecologically unfavorable areas.
However, there are historical records and documents in which the first white settlers testify that
the Aborigines built houses, created settlements, dams and mills, selected seeds for sowing and
harvesting, plowed meadows, irrigated crops, and harvested food.
Researchers use descriptions recorded in the diaries of the first European researchers. Researchers described densely-populated Aboriginal villages across the country, with buildings made of large logs and clay (Pascoe, 2014). They explained how Aborigines stored excess grain, used sophisticated systems to take care of soil and water, took care of wild animals and fish, had growing knowledge and experience in storing seeds, nuts, fruits, and vegetables. Also, according to these records, it is evident that the land was much more fertile than at present, and the vast area of the continent, which at present is only regarded as a barren desert, has been successfully used by aborigines for thousands of previous years. Arriving Europeans brought in foreign animals that trampled the soil with hooves, which led to soil erosion.
Outline of the Article
Clarkson et al. (2017) have found confirmation that the Australian aborigines settled the continent
about 65 thousand years ago. Objects found in the deepest layer of the rock shelter in Majedbebe
indicate the dynamic resettlement of Aboriginal people in Australia, which was accompanied by
technical innovations. In addition, genetics drew a map of the aboriginal population of Australia by
studying mitochondrial DNA obtained from Aboriginal hair samples from various parts of the
continent. According to new data, Australians settled in their places of modern residence about 50
thousand years ago (Tobler et al., 2017). Historical records and documents in which the first white
settlers testify that Aborigines built houses, created settlements, dams and mills, took seeds for
sowing and harvesting, plowed meadows, irrigated crops and harvested food. In the book Dark Emu,
Pascoe (2014) uses descriptions recorded in the diaries of the first European researchers. According
to historical data (archaeological excavations), Australian Aborigines were the first crop to grind
grain for cooking. Moreover, Malaspinas et al. (2016) have established that the founders of the
Australians left Africa and first arrived on the Australian continent about 50 thousand years ago.
For 4 thousand years before the arrival of Europeans on the continent, the natives remained almost
isolated. They might be the oldest group in the world that has been attached to only one place on
Earth for so long. In addition, geneticists learned that on their way to Australia, the ancestors of
the aborigines had connections with various hominids, including an unknown until now “relative” of
modern man. The latter contributed 4% of its genetic information to the Australians genome. In
modern times, the social support of indigenous peoples and the promotion of their national dignity
are of high importance due to the presence of possibility that their identity will merge with
dominant society and will simply disappear. According to J. Daly (2018), football is an important
social mechanism for supporting Aboriginal people. It should be used as one of the main
identification mechanisms to ensure the formation of indigenous community.
References Clarkson, C., Jacobs, Z., Marwick, B., Fullagar, R., Wallis, L., Smith, M., ... & Florin, S. A. (2017). Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago. Nature, 547(7663), 306. Daly, J. (2018) Football benefits Indigenous communities long after the siren. Watoday.com.au. Dawson, J. (1881). Australian Aborigines: the languages and customs of several tribes of Aborigines in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. Melbourne: G. Robertson (26). Malaspinas, A. S., Westaway, M. C., Muller, C., Sousa, V. C., Lao, O., Alves, I., ... & Heupink, T. H. (2016). A genomic history of Aboriginal Australia. Nature, 538(7624), 207. Pascoe, B. (2014). Dark emu black seeds: Agriculture or accident?. Magabala Books. Tobler, R., Rohrlach, A., Soubrier, J., Bover, P., Llamas, B., Tuke, J., ... & O’Loughlin, I. (2017). Aboriginal mitogenomes reveal 50,000 years of regionalism in Australia. Nature, 544(7649), 180.