Australian Aboriginals

The original inhabitants of Australia who first reached the continent 40,000-60,000 ya, at a time when the land bridge with New Guinea still existed. The first settlements in southern Australia and Tasmania date from about 30,000 ya. The Aboriginals lived as hunter-gatherers, most being nomadic. Engraved and painted figurative art developed about 29,000 ya, and different cultural areas have been identified, based on techniques. Exchange of stones, shells and pigments along long-distance trade routes ensured overall cultural unity, despite linguistic and environmental differences (some 260 language groups have been identified). This unity was expressed in the concept of 'dreamtime', an awareness of the spirit in the environment. Before Europeans arrived there were perhaps 3 million Aboriginals, with the largest concentration in the Murray-Darling region of southeastern Australia.