The native of Australia is a native of the continent. All nationality is separated from others in racial and linguistic terms. Indigenous people are also known as Australian Bushmen. "Bush" means vast expanses with an abundance of shrubs and stunted trees. These territories are characteristic of some areas of Australia and Africa.
General information
Indigenous people speak Australian. Only some of it is in English. Australian aborigines inhabit predominantly areas that are far beyond cities. They can be found in the Central, North-Western, Northern and North-Eastern parts of the continent. A certain part of the indigenous population lives in cities.
New data
For a long time, it was believed that Tasmanian aborigines developed separately from other Australian tribes. It was assumed that this went on for at least several thousand years. The results of modern research indicate something else. It turned out that the Tasmanian Aboriginal language has many common words with other dialects of the Australian southern tribes. By race, these tribes are allocated in a separate group. They are considered the Australian branch of the Australoid race.
Anthropology
On this basis, the aborigines of Australia, the photos of which are presented in the article, belong to one characteristic species. Certain features are inherent in it. The native of Australia has pronounced features characteristic of a Negroid complex. A feature of the Bushmen is considered a fairly massive skull. Also a distinctive feature is the developed tertiary hairline. It has now been clearly established that Australian aborigines descended from the same race. However, this does not preclude the influence of others. For that period, the proliferation of mixed marriages was typical. In addition, it should be noted that there were several migration waves on this continent. Between them there was a significant time interval. It was established that before the beginning of the period of European colonization in Australia, a huge number of aborigines lived. More precisely, over six hundred different tribes. Each of them spoke their own dialect and language.
Australian Aboriginal Life
Bushmen do not have houses or dwellings, they do not have domesticated cattle. Aborigines do not use clothing. They live in separate groups, which can include up to sixty people. Australian aborigines do not even have an elementary tribal organization. They also lack many of the simple skills that distinguish humans from animals. For example, they are not able to fish, make dishes, sew their own clothes, etc. Meanwhile, even those tribes that live in the wilds of Africa are now able to do this. In the XIX century, relevant studies were conducted. Then scientists came to the conclusion that the native of Australia is on a certain line between animals and people. This is due to the egregious savagery of their existence. Currently, the native of Australia is a representative of the most backward people.
Aboriginal population
She is a little more than four hundred thousand people. Of course, this is outdated data, because the census was carried out about ten years ago. This number includes those aborigines who live on the territory of the Torres Strait Islands. The indigenous population is about twenty-seven thousand people. Local Aborigines differ from other Australian groups. First of all, this is due to cultural features. They have a lot in common with the Papuans and Melanesians. Currently, most Australian Aboriginal people live off charitable foundations and government assistance. Their livelihoods are almost completely lost. Accordingly, classes in gathering, fishing and hunting are absent. At the same time, a certain part of the natives living on the islands of the Torres Strait owns manual farming. Traditional religious beliefs persist. The following types of aborigines are distinguished:
- Barrinean.
- Carpentarian.
- Murray.
Development before European intervention
The exact date of settlement of Australia has not yet been established. It is believed that this happened several tens of thousands of years ago. The ancestors of Australians come from Southeast Asia. They managed to overcome about ninety kilometers of water barriers. The Pleistocene continental shelf served as an expensive one . Dingo dogs appeared on the continent . Most likely, this happened due to the additional influx of immigrants who arrived by sea about five thousand years ago. The same is due to the appearance of the stone industry. Even before the intervention of Europeans, the racial type and culture of Australian aborigines boasted breakthroughs in evolution.
Colonization period
Europeans arrived here in the 18th century. At that time, the number of Australian Aboriginal people was approximately two million people. They united in groups. The composition of the population of Australia was quite diverse. As a result, more than five hundred tribes appeared on the mainland. All of them were distinguished by a complex social organization. Each tribe had its own rituals and myths. Australian Aborigines spoke more than two hundred languages. The period of colonization was accompanied by targeted destruction of the indigenous population. Australian Aborigines lost their territories. They were driven into ecologically disadvantaged areas of the mainland. The outbreak contributed to a sharp decline in their numbers. In 1921, the population density of Australia, indigenous in particular, was no more than sixty thousand people. In the future, public policy has changed. Protected reservations began to be created. The authorities organized medical and material assistance. The combination of these actions has significantly contributed to the fact that the population density of Australia has increased.
Subsequent development
Such a concept as "Australian citizenship" did not exist until the beginning of 1949. British citizens were considered the majority of local residents. An appropriate law was passed under which all indigenous people became Australian citizens. Every person born in this territory after this date was already its citizen automatically. In the 90s, the number of Australian Aborigines was about two hundred and fifty thousand people. This is only one and a half percent of the entire population of the mainland.
Aboriginal mythology
The indigenous population of Australia believed that being is not limited only to physical reality. Aborigines believed that there is a world where their spiritual ancestors live. They believed that physical reality resonated with him. And so they exert mutual influence on each other. It was believed that heaven is a place where both of these worlds meet. The movement of the moon and the sun was influenced by the actions of spiritual ancestors. It was also believed that they can be affected by a living person. A huge role in Aboriginal mythology is played by celestial bodies, stars, etc.
Archaeologists and historians have long been studying fragments containing drawings by the Bushmen. It is still not completely clear what exactly the rock paintings depicted. In particular, were they celestial objects or some pictures from everyday life? Aborigines possessed certain information about the sky. It is established that they tried to use
celestial bodies to implement the calendar. Nevertheless, there is no information that he was somehow connected with the lunar phases. It is also known that there have been no attempts to use celestial objects for navigation.