The first inhabitants of the Australian continent were natives. They are also called indigenous bushmen. The peoples of Australia form an independent Australoid race. They occupy the mainland and nearby islands. Ethnographers distinguish two large groups. Representatives of one occupy continental lands. Descendants of another family live on an archipelago located in the Torres Strait.
Natives
The peoples of Australia have much in common. Bushmen have dark skin, large facial features. With Europeans they are related by growth. The islanders account for about two percent of the indigenous population. A small part of the inhabitants of the strait considers themselves to be Melanesians. The rest call themselves aborigines.
History reference
The ancestors of modern Aborigines appeared on the mainland about fifty thousand years ago. Scientists believe that the first Australians arrived on the continent, having sailed from Asia. Bushmen settled near freshwater ponds. They were engaged in picking edible mushrooms, berries and fruits and were skilled fishers and hunters.
As soon as the tribe grew, it was divided into several families. Young Bushmen were moving away from their relatives in search of new places rich in animals. So the people of Australia spread throughout the continent. In new lands they were waiting for an unusual landscape and other climatic conditions. Tribes were forced to adapt to the inevitable changes. Their way of life changed, and beyond it their appearance.
One bushman got the open savannah. Others occupied the territory of mangroves. Still others went to the swamps. Tribes inhabited deserts and coral banks, water meadows and lake shores, subalpine foothills and tropical jungle.
Resettlement
At the end of the 17th century, colonies of Europeans began to appear on the continent, which began to squeeze the indigenous peoples of Australia. It is believed that at that time about four hundred thousand aborigines lived on the mainland. But this figure raises a lot of doubts. According to unofficial data, the number of Bushmen exceeded one million people. The decline in the local population was due to epidemics that the Europeans brought with them. Unfamiliar diseases at times increased the mortality of Aboriginal people.
According to descriptions compiled by the colonists, the indigenous inhabitants of Australia occupied territories located in the north and in the region of large rivers. They led a nomadic lifestyle. Basically, they did not leave their territories, but in the days of trade exchanges they met on neutral lands. In 1788, there were about five hundred large tribes. Each family owned their own language.
Current situation
Currently, the number of Aboriginal people is growing rapidly. This is due to the high birth rate. In 1967, the indigenous people of Australia became full citizens, all the rights listed in the constitution were secured to them. Today, the state government is enacting laws establishing land for reservations for the Bushmen. Self-government acts on them.
A large number of Aboriginal people speak the Yolngu Math language. For them, local television broadcasts special channels that are targeted at representatives of national communities. In 2010, training television programs were launched. Lessons are devoted to the study of dialects of the peoples of Australia and Oceania. At the same time, the main broadcasting is still conducted in English.
Prominent representatives of the indigenous population are performer Jessica Mauba and actor David Galpilil, writer David United and painter Albert Namatjira, professional football player David Virrpanda and television presenter Ernie Dingo.
Ethnographers distinguish the following types of national groups inhabiting the continent:
- barrinoid;
- Carpentarian
- Murray.
Barrinoid group
Tribes of this family live in the tropical thickets of the mainland and occupy the lion's share of Queensland forests. This type has a lot of similarities with the Melanesian group. Aboriginal growth is low, barely reaches 157 centimeters. Representatives of the barrinoid type are distinguished by very dark, dark skin. They have brown eyes and black curly hair. Beard and mustache do not grow well. Aboriginal nose has a concave shape. The teeth of representatives of this group are small and rare, but some aborigines suffer from macrodontia.
Natives of these tribes can be found today in major cities in Australia and on reservations. Barrinoids have relatively large heads with a minimum width of the frontal zone. The eyebrows are poorly developed, and the face itself is narrow and elongated. Cheekbones not expressed enough.
Carpentaria Group
Representatives of this type are common in the northern part of the mainland. Aborigines have a rich and almost black skin color. They are tall and have a thin physique. In large cities in Australia, descendants of this family are rare. They choose quiet and secluded places in the Arnhemland area and on the lands of Cape York.
The forehead of the Carpentarians has an average slope. But the eyebrows are strongly expressed. They are powerful and sometimes merge into a single roller. Aboriginal people have large teeth. The hair is usually wavy. The hairline on the body and face of the Bushmen is average. Ethnographers divide the Carpentarian group into two families. Aborigines living in the Arnhemland area are different from their congeners who occupied Cape York. The first are tall and stately, the second are more like Papuans. In the blood of the tribes occupying the Cape York Peninsula, there are impurities of families belonging to the Murray and Barrinoid types.
Murray Group
Scientists are still arguing about which peoples inhabit Australia. This question raises a lot of doubts. The life and history of the tribes have not been sufficiently studied. This is due to the fragmentation of families, many of which are still isolated from civilized society. As for the Murray type, people belonging to this group occupy land in the south of the continent.
They have a relatively light skin tone. There are aborigines with straight hair. Curly curls are observed in those groups that live in the vicinity of the Victoria Desert. This is due to an admixture of Tasmanian blood. Their mustache and beard are actively growing. Their appearance is closest to that of a European.
Bushmen have a wide forehead and a large head. The back of the nose is characterized by a straight profile. Aboriginal people have very large teeth. All Murray are carriers of macrodontia. The maximum slope of the forehead for Australian aborigines.
The lower jaw is wide, the development of the eyebrow is not as expressive as that of the Carpentarians. The face is tall and oblong. The average Murray’s height is 160 centimeters. Since anthropological information is insufficient, the description of the ethnic composition of Australia cannot be called exhaustive.
central region
Currently, Australians of English descent are rare guests in this part of the continent. This is the least studied area. It is still inhabited by Aboriginal tribes, which have not yet been assigned to any type. Skull of the Bushmen of medium length. The forehead is narrow and tall. A face cannot be called round or wide. But the nose is massive. A distinctive feature of the representatives of these tribes is the birth of blond children.
Over time, their curls acquire a darker color, but blondes are found among women. Men have a high growth, a developed chest, a strong physique.
West
The appearance of the natives living in the west of the continent is somewhat different from the appearance of their neighbors. They have an elongated skull, a narrow face with a strong brow relief. The nose is low, which visually makes the shape of the face wider.
Oceania
The peoples of the Australian part of the island archipelago are represented by the Melanesians and Papuans. The former are distinguished by a dark skin color. Tribes use different language dialects and are very fragmented. Most Melanesians do farming. But there are those who travel the sea. They plow the ocean, moving away from their native shores over vast distances.
The overwhelming majority of inhabitants are converted to the Catholic and Protestant faiths. This is the result of the long work of Christian priests who arrived in Oceania with the colonists.
Papuans sailed to the shores of Australia from Asia. Resettlement occurred about forty-five thousand years ago. This ethnic group consists of several hundred tribes. Papuans are engaged in gardening, sometimes fishing. Aboriginal belonging to a certain type is indicated by their clothes.
As such, the leaders of the Papuan tribes do not. All issues are resolved by adult men who have a high position in the group.