Introduction: Aboriginal History

Aboriginal History

Year 9 - Week 3

Introduction: Aboriginal Language Groups

★Before colonisation it was believed there was over 250 individual Indigenous languages.

★All of the languages were oral languages, none were written; they had no alphabet or symbols.

★Europeans transcribed many of the languages using German and English language sounds and alphabets and this helped them survive - Pitjantjatjara is the main language spoken in South Australia because of the strong culture on the APY lands and the strong knowledge of language since being transcribed.

Multiple Choice

Language is key to culture

Before colonisation it was believed there was___________ individual Indigenous languages.

• over 300

• over 100

• over 200

• over 250

Introduction: Aboriginal Language Groups

❖Today around 60 languages live on and some are being revitalised.

❖Many were killed off  because of colonisation and Europeans and Christians forbidding people to speak them.

❖Sounds and words were only learned through listening and pictures and symbols for objects to tell stories and record history through song and art.

❖Kaura is the language of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide plains.  The last fluent speaker Ivaritji passed away in the 1920’s. German linguists at that time recorded parts of the Kaurna language and it is now being revitalised by using  other surrounding languages to recreate the language so it can be spoken fluently.

Open Ended

Today around 60 languages live on and some are being revitalised.

Many were killed off  because __________________________

Introduction: When?

❖For thousands of years before ancient civilisations in Egypt, Jesus Christ or The Roman Empire, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were living successfully on this continent we now call Australia.

❖Indigenous Australian cultures are the oldest continuous cultures in the world, over 60,000 years.

❖Although many mainland groups were hunter gatherers and nomadic they did occupy their own lands and perform many forms of agriculture and harvesting. They were not just walking around aimlessly as Terra Nullius would infer

❖Groups travelled and traded across the width and breadth of the land.  Although they did not own the land in modern day terms they were custodians of pockets and did fight with other nations or tribes, but they co-existed in harmony with the environment and their customs, social structure and spirituality all connects to their country.

Open Ended

What does the picture tell you about "dreaming stories"?

Open Ended

What are "sacred sites"?

Open Ended

What do the rock paintings tell you?

Open Ended

What does the picture tell you about "rituals"?

Open Ended

What are the land bridges?

Open Ended

What is island hopping?

Open Ended

What does the picture tell you about adaptation?

Open Ended

Can you tell me something about kinship?

Open Ended

How important the elders are to Aboriginal?

Open Ended

What is a "clan"?

Multiple Choice

Do we still use fire stick farming these days?

• Yes, we mainly use this strategy to farm

• yes, but in some places only

• No

Open Ended

What does the picture tell you about "nomadic"?

Open Ended

Give some examples of mega fauna. Do they still exist nowadays?