Early Occupation and Lake Mungo
Early Occupation
A map showing Australian Aboriginal migration from Africa
The date of Australian Aboriginals and their date of migration to Australia is controversial with conflicting views from archaeologists. However, using Lake Mungo evidence as well as other sites such as the oldest known Petroglyph rock engravings in South Australia we can estimate that the indigenous Australians have lived in Australia for around 40 000 years and even more than 60 000 years. This is because more recent studies have shown that dating techniques used on artefacts believed to be more than 60 000 years old to be unreliable and inaccurate.
It is widely believed that Australian Aboriginals migrated from South-east Asia where they originated from Africa in one mass migration while a minority theory is that they came from South-east Asia in three smaller and separate migrations. Also at this period of time the ocean around Australia was 100 metres lower than it is today. They were also land bridges that spanned from Papua New Guinea to Australia which would have allowed travel by sea. However, some archaeologists are sceptical as it is believed that they migrated from Asia to Australia 70 000 years ago which would have required a great understanding of the land and sea as well as a lot of foresight and planning for the great traverse.
It is widely believed that Australian Aboriginals migrated from South-east Asia where they originated from Africa in one mass migration while a minority theory is that they came from South-east Asia in three smaller and separate migrations. Also at this period of time the ocean around Australia was 100 metres lower than it is today. They were also land bridges that spanned from Papua New Guinea to Australia which would have allowed travel by sea. However, some archaeologists are sceptical as it is believed that they migrated from Asia to Australia 70 000 years ago which would have required a great understanding of the land and sea as well as a lot of foresight and planning for the great traverse.
-Sunda
An image of Sunda, taken from Wikipedia
Maritime South-east Asia used to be a one landmass called Sunda which allowed easier migration but also shows that the settlers had knowledge of the sea to travel around 90 km (the biggest gap from Papua New Guinea) to reach Australia .
-General information
An image of the 250 Australian Aboriginal nations, taken from Ruthdesouza
The settlers had knowledge of fires (evidence in the form of charcoals), to produce new growth as well as to attract animals and to open up impassable forest.
Around 20 000 to 15 000 years ago, the last Ice age came which is believed to have wiped out around 80% of the Aboriginal population.
The Australian Aboriginals are hunters or gatherers. Even though they were generally semi-nomadic, moving to areas of food abundance there were also some permanent settlements and agriculture spots. There is evidence that the Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory traded with Macassan traders from Indonesia.
The population before 1788 is estimated between 314 000 people to 750 000 while others believe a population of 1 million could have been sustained. The population group was split into roughly 250 nations who were sometimes in an alliance with each other and each nation had several clans starting from around 6 and each clan had roughly 30 to 40 members. Each nation had its own language or several or spoke a dialect of a main language group such as the Wolgu/ Wolgalu people who spoke a dialect of the Ngarigo people.
Around 20 000 to 15 000 years ago, the last Ice age came which is believed to have wiped out around 80% of the Aboriginal population.
The Australian Aboriginals are hunters or gatherers. Even though they were generally semi-nomadic, moving to areas of food abundance there were also some permanent settlements and agriculture spots. There is evidence that the Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory traded with Macassan traders from Indonesia.
The population before 1788 is estimated between 314 000 people to 750 000 while others believe a population of 1 million could have been sustained. The population group was split into roughly 250 nations who were sometimes in an alliance with each other and each nation had several clans starting from around 6 and each clan had roughly 30 to 40 members. Each nation had its own language or several or spoke a dialect of a main language group such as the Wolgu/ Wolgalu people who spoke a dialect of the Ngarigo people.
Lake Mungo
Lake Mungo is an area in the Willandra Lakes region of New South Wales where there is evidence of Australian Aboriginals living there between 35 000 to 15 000 years ago. It a place where archaeologists have found strong evidence of Australian Aboriginal habitation due to natural erosion of the sand dunes.
Even though the Willandra lakes region is now a semi-arid area, 30 000 years ago areas of Australia and the world were more moist and cooler which could provide a suitable place for habitation for both animals and plants which provided a perfect place for human habitation.
The land provided the Australian Aboriginals with a varied diet of fruit, seafood and small marsupials for the thousands of Aboriginals that lived there. The Indigenous people lived around the freshwater lakes where they were covered by shady trees and grasslands.
Even though the Willandra lakes region is now a semi-arid area, 30 000 years ago areas of Australia and the world were more moist and cooler which could provide a suitable place for habitation for both animals and plants which provided a perfect place for human habitation.
The land provided the Australian Aboriginals with a varied diet of fruit, seafood and small marsupials for the thousands of Aboriginals that lived there. The Indigenous people lived around the freshwater lakes where they were covered by shady trees and grasslands.
-Evidence
Mungo I, taken from 2nd revolution
There are two main things that show us that there was Aboriginal existence in the Willandra Lakes region; the human remains of the Aboriginals and the vast collection of rock art sites as well as tools used for hunting and food gathering such as spears, nets and clubs.
There have been two human remains that have been found in the Lake Mungo, Willandra lakes region. These are Mungo III and Mungo I.
The first burial found was of a 19 year old girl who goes by the name of Mungo I who was discovered by Jim Bowler, an archaeologist, in 1968. She was cremated and her bones crushed next to the lake. Her burial is the oldest known cremation. It is estimated by Archaeologists that her burial took place 24 700 years ago.
Mungo I was a male who was around 50 when he died and was found in the stratigraphy of the earth. He was also found by Jim Bowler but later in 1974. Archaeologists found it hard to determine his gender as several parts of his body was missing. It is estimated that his burial took place between 28 000 and 32 000 years ago while others dispute it to be 40 000 or more such as the Australian Geographic. His burial was with deliberate care as his was found with his knees bent and his hands clasped. Red ochre was spread over the body at the time of the funeral which is significant as it shows that certain cultural traditions existed for longer than previously thought.
Both of these burials are some of the world’s oldest remains of modern humans (Homo sapiens) which are outside of Africa. They are significant as they showed that Aboriginal habitation in Australia was longer than previously thought at the time of the discovery.
There have been two human remains that have been found in the Lake Mungo, Willandra lakes region. These are Mungo III and Mungo I.
The first burial found was of a 19 year old girl who goes by the name of Mungo I who was discovered by Jim Bowler, an archaeologist, in 1968. She was cremated and her bones crushed next to the lake. Her burial is the oldest known cremation. It is estimated by Archaeologists that her burial took place 24 700 years ago.
Mungo I was a male who was around 50 when he died and was found in the stratigraphy of the earth. He was also found by Jim Bowler but later in 1974. Archaeologists found it hard to determine his gender as several parts of his body was missing. It is estimated that his burial took place between 28 000 and 32 000 years ago while others dispute it to be 40 000 or more such as the Australian Geographic. His burial was with deliberate care as his was found with his knees bent and his hands clasped. Red ochre was spread over the body at the time of the funeral which is significant as it shows that certain cultural traditions existed for longer than previously thought.
Both of these burials are some of the world’s oldest remains of modern humans (Homo sapiens) which are outside of Africa. They are significant as they showed that Aboriginal habitation in Australia was longer than previously thought at the time of the discovery.