Editing History of Australia (section)

==Indigenous prehistory==
{{Main|History of Indigenous Australians}}
{{See also|Prehistory of Australia|Aboriginal history of Western Australia}}
[[File:Aboriginal Art Australia.jpg|thumb|left|Rock painting at Ubirr in [[Kakadu National Park]]. Evidence of [[Aboriginal art]] in Australia can be traced back some 30,000 years.]]
The ancestors of [[Aboriginal Australians]] moved into what is now the Australian continent about 50,000 to 65,000 years ago,<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal|last1=Williams|first1=Martin A. J.|last2=Spooner|first2=Nigel A.|last3=McDonnell|first3=Kathryn|last4=O'Connell|first4=James F.|date=January 2021|title=Identifying disturbance in archaeological sites in tropical northern Australia: Implications for previously proposed 65,000-year continental occupation date|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/gea.21822|url-status=live|journal=Geoarchaeology|language=en|volume=36|issue=1|pages=92–108|bibcode=2021Gearc..36...92W|doi=10.1002/gea.21822|issn=0883-6353|s2cid=225321249|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004091731/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/gea.21822|archive-date=4 October 2023|access-date=16 October 2023}}</ref><ref name="ClarksonJacobs2017">{{Cite journal|last1=Clarkson|first1=Chris|last2=Jacobs|first2=Zenobia|last3=Marwick|first3=Ben|last4=Fullagar|first4=Richard|last5=Wallis|first5=Lynley|last6=Smith|first6=Mike|last7=Roberts|first7=Richard G.|last8=Hayes|first8=Elspeth|last9=Lowe|first9=Kelsey |last10=Carah |first10=Xavier|last11=Florin|first11=S. Anna|last12=McNeil|first12=Jessica|last13=Cox|first13=Delyth|last14=Arnold|first14=Lee J.|last15=Hua|first15=Quan|year=2017|title=Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago|journal=Nature|volume=547|issue=7663|pages=306–310|bibcode=2017Natur.547..306C|doi=10.1038/nature22968|issn=0028-0836|pmid=28726833|s2cid=205257212|hdl-access=free|last16=Huntley|first16=Jillian|last17=Brand|first17=Helen E. A.|last18=Manne|first18=Tiina|last19=Fairbairn|first19=Andrew |last20=Shulmeister |first20=James|last21=Lyle|first21=Lindsey|last22=Salinas|first22=Makiah|last23=Page|first23=Mara|last24=Connell|first24=Kate|last25=Park|first25=Gayoung|last26=Norman|first26=Kasih|last27=Murphy|first27=Tessa|last28=Pardoe|first28=Colin|hdl=2440/107043|url=https://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers/4803 }}</ref><ref name="Veth">{{Cite book|last1=Veth|first1=Peter|url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory0001unse_m8y7|title=The Cambridge History of Australia, Volume 1, Indigenous and Colonial Australia|last2=O'Connor|first2=Sue|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2013|isbn=978-1-1070-1153-3|editor-last=Bashford|editor-first=Alison|location=Cambridge|pages=19|chapter=The past 50,000 years: an archaeological view|editor-last2=MacIntyre|editor-first2=Stuart|url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="FaganDurrani20182">{{Cite book|last1=Fagan|first1=Brian M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W0NvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT250|title=People of the Earth: An Introduction to World Prehistory|last2=Durrani|first2=Nadia|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2018|isbn=978-1-3517-5764-5|pages=250–253|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203142816/https://books.google.com/books?id=W0NvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT250#v=onepage&q&f=false|archive-date=3 December 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> during the [[Last Glacial Period|last glacial period]], arriving by [[Land bridge|land bridges]] and short sea crossings from what is now Southeast Asia.<ref name="Oppenheimer2013">{{Cite book|last=Oppenheimer|first=Stephen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VQQvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PP111|title=Out of Eden: The Peopling of the World|date=2013|publisher=Little, Brown Book Group|isbn=978-1-7803-3753-1|pages=111–|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203142820/https://books.google.com/books?id=VQQvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PP111#v=onepage&q&f=false|archive-date=3 December 2023|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Madjedbebe]] rock shelter in [[Arnhem Land]], in the north of the continent, is perhaps the oldest site of human occupation in Australia.<ref name=":02" /><ref name="Gilligan2018">{{Cite book|last=Gilligan|first=Ian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ux50DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA237|title=Climate, Clothing, and Agriculture in Prehistory: Linking Evidence, Causes, and Effects|date=2018|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-1084-7008-7|page=237|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203142816/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ux50DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA237#v=onepage&q&f=false|archive-date=3 December 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> From the north, the population spread into a range of very different environments. [[Devil's Lair]] in the extreme south-west of the continent was occupied around 47,000 years ago and Tasmania by 39,000 years ago.<ref name=":33">Veth, Peter; O'Connor, Sue (2013). pp. 19, 23</ref> The oldest human remains found are at [[Lake Mungo remains|Lake Mungo]] in New South Wales, which have been dated to around 41,000 years ago. The site suggests one of the world's oldest known cremations, indicating early evidence for religious ritual among humans.<ref name="Castillo2015">{{Cite book|last=Castillo|first=Alicia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jV64BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA41|title=Archaeological Dimension of World Heritage: From Prevention to Social Implications|date=2015|publisher=Springer Science|isbn=978-1-4939-0283-5|page=41|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203142821/https://books.google.com/books?id=jV64BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA41#v=onepage&q&f=false|archive-date=3 December 2023|url-status=live}}</ref>

The spread of the population also altered the environment. From 46,000 years ago, [[fire-stick farming]] was used in many parts of Australia to clear vegetation, make travel easier, and create open grasslands rich in animal and vegetable food sources.<ref name=":41">Flood, Josephine (2019). pp. 229–30</ref>

[[File:Kolaia man.jpg|thumb|Kolaia man wearing a headdress worn in a fire ceremony, Forrest River, Western Australia. [[Aboriginal Australian]] religious practices associated with [[the Dreaming]] have been practised for tens of thousands of years.]]
The Aboriginal population faced significant changes in the climate and environment. About 30,000 years ago, sea levels began to fall, temperatures in the south-east of the continent dropped by as much as {{convert|9|C-change}}, and the interior of Australia became more arid. About 20,000 years ago, New Guinea and Tasmania were connected to the Australian continent, which was more than a quarter larger than today.<ref name="Veth-2013c2">Veth, Peter; O'Connor, Sue (2013). pp. 29–32</ref>

About 19,000 years ago temperatures and sea levels began to rise. Tasmania became separated from the mainland some 14,000 years ago, and between 8,000 and 6,000 years ago thousands of islands in the Torres Strait and around the coast of Australia were formed.<ref name="Veth-2013c2"/>

The warmer climate was associated with new technologies. Small back-bladed stone tools appeared 15–19 thousand years ago. Wooden javelins and boomerangs have been found dating from 10,000 years ago. Stone points for spears have been found dating from 5–7 thousand years ago. Spear throwers were probably developed more recently than 6,500 years ago.<ref name=":42">Flood, Josephine (2019). pp. 233–35</ref>

Aboriginal Tasmanians were isolated from the mainland from about 14,000 years ago. As a result, they only possessed one quarter of the tools and equipment of the adjacent mainland. Coastal Tasmanians switched from fish to abalone and crayfish and more Tasmanians moved to the interior.<ref name=":43">Veth, Peter; O'Connor, Sue (2013). p. 32</ref>

About 4,000 years ago, the first phase of occupation of the Torres Strait Islands began. By 2,500 years ago more of the islands were occupied and a distinctive [[Torres Strait Islanders|Torres Strait Islander]] maritime culture emerged. Agriculture also developed on some islands and by 700 years ago villages appeared.<ref name=":44">Veth, Peter; O'Connor, Sue (2013). pp. 34–35</ref>

Aboriginal society consisted of family groups organised into [[Band society|bands]] and [[clan]]s averaging about 25 people, each with a defined territory for foraging. Clans were attached to [[tribe]]s or [[nation]]s, associated with particular languages and country. At the time of European contact there were about 600 such groups and 250 distinct languages with various dialects.<ref name=":34">Flood, Josephine (2019). pp. 21–22, 37</ref><ref name="Broome-2019a2">{{Cite book|last=Broome|first=Richard|title=Aboriginal Australians|publisher=Allen and Unwin|year=2019|isbn=9781760528218|location=Sydney|pages=12}}</ref> Estimates of the Aboriginal population at this time range from 300,000 to one million.<ref name=":36">[https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/bfc28642d31c215cca256b350010b3f4!OpenDocument "1301.0 – Year Book Australia, 2002"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220116012204/https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/bfc28642d31c215cca256b350010b3f4!OpenDocument|date=16 January 2022}}. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 25 January 2002.</ref><ref name=":39">{{Cite book|last1=McCalman|first1=Janet|title=The Cambridge History of Australia, volume 1|last2=Kipen|first2=Rebecca|year=2013|pages=294|chapter=Population and health}}</ref><ref name=":40">{{Cite book|last=Flood|first=Josephine|title=The Original Australians|publisher=Allen and Unwin|year=2019|isbn=9781760527075|location=Sydney|pages=30–35}}</ref>

[[File:Showing method of attack with boomerang - NMA-15147.jpg|thumb|left|A Luritja man demonstrating his method of attack with a large curved [[boomerang]] under cover of a thin shield (1920)]]
Aboriginal society was egalitarian with no formal government or chiefs. Authority rested with elders and group decisions were generally made through the consensus of elders. The traditional economy was cooperative, with males generally hunting large game while females gathered local staples such as small animals, shellfish, vegetables, fruits, seeds and nuts. Food was shared within groups and exchanged across groups.<ref name=":45">Flood, Josephine (2019). pp. 27, 189–91, 194–97</ref> Some Aboriginal groups engaged in [[fire-stick farming]],<ref name=":46">{{Cite web|last=Wyrwoll|first=Karl-Heinz|date=2012-01-11|title=How Aboriginal burning changed Australia's climate|url=http://theconversation.com/how-aboriginal-burning-changed-australias-climate-4454|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230715015907/https://theconversation.com/how-aboriginal-burning-changed-australias-climate-4454|archive-date=15 July 2023|access-date=2023-11-01|website=The Conversation|language=en-US}}</ref> [[fish farming]],<ref name=":47">{{Cite web|last=Clark|first=Anna|date=2023-08-31|title=Friday essay: traps, rites and kurrajong twine – the incredible ingenuity of Indigenous fishing knowledge|url=http://theconversation.com/friday-essay-traps-rites-and-kurrajong-twine-the-incredible-ingenuity-of-indigenous-fishing-knowledge-210467|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211091555/https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-traps-rites-and-kurrajong-twine-the-incredible-ingenuity-of-indigenous-fishing-knowledge-210467|archive-date=11 February 2024|access-date=2023-11-01|website=The Conversation|language=en-US}}</ref> and built [[Indigenous architecture#Australia|semi-permanent shelters]].<ref name=":48">Flood, Josephine (2019). pp. 239–40</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Williams|first=Elizabeth|year=2015|title=Complex hunter-gatherers: a view from Australia|journal=Antiquity|publisher=Cambridge University Press|volume=61|issue=232|pages=310–321|doi=10.1017/S0003598X00052182|s2cid=162146349}}</ref> The extent to which some groups engaged in agriculture is controversial.<ref name=":49">Flood, Josephine (2019). pp. 25–27, 146</ref><ref name=":50">Gammage, Bill (October 2011). The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines made Australia. Allen & Unwin. pp. 281–304.</ref><ref name=":51">{{cite book|last1=Sutton|first1=Peter|author1-link=Peter Sutton (anthropologist)|title=Farmers or Hunter-Gatherers? The Dark Emu Debate|last2=Walshe|first2=Keryn|date=2021|publisher=Melbourne University Publishing|isbn=9780522877854|location=Melbourne}}</ref> Some Anthropologists describe traditional Aboriginal Australia as a "complex hunter-gatherer" society.<ref name=":1"/><ref name=":35">{{Cite book|last=Flood|first=Josephine|title=The Original Australians: The Story of the Aboriginal People|date=2019|publisher=Allen and Unwin|isbn=9781760527075|edition=2nd|location=Crows Nest, NSW|pages=237–38}}</ref>

Aboriginal groups were semi-nomadic, generally ranging over a specific territory defined by natural features. Members of a group would enter the territory of another group through rights established by marriage and kinship or by invitation for specific purposes such as ceremonies and sharing abundant seasonal foods. As all natural features of the land were created by ancestral beings, a group's particular country provided physical and spiritual nourishment.<ref name=":52">Flood, Josephine (2019). pp. 161–62</ref><ref name="Broome-2019a2"/>

Aboriginal Australians developed a unique artistic and spiritual culture. The earliest [[Indigenous Australian art|Aboriginal rock art]] consists of hand-prints, hand-stencils, and engravings of circles, tracks, lines and cupules, and has been dated to 35,000 years ago. Around 20,000 year ago Aboriginal artists were depicting humans and animals.<ref name=":53">Flood, Josephine (2019). pp. 213–14, 235–37</ref> According to [[Australian Aboriginal mythology]] and the [[animist]] framework, [[the Dreaming]] is a sacred era in which ancestral [[Totem|totemic]] spirit beings formed [[Creation myth|The Creation]]. The Dreaming established the laws and structures of society and the ceremonies performed to ensure continuity of life and land.<ref name=":54">Flood, Josephine (2019). pp. 163–69</ref>