RIC-0667 Aboriginal Cult 5-6

In the Past
Indicator:
Before European Settlement
Teachers Notes
Understands that Aboriginal people inhabited Australia many
thousands of years before European arrival.
This section discusses the history of Aboriginal people in Australia. It endeavours
to show students how traditional Aboriginal people lived in Australia before
European settlement, and how their knowledge of their environments was essential
for survival.
Aboriginal people of Australia believe their ancestral beings were responsible for
creating the world as it is known today. Records show Aboriginal people have been
living across the continent for about 40 000 years.
The traditional Aboriginal people used their knowledge of the land to survive. It
was this close, firsthand knowledge which enabled them to obtain needed resources
such as bush food, water, and wood and stone, which were used to make tools and
utensils.
Australia is made up of different environments and traditional Aboriginal people
lived in most of these. Aboriginal people living in the Western Desert area ate and
lived differently from those Aboriginal people living on the coast.
Food in coastal areas was abundant. The diet of traditional Aboriginal people living
there consisted of fish and shellfish, dugongs, turtles, fruits, berries and various
tubers, nuts and vegetables. There was also plenty of fresh water available.
Those Aboriginal people living in or near the desert had a different diet. Aboriginal
men caught large animals such as kangaroos, emus and wallabies. The women
usually gathered roots, nuts, berries, other edible plants and small lizards. Children
also caught small lizards and insects.
Aboriginal people were nomads who moved constantly according to food availability.
They were always careful not to overindulge. The following seasons were always in
their minds, and they practised basic farming techniques. One of the most common
was burning. Traditional Aboriginal people used this technique to burn the native
grasses to promote regrowth. It also helped to flush out animals, which made them
easier to catch.
Traditional Aboriginal people had basic needs such as food, water and shelter.
Caves and rocks were used for temporary shelter, while some people built bower
sheds, also known as humpies. These were made from tree branches formed into
an inverted ‘v’. The ‘roof’ was covered with leaves and twigs.
©R.I.C. Publications
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Australia’s First
People
Food
Letter Puzzle
(pages 3 – 5)
• Display a map of Australia to the class.
• Encourage individual students to share their ideas about, and knowledge of,
Australia with the rest of the class.
• Provide students with information regarding Aboriginal Australians being
the first people to live on this continent.
• It is important for the class to understand that traditional Aboriginal people
were different from the Aboriginal people they see today. Today’s Aboriginal
people do not rely solely on the land for their survival, and their way of
living is different.
• You may wish to display pictures of traditional Aboriginal people, which
may be obtained from your school library or the local resource centre.
• Students will need to have the instructions on the worksheets explained clearly.
2 Australian Aboriginal Culture R.I.C. Publications www.ricgroup.com.au
ISBN 978-1-86311-807-1