The first people to live in Australia were called Aboriginies. The people called Aboriginies today are descendents of these first Australians. Originally there were about five hundred aboriginal tribes. Each of these tribes had its own language.
Food
The Aboriginies hunted animals, and and gathered plants for food.
Housing
The Aboriginies moved around very often, so they had no permanent housing. Instead, they built shelter of branches and bark. They Aboriginies of the north sometimes built huts to protect themselves from the pesky mosquitoes!
People
The people believed that their families were very important. Men and women shared many roles such as gathering food and collecting items to trade with other families. The Aboriginies were a very religious people, basing their beliefs on sacred myths and traditions.
Aboriginies Today
There
is still a large group of these people in Australia. The Aboriginies today
are trying to preserve their heritiage and identity by gaining recognition
from the Australian government. (Does this remind you of any people group
in the United States?)