Part of the land inhabited by some of the early Australians is now submerged, but details of their life is now revealed in an excavation on an island off the continent’s north-west coast.
Articles on Aboriginal history
Displaying 81 - 100 of 112 articles
Aboriginal people stayed settled in places across Australia for 50,000 years until Europeans arrived, showing a strong connection with the land.
What are we to make of ‘Aboriginalia’: bric-a-brac, tiles, ornaments and artworks - once hugely popular - depicting caricatures of Indigenous people? What if they are collected now in a knowing, ironic way?
In the 1840s, the eel traps of Budj Bim were described as the work of ‘civilized men’. But it took another 135 years for more appreciative European eyes to examine the complexity of western Victoria’s Aboriginal fishery.
The marking of our national day has long been fraught, and this year is no exception.
Noel Pearson has accused the ABC of racism in dwelling on indigenous alienation. But many advances in the status of Aboriginal Australians have been prompted by revealing ill-treatment, which is why Ms Dhu’s family want footage of her last hours made public.
Archaeologists found thousands of objects in a remote Australian cave which shows Aborigines made it inland some 10,000 years earlier than first thought. So what did they find?
The lock hospitals inflicted incalculable traumas on Aboriginal people, wrenching them away from families and country.
New DNA research working with Indigenous Australians is answering many of the questions about when and where the First Australians emerged many thousands of years ago.
Australia’s Indigenous people had many methods for counting, and they didn’t use just numbers.
There is plenty of evidence to show Australia’s Indigenous people had ways of counting big numbers, yet the myth persists they couldn’t count more than a handful of things. Why?
Research first published in 2001 has been used to question of whether Aboriginal People were the First Australians. So why not re-test those results with improved techniques and equipment?
The French capital will light up to the sights and sounds of Cleverman, Samson and Delilah, and The Sapphires.
For the Barkindji people, the Darling River has been a symbol of Aboriginal survival since colonial times. Now, the once busy NSW town of Wilcannia is in danger of losing its water.
The stage version of The Secret River gives us a deeper sense of our history. But can understanding the past from different perspectives help us confront the inequalities that linger in our present?
Who owns a Dreamtime story? The Warlpiri, like all Indigenous groups, use a complex system of kinship that regulates which people can depict, sing, dance or talk about which Dreamings.
Australia has a lesson to learn from Germany when it comes to reconciling with a shameful past. Artists are taking the lead in ‘When silence falls’, a formidable exhibition.
Liberal MP Dennis Jensen’s comments about the ‘noble savage’ lifestyle tap into a centuries-old stereotype about Indigenous people.
European invasion completely disrupted the way aboriginal Australians managed fire. Learning from Australia’s first people could help us fight fires in the future.
Adam Goodes’ actions – from his celebratory dance to his decision to temporarily withdraw from the AFL – epitomise the concept of male Indigenous dignity.
Top contributors
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Professor of Archaeology and Biological Anthropology, School of Social Science, The University of Queensland
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Sean Ulm is a Friend of The Conversation.
Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures, James Cook University
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Distinguished Professor, Charles Sturt University
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Laureate Professor in Archaeology, The University of Western Australia
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Professor, School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, Griffith University
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Professor, Director of Centre for Rock Art Research + Management, The University of Western Australia
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Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Node Leader in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures, Flinders University
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Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor, Monash University. Deputy Director ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures, Monash University
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Research scientist, Griffith University
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Professor in History, University of Tasmania
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Michael Bird is a Friend of The Conversation.
JCU Distinguished Professor, ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures, James Cook University
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Partner Investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures, James Cook University
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Senior Research Fellow, Indigenous Land & Justice Research Group, UNSW
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Professor of Evolutionary Biology, Griffith University
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ARC Future Fellow, La Trobe University