| Aboriginal Australians conserve
the oldest culture in the world. Human occupation of Australia
started about 65,000 years ago with successive waves of immigration
from south and southeast Asia.
Archaeologists continue to revise the date of early settlements.
The word 'aboriginal' has appeared in the English language since
the 17th century and means 'first or earliest known, indigenous.'
This term has been used to describe its indigenous peoples as early
as 1789. It was appropriated when the English colonized Australia.
Before colonists arrived from Europe,
there were no aboriginals, just people.
The world's oldest surviving houses are situated in Victoria
at Lake Condah. They are about 8,000 years old and pre-dated the
Egyptian pyramids by about 5,000 years. Curiously, the site has
no World Heritage listing.
RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL
Many Aboriginal communities require permits to enter their lands.
This helps insure the privacy of locals. If you are visiting an
Aboriginal community, wait until you are invited to approach people's
homes or groups of people. Funerals and cultural ceremonies are
times of special privacy in communities. Use extra sensitivity in
communities at these times.
Visitors can make contact with Australia's Aboriginals on their
turf. In Sydney
Aboriginal guides conduct heritage walks in the Royal
Botanical Gardens and ferry travelers on cruises in the harbor.
ABORIGINAL TOURISM
In Australia
Planeta.com has collaborated with Aboriginal Tourism Australia in
developing marketing strategies for aboriginal tour operators. We
participated in the 2007 Business Development Symposium, a powerful
capacity building training seminar.
AWARDS
Winner of the 2009 Indigenous
Tourism and Biodiversity Website Award is Queensland-based Guurrbi
Tours!
FYI
The Torres Strait Islanders are considered a distinct ethnic group.
Many of the national parks, including Kakadu
and Uluru
(Ayers Rock), are owned and jointly run by their traditional
owners
Aboriginal people use 'songlines' to pass down creation stories,
laws and trading routes through generations
Aboriginal people may have a number of names, for example a European
first name and surname, a bush name, a 'skin name' (based on 'skin
names' of parents) and perhaps a nickname.
FEATURES
Tourism and Indigenous
People
Web
Review: Aboriginal Tourism References
FLICKR
Corroboree 2007
ONLINE
FLICKR
WIKI
Aboriginal
Australia
ONLINE
WIKI
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