manipulation and usage of land
An amazing thing about the original inhabitants of Australia was that they were actually able to create a sustainable environment that provided enough food and materials to survive on, whilst still providing enough for the future generations, something very hard. Furthermore, the peoples of Indigenous Australians achieved something else that had never been done in any other culture; to manipulate the land over time, without harming it and to promote this sustainable lifestyle by creating a more productive and fertile landscape.
Indigenous Australians tried to protect their environment, as they cared for it, and were reluctant to drive any family's totem ancestors (see Dreaming and Law)to extinction.This was achieved by simply adopting a sustainable lifestyle and doing little things. For example, when tribes on the Eastern coast of Australia, such as the Eora, made canoes from Stringy Bark Trees (see fig. B) , they would not take all of the bark from one tree as this would kill the tree. This is a wonderful example of sustainability: not destroying the resources used.
Few historians can argue that humans shaping the land's destiny over hundreds of years is not an incredible feat. So how did the Indigenous Australians manage it? One genius method still applied by Australian National Park rangers today is Fire Stick Farming, practiced by many indigenous Australian tribes (1). These controlled fires would clear overgrown vegetation and leaf litter. This would reduce the chances of large, uncontrollable bush fires and promote grasslands, the right environment for a fertile landscape. This is a huge achievement as it would increase the productivity and safety of land, while immensely benefitting flora and fauna and increasing land productivity.
A last example of land usage and manipulation started 27000 years ago a volcano, Budj Bim erupted in North East Victoria, it's lava blocking a nearby creek. As the Gunditjmara watched over tens of thousands of years as the lava slowly hardened into several low walls of rock, until they finally decided to take advantage of their environment by creating a permanent aquaculture [2] for eels (see fig. A). This was achieved by placing water traps of up to and above 350 metres in the walls holes. Then, some eels would swim into the baskets. The ones that didn't would swim on to the next set of traps. After four walls of eel traps, the remaining eels would come into a pond. When the tide receded, the Indigenous peoples would come and collect their dinner from the traps. The remaining eels left over in the pond would form an eel farm where the Gunditjmara could cultivate eels. This strategy was particularly impressive as it used already available resources and the nature of the land to produce what resources the Gunditjmara needed.
Indigenous Australians tried to protect their environment, as they cared for it, and were reluctant to drive any family's totem ancestors (see Dreaming and Law)to extinction.This was achieved by simply adopting a sustainable lifestyle and doing little things. For example, when tribes on the Eastern coast of Australia, such as the Eora, made canoes from Stringy Bark Trees (see fig. B) , they would not take all of the bark from one tree as this would kill the tree. This is a wonderful example of sustainability: not destroying the resources used.
Few historians can argue that humans shaping the land's destiny over hundreds of years is not an incredible feat. So how did the Indigenous Australians manage it? One genius method still applied by Australian National Park rangers today is Fire Stick Farming, practiced by many indigenous Australian tribes (1). These controlled fires would clear overgrown vegetation and leaf litter. This would reduce the chances of large, uncontrollable bush fires and promote grasslands, the right environment for a fertile landscape. This is a huge achievement as it would increase the productivity and safety of land, while immensely benefitting flora and fauna and increasing land productivity.
A last example of land usage and manipulation started 27000 years ago a volcano, Budj Bim erupted in North East Victoria, it's lava blocking a nearby creek. As the Gunditjmara watched over tens of thousands of years as the lava slowly hardened into several low walls of rock, until they finally decided to take advantage of their environment by creating a permanent aquaculture [2] for eels (see fig. A). This was achieved by placing water traps of up to and above 350 metres in the walls holes. Then, some eels would swim into the baskets. The ones that didn't would swim on to the next set of traps. After four walls of eel traps, the remaining eels would come into a pond. When the tide receded, the Indigenous peoples would come and collect their dinner from the traps. The remaining eels left over in the pond would form an eel farm where the Gunditjmara could cultivate eels. This strategy was particularly impressive as it used already available resources and the nature of the land to produce what resources the Gunditjmara needed.
Glossary
Fire stick farming: a land-rearing strategy practiced by many Indigenous Australian cultures involving large, controlled burns of vegetation
Aquaculture: the rearing and farming of aquatic flora or fauna, usually for food.
Fire stick farming: a land-rearing strategy practiced by many Indigenous Australian cultures involving large, controlled burns of vegetation
Aquaculture: the rearing and farming of aquatic flora or fauna, usually for food.