Quake42
Warrior Princess
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2004
- Messages
- 9,312
Forgive me if there is already a thread on this and Mods feel free to do whatever merging you consider appropriate!
I have recently returned from a trip to Australia and I was fascinated by what was left of the Aboriginal culture there. What I find most intriguing though is the question of where they came from originally and also I suppose how long they had lived in Australia - I read various estimates while I was there which ranged form 40,000 to 100,000 years ago.
The Aboriginals look unique as far as I can tell and certainly very different from Pacific Islanders or Indonesians, their closest neighbours geographically.
I do recall watching a documentary a few years ago where an anthropologist suggested the Australian Aboriginals may have come from Africa originally, island-hopping over several generations, and that similar people may have once lived in North America and elsewhere. However, I find it hard to credit such long boat journeys on what must have been very perilous craft.
Does anyone have any more information on this topic or suggested reading for me?
I have recently returned from a trip to Australia and I was fascinated by what was left of the Aboriginal culture there. What I find most intriguing though is the question of where they came from originally and also I suppose how long they had lived in Australia - I read various estimates while I was there which ranged form 40,000 to 100,000 years ago.
The Aboriginals look unique as far as I can tell and certainly very different from Pacific Islanders or Indonesians, their closest neighbours geographically.
I do recall watching a documentary a few years ago where an anthropologist suggested the Australian Aboriginals may have come from Africa originally, island-hopping over several generations, and that similar people may have once lived in North America and elsewhere. However, I find it hard to credit such long boat journeys on what must have been very perilous craft.
Does anyone have any more information on this topic or suggested reading for me?