Europeans began settling in Australia around 230 years ago, but the first settlers of the continent had been there much longer – more than 40,000 years.
These earliest settlers (and their descendants) are known as Aboriginal peoples, from a Latin word meaning “from the beginning.” Scientists believe the Aboriginal peoples traveled to Australia from Southeast Asia on boats and across land bridges, when the sea level was lower than it is now.
Aboriginal groups adapted to the continent’s varied environments, from the coastlines to the rain forests to the dry interior. They were hunters and gatherers, living in clans that moved from place to place to find different foods at different times of the year.
Although today most Aboriginal Australians live in cities and towns, some live in more remote areas, in communities called homelands (or outstations). These are small communities of family members, who have a deep respect for their land, their cultural traditions, and their spiritual beliefs. According to their spiritual beliefs, everything was created by the ancient ones, the Sky Heroes, in the long-ago Dreamtime.
