The Oldest Living Culture in the World
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of Australia and nearby islands. The Indigenous cultures of Australia consitute the oldest living culture in the world. Archaeological investigations in the northwest of Australia suggest that Indigenous people may have occupied Australia for at least 60,000 years.
The long history of Indigenous people is found in the many significant archaeological sites throughout Australia. Archaeological sites provide information about how Indigenous people lived, used resources and were able to adapt to environmental changes in the past. These archaeological sites also illustrate how Indigenous cultures have changed over time.
Shell middens are a kind of archaeological site that give researchers a picture of Aboriginal life thousands of years ago. Middens show that Aboriginal people ate different kinds of shellfish, fish and other animals. Archaeological evidence shows that a midden in Botany Bay, NSW was occupied many times during the last 3,000 years.
There are many different Indigenous cultures in Australia, made up of people from various Indigenous nations that speak their own languages.
Over thousands of years, communities of Indigenous Australians have exchanged ideas, technology and cultural practices with each other. As a result, many communities may share certain technologies but use them in different ways. Objects, such as shields and baskets, differ in their design, decoration and meaning from region to region.
Foundation Projects
Evidence of Indigenous People in Australia 40,000+ Years Ago - Archaeological Digs at Mungo National Park
The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife funded an archaeologist to reside at Mungo National Park from 1979 to 1983, to investigate the remains of Mungo Man - the oldest human remains found in Australia and evidence for the existence of the longest living culture in the world.
Indigenous Knowledge & Research Centre
Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife is preparing a prospectus to fund the building of an Australian Indigenous Knowledge and Research Centre to serve as a visitor centre, meeting place, "keeping place" for skeletal remains of Mungo Man and Woman and artefacts, research centre and repository of archaeological research records from 5 key researchers. The centre would showcase the values that make Willandra Lakes a World Heritage site and make accessible to the world the artefacts, research and living culture of the area in its most appropriate location.
Maroota Historic Site
Maroota Historic Site protects one of the most significant Aboriginal rock carvings in Australia. It contains over 60 engravings, 20 grinding grooves and the unique engraving of a sailing ship with a figure which is probably that of a European woman. The Foundation purchased Devil’s Rock in 1983 to protect the Aboriginal art and engravings.
Mutawintji Historic Site
This spectacular area within Mutawintji National Park contains one of the best collections of Aboriginal art in New South Wales.
Red Hands Cave
The site protects a gallery of Aboriginal hand prints and stencils that date back 500 to 1600 years. The local Daruk people created the prints and stencils using naturally occurring red ochres from Campfire Creek beside the cave. Funding by the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife helped provide this protection for the unique Red Hands Cave.
