Exploring Our World: People, Places, and Cultures

Chapter 29: History and Cultures of Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica

Student Web Activity

"The Aborigines"

Introduction
In this chapter, you learned about the history and cultures of Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica. The people now called Aborigines are the descendants of the first people who migrated to the region. The ancestors of another group, the Torres Strait Islanders, were the first people to settle the Torres Strait Islands, which is part of Queensland, Australia. The Aborigines and the Torres Strait Islanders make up the indigenous, or original, inhabitants of Australia.

Destination Title: Australian Indigenous cultural heritage

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Directions
Start at the Australian Government Culture and Recreation Portal.

  • Read the introduction about the indigenous people of Australia.
  • Then scroll down and read the paragraphs under the headings “Land – at the core of belief” and “Diversity—location and languages.”

Use the information to answer the following questions.

1
How many Aboriginal clan groups were in Australia when Europeans first arrived?
2
How did Aborigines live and get their food?
3
Is it important for the Aborigines to keep using their languages? Why?
4
How have Aboriginal people kept their culture alive?
5
Why have Australia’s indigenous people been able to survive for so long?
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