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Pre-History of New England
The Pre-History of New England is the period between the first human habitation of the Australian continent and the first definitive sighting of New England by Europeans in 1770, which may be taken as the beginning of recorded history. This period is estimated to have lasted at least 40,000 years.
From at least 10,000 years ago, the region was home to a variety of tribes such as the Anaiwan, Bundjalung, Cumbangirra, Gumbaingirri, Kamiloroi, Thanghatti and Yukambal. Most Aborigines were hunter-gatherers with a complex oral culture and spiritual values based upon reverence for the land and a system of traditions and lore known as the "Dreaming".
Environmental Changes
Before settlement, New England's climate was considerable different. For about 40 million years the continent was almost completely isolated. During this time, the continent experienced numerous changes in climate, but the overall trend was towards greater aridity. Much of the land was cvovered in dense forest, thinning out to alpine woodlands on the tablelands. The climate was much wetter and probably cooler than it is today. As the continent drifted north, unique flora and fauna developed.
The coming of aboriginal peoples to New England led to dramtic changes in the environment. The people used fire tpo control the environment, significantly altering the landscape. Megafauna species disappeared, and many of the smaller species were wiped out too. About sixty different vertebrates were lost, including the Diprotodon, several large flightless birds, carnivorous kangaroos, a five metre lizard and a very large species of tortoise.
The direct cause of the mass extinctions has not been determined. The extinxctions may have been caused by fire, hunting, climate change or a combination of all, but most are of the view that it was human intervention of one kind or another increased the risks of extinction. With no large herbivores to keep the understorey vegetation down and rapidly recycle soil nutrients with their dung, fuel build-up became more rapid and fires burned hotter, further changing the landscape.
Cultural Practices
There was a marked continuity of religious ideas and stories throughout the country. The initiation of young boys and girls into adult knowledge was marked by ceremony and feasting. Behaviour was governed by strict rules regarding responsibilities to and from uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters as well as in-laws. The kinship systems observed by many communities included a division into moieties, with restrictions on intermarrying dictated by the moiety an individual belonged to.
Political power rested with community elders rather than hereditary chiefs and disputes were settled communally in accordance with an elaborate system of tribal law. Vendettas and feuds were not uncommon but organised warfare was limited or non-existent. This has generally been attributed to the multiple alliances that bound people together through marriage or blood, and shared belief systems about descent from common culture heroes.
Tablelands - Aboriginal people used the landscape as both a natural and cultural resource and there is a strong oral history indicating seasonal movement of Aboriginal people through the rugged gorge system, between the coastal plains and tablelands. The tablelands were occupied during summer and autumn, communities moving either to the coast or the western river systems for winter.
Archaeological evidence suggests the tableland Aborigines traded with groups on the Western slopes and that a range of stone tools such as jagged spears, boomerangs and waddies were developed with local and traded stone and local hardwood. Mammals such as kangaroo and possum were used for food, clothing and decoration. The region is also known for ornately carved trees, ceremonial bora grounds and art sites, indicating an intimate spiritual, as well as a physical, attachment to the sacred landscape the Aboriginal people inhabited.
Coastal - he high diversity and abundance of natural resources available to the Aboriginal people of the coastal areas of New England resulted in a high density of Aboriginal occupation in the bioregion, particularly around the northern rivers close to the coast. The marine environment coupled with the lush vegetation along the coast provided the people with much of what they needed to subsist.
Towards the grassy plains of the bioregion further inland, Aboriginal people were hunter-gatherers, living similar lifestyles to the people of the New England Bioregion and in the west. The coastal and inland groups were linked by trade and all shared a common interest in the landscape, which was closely linked to their spirituality.
Archaeological Evidence
Archaeological evidence (in the form of charcoal) indicate that fire, already a growing part of the Australian landscape, became much more frequent as hunter-gatherers used it as a tool to drive game, to produce a green flush of new growth to attract animals, and to open up impenetrable forest. Densely grown areas became more open sclerophyll forest, open forest became grassland. Fire-tolerant species became predominant: in particular, Sheoaks, eucalypts, acacia, and grasses.
| Timeline of New England History | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: None |
Pre-History to 1821 |
Succeeded by: Colonial Times |
| History of New England |
| Timeline: Pre-History · Colonial Times · Proudly Australian · Winds of Change · Shadows of Dissent · Civil War Transitional Government · New Found Nation · Toil and Trouble · Five Day War · Engagement To Europe · Recent Times |
| Topics: Military · New State Movement |
