The notion of pristine natives with a"pure"culture was an artificial one-many aborigines had considerable contact with Melanesians and Indonesians long before the European colonists arrived in Australia. Aboriginal groups also influenced each other. Waves of change swept the entire continent- changes in tools and implements, in social organisation, and in ceremonial practices and mythological concepts Aboriginal culture was dynamic, not static. The Aboriginal culture of the last two hundred years, the period after the arrival of the colonists, has also been dynamic This is why it is difficult to speak of a hard and fast dichotomy between Aborigines before"and"after"contact with the Europeans. Nevertheless, it is useful to look at Aboriginal culture at the point of first contact and as it is today The population of Australia at the time of the arrival of the whites in 1788 was probably between 250,000 and 500,000. The pattern of Aboriginal settlement was like that for present-day Australians, except in the tropical north, with most of the population living along the coasts and rivers. Densities varied from one person for every thirty-five square miles in the ar id regions to five to ten persons for every one square mile on the eastern coast. Residential groups ranged in size from ten to fifty people, with some temporary ceremonial gatherings reaching up to five hundred Most people tend to think of Aborigines as a unified, homogeneous group. Yet the Aborigines never used one collective term to describe themselves no one individual Aborigine, in the precolonial past, would have known of the existence of many of the other Aboriginal peoples and regions of the vast continent of Australia, which covers nearly three million square miles-almost the area of the United States Recent scientific studies have concluded that the Australian Aborigines were the original Americans! In other words, the theory is that ATSI people were ad venturers who arrived in the north american continent before the vikings or columbus thi theory states that the ancestors of the American Ind ians. are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. "Separate stud ies by both Brazilian and US scholars are reveal ing that the first humans to enter the New World more than 14,000 years ago the same race as present day Australian Aborigines, t ught- but were instead people of were not Mongoloid peoples as has always been thou appearance: To the early Europeans, the Aborigines of the Sydney district(and later those throughout the whole continent), were primitives, natives or Noble Savages. S descriptions of them(either written or in sketches/ paintings), were classif icatory and comparative. There were a number of physical distinctions between different tribes. It was noted that the gundungurra who lived in the Blue Mountains west of Camden were taller and stronger than the eora/ dharawal who lived on the coast Or so European observers said. Some tribespeople were said to be darker than others(dark brown or black) and were different in other ways, but anyone who indulges descriptions should ask themselves why they are doing this. People are people and differences of color and shape shouldn,'t matter. However derogatory descriptions of aborigines during the 19th century were often a justification for massacres and poisoning of peoplThe notion of pristine natives with a "pure" culture was an artificial one - many Aborigines had considerable contact with Melanesians and Indonesians long before the European colonists arrived in Australia. Aboriginal groups also influenced each other. Waves of change swept the entire continent - changes in tools and implements, in social organisation, and in ceremonial practices and mythological concepts. Aboriginal culture was dynamic, not static. The Aboriginal culture of the last two hundred years, the period after the arrival of the colonists, has also been dynamic. This is why it is difficult to speak of a hard and fast dichotomy between Aborigines "before" and "after" contact with the Europeans. Nevertheless, it is useful to look at Aboriginal culture at the point of first contact and as it is today. The population of Australia at the time of the arrival of the whites in 1788 was probably between 250,000 and 500,000. The pattern of Aboriginal settlement was like that for present-day Australians, except in the tropical north, with most of the population living along the coasts and rivers. Densities varied from one person for every thirty-five square miles in the arid regions to five to ten persons for every one square mile on the eastern coast. Residential groups ranged in size from ten to fifty people, with some temporary ceremonial gatherings reaching up to five hundred. Most people tend to think of Aborigines as a unified, homogeneous group. Yet the Aborigines never used one collective term to describe themselves. No one individual Aborigine, in the precolonial past, would have known of the existence of many of the other Aboriginal peoples and regions of the vast continent of Australia, which covers nearly three million square miles - almost the area of the United States. Recent scientific studies have concluded that the Australian Aborigines were the original Americans! In other words, the theory is that ATSI people were ad venturers who arrived in the North American continent before the Vikings or Columbus. This theory states that the ancestors of the American Indians. are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. "Separate studies by both Brazilian and US scholars are revealing that the first humans to enter the New World more than 14,000 years ago were not Mongoloid peoples as has always been thought - but were instead people of the same race as present day Australian Aborigines." APPEARANCE: To the early Europeans, the Aborigines of the Sydney district (and later those throughout the whole continent), were primitives, natives or Noble Savages. So, descriptions of them (either written or in sketches/ paintings), were classificatory and comparative. There were a number of physical distinctions between different tribes. It was noted that the Gundungurra who lived in the Blue Mountains west of Camden were taller and stronger than the Eora / Dharawal who lived on the coast. Or so European observers said. Some tribespeople were said to be darker than others (dark brown or black) and were different in other ways, but anyone who indulges in descriptions should ask themselves why they are doing this. People are people and differences of color and shape shouldn't matter. However derogatory descriptions of Aborigines during the 19th century were often a justification for massacres and poisoning of people