Common in the Western world is the idea that the Australian aborigines were primitive, did not know how to count and wandered through the desert in search of food. Is this really so, asks researcher Ray Norris from the Australian Macquarie University and draws attention to some interesting details from the life of the Aborigines.
So, historians, in particular, Bill Gemej, have proved that the aborigines skillfully used the land for years and took care of increasing its fertility, Norris writes in his work. The subsequent exploitation of these soils by representatives of Western civilization led to the fact that they lost their fertility and were devastated.
The aborigines had a complex system of calculus, medicine (the so-called bush medicine), and they were guided by the stars and the routes transmitted orally. Aboriginal trade routes flourished in those days, writes Ray Norris. They met with resistance from the British invaders, during which they even won some military victories, such as the successful raids of Aboriginal warriors led by Pemulwui.
Only now in Australia is a rethinking of what the indigenous people of this continent really knew how and understood.
Representatives of the Yolngu tribe have long noticed the connection between the phases of the moon and the ebb and flow of the tide. Some natives knew the nature of eclipses and noticed that the planets did not move like the stars. They used their astronomical knowledge to plan their travels so that they had access to seasonal products from different regions.
Why is it only now paid attention to?
Researcher Ray Norris is trying to figure out why the achievement of Australian natives began to be studied only in recent years. Anthropologists have previously devoted many works to the songs of the indigenous population of Australia, their art and spiritual life. However, why did no one pay attention to their intellectual achievements?
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In the writings of famous anthropologists, songs of Australian aborigines are recorded, in which there are references to distant travels. So, Adolf Elkin recorded a legend about how one of the aborigines went from the north coast to the south, passed many lands, and then returned to the same place.
However, such information was often overlooked, according to Norris, because the researchers proceeded from certain concepts - paradigms, and what did not fit into their framework, they rejected or considered an exception. So, at that time, the idea that "the aborigines are primitive" was well-established.
This is not surprising, the researcher writes, because even 200 years ago the Australian natives were considered subhumans, and even at the beginning of the twentieth century they argued that they were a very backward race in development. Anthropologists studied them as objects, but did not recognize them.
“We must overcome the intellectual inertia that keeps us in the old paradigm, preventing us from recognizing the enormous contribution that Aboriginal culture can make to our understanding of the world,” writes Norris.
In recent years, scientists have learned a lot about how the Australian aborigines saw the world. The indigenous population of Australia knew about the cycles of motion of the stars in the sky, as well as the movements of the planets, the month and the sun. Even the "Stonehenge of Australian Aborigines" was found, which indicated the sunset on the days of the winter and summer solstices.
“I suspect this is just the tip of the iceberg of Aboriginal astronomy,” writes Norris.
“This 'ethno-science' is a lot like modern science, but it uses appropriate cultural terms, and it doesn't have expensive telescopes or particle accelerators …” concludes Ray Norris.
Australian Stonehenge
About halfway between Melbourne and Geelong, Victoria, Australia is a stone structure with an egg-shaped outline. It consists of about 100 blocks with a height of 0.5 to 1 m, the length of the "egg" along the main axis, which stretches almost strictly from east to west, is 50 m. The ownership of this cultural heritage site belongs to the Wataurong Aboriginal Community and is confirmed by the Council Aboriginal Victoria.
Australia has its own "Stonehenge", only much older - Wurdi Yowang
At the western end of the Wurdi Yowang stone structure, there are three stones resembling the outlines of three mountains, which are visible right in front of them. In the same place, in the west, outside the perimeter of the main part, there are several stones, which, as the historian John Morizon suggests, helped the ancient natives determine the days of the equinox, as well as the summer and winter solstices.
In 2008, this place was thoroughly investigated by Australian astrophysicist Ray Norris and his wife Silla: their calculations were confirmed - stones falling out of the general contour, as well as the southern and northern sides of the "egg" really indicate the location of the Sun during these dates.
The Wataurong tribe has lived in these lands for over 25 thousand years, but, unfortunately, their customs and language were banned by missionaries about a century ago, as a result of which only a small part of their ancient culture has survived. Now even the elders of the tribe do not know exactly what the Wurdi Yowang was used for, and when it was built.
The first Europeans came to this area only around 1835 and did not really care about the heritage of some natives there. A method for determining the age and purpose of this cultural heritage site is currently being developed in close cooperation with the most respected representatives of the tribe.
Although Wurdi Yowang helps to navigate the Sun, it is likely that the ancient builders laid a completely different meaning in it. The exact location of the stone structure is hidden out of respect for the traditions of the tribe and to avoid the influx of tourists.