At the time British colonization in 1788 there were two hundred or more Aboriginal language communities within the continent.
In areas of intense colonization, the Aboriginal economy was rapidly destroyed and it is only through the reports of explorers that we have record of semi-permanent settlements, the cultivation of edible roots and the construction of eel dykes.
While such practices have recently been confirmed by archeological research in the southeast and southwest of the continent much of Australian anthropology has been conducted in areas remove from European settlement and it is from these areas that the image of the ‘typical’ indigenous cultures of Australia has been derived.
Aboriginal Australia
