Read the text. Over many thousands of years, Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander people have learnt much about the native plants and animals in the areas in which they lived. They discovered the best ways and the right time to collect and catch them for food. They passed this knowledge on from generation to generation. Read about some of the things they discovered.
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The Aboriginal and Islander people used a lot of energy. This meant they needed fat in their diet. They knew the times of the year when different mammals, reptiles and birds were at their fattest and would catch more of those animals during that time.
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Aboriginal people set fire to certain places to clear an area of bush. Fire makes many native plants regrow quickly. This meant there would be more seeds, fruits and so on to collect, eat and store sooner than if the plants grew normally.
Other foods that provided fat were insects like witchetty grubs and begong moths; bird and reptile eggs; and mussels and oysters.
It was the women’s job to gather plants and insects to eat. Yams were an important root vegetable. One type of yam had to be properly prepared or it could make you sick.
© R. I . C.Publ i cat i ons An eel trap was a clever way to catch long, thin Meat was put at the top •f orr evi ew pur p os eeels. so nl y• A digging stick was used to dig it up. of the closed end. Then it was placed in Then it was crushed and thoroughly washed in water to drain away the poison.
a flowing stream.
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The eel would get caught and could not swim backwards against the water’s flow to get free.
It was the men’s job to hunt animals. They worked in a group using weapons like boomerangs and spears to catch animals such as kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, emus and galahs. In island and coastal communities they also fished.
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Aboriginal and Islander people knew which plants to use to make things like carrying baskets and rope. Bags made from grass stalks could be knotted so tightly they could carry honey! Loosely woven bags made from bush string could be used like sieves to sort seeds. Swamp reeds and sea grasses were woven to make carry baskets. Strong ropes were made from a special kind of palm vine. They were used to help climb trees to get bush honey and reach animals. Another use was a rope noose to catch crocodiles.
that sleep during the day. They would be caught while sleeping in their hollow or den instead of hunting them at night when they came out to feed.
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AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM SCIENCE
Biological sciences
What do indigenous people know about the natural environment? – 1