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habitats are aligned with the specific vegetation, geography and sources of food and shelter. The different groups of the Yawuru people are linked to the habitats of the Yawuru country, and can be identified with camps in the various Yawuru habitats, such as Niyamarri (Sand Dunes), Bilarra (Wetlands),
Warnangarri (Rocky country), and Jila (Permanent freshwater source).
Another example of Indigenous people’s intimate ties to land (to Country), and migration according to climatic phenomena and patterns are told in the Dreamtime story that relates to Tjibruke, a
Kaurna ancestral being who taught lessons about life and respect and whose tears for his slain nephew
created the fresh water springs along the Adelaide coastline from Kingston Park to Cape Jervis. The
cultural landscape has been described in detail by Aboriginal Elder Aunty Veronica Brodie, who maps
out Aboriginal representation of the landscape including human migration patterns according to climate. This includes sacred and significant Kaurna sites for which the Kaurna Elders are custodians,
and according to belief should never have been revealed (Jones, 2010). Aunty Veronica Brodie
describes the landscape and use of the landscape as follows:
Grandmother told us of many, many camps that were sited from Glanville all the way to Outer Harbour, and
that’s quite a big stretch; and …. They wintered in the timbered foothill country, sheltering in the cover of gigantic and often hollow red gum trees along the riverbanks. Often as a basis for shelter they used a fallen tree, and
hollowed out beneath it, a practice hazardous when floods and heavy rains destroyed their fires and flooded their
sleeping places (Veronica Brodie, in Wood, 2007).
Both examples reflect the adaptive capacity and flexibility of the Indigenous people according to
nature’s cycles and environment, interconnectedness with the environment and the thorough understanding of the seasonal changes.
5.3.2 Climatic Seasons and Settlements
This knowledge of seasonal changes and longer- term climate cycles and events and the locations of
settlements and migration patterns correspond to Memmott’s hypothesis (2007) that climate influences Aboriginal settlements and the ethno- architecture of Aboriginal people across Australia.
Settlements in different regions had specific shelter-type constructions, specifically created to adapt to
the local weather conditions. Analysing the influence of climate upon shelter building and settlement
types across the continent generated a classification of shelter type distribution (Memmott, 2007,
pp. 7–12). This classification can broadly be summarised as follows:
• Open winter windbreaks – whole continent;
• Summer wet-weather enclosed shelters – central and northern;
• Cold wet-weather enclosed shelters – southern; and
• Shades for diurnal use – whole continent (Memmott, 2007).
This occurrence of connection to the land and seasonal relationships is evident through all
Aboriginal tribes in Australia. It was initially recorded by anthropologist Thomson and considered a
quantum leap in the theoretical understanding of Australian Aboriginals by anthropologists (Memmott,
2007). In his paper ‘The Seasonal Factor in Human Culture Illustrated from the life of a Contemporary
Nomadic Group’, Thomson (1939) demonstrated the integrated role of hunter-gatherer lifestyles with
seasons and coastal habitat changes as part of ethno-architecture. Thomson focused upon the coastal
clan of the Cape Keerweer
4
region of the Wik Mungan people and considered the shelter types that had
been constructed according to their cycle of six seasons. Seasonal shelter types and settlement patterns are described and summarized as what Thomson called ‘The Seasonal Factor’ (Thomson, 1939).
4 Cape Keerweer is an area located on the Western coastal area of Cape York, the northernmost point of Australia.
5 Origins of Advanced Knowledge
habitats are aligned with the specific vegetation, geography and sources of food and shelter. The different groups of the Yawuru people are linked to the habitats of the Yawuru country, and can be identified with camps in the various Yawuru habitats, such as Niyamarri (Sand Dunes), Bilarra (Wetlands),
Warnangarri (Rocky country), and Jila (Permanent freshwater source).
Another example of Indigenous people’s intimate ties to land (to Country), and migration according to climatic phenomena and patterns are told in the Dreamtime story that relates to Tjibruke, a
Kaurna ancestral being who taught lessons about life and respect and whose tears for his slain nephew
created the fresh water springs along the Adelaide coastline from Kingston Park to Cape Jervis. The
cultural landscape has been described in detail by Aboriginal Elder Aunty Veronica Brodie, who maps
out Aboriginal representation of the landscape including human migration patterns according to climate. This includes sacred and significant Kaurna sites for which the Kaurna Elders are custodians,
and according to belief should never have been revealed (Jones, 2010). Aunty Veronica Brodie
describes the landscape and use of the landscape as follows:
Grandmother told us of many, many camps that were sited from Glanville all the way to Outer Harbour, and
that’s quite a big stretch; and …. They wintered in the timbered foothill country, sheltering in the cover of gigantic and often hollow red gum trees along the riverbanks. Often as a basis for shelter they used a fallen tree, and
hollowed out beneath it, a practice hazardous when floods and heavy rains destroyed their fires and flooded their
sleeping places (Veronica Brodie, in Wood, 2007).
Both examples reflect the adaptive capacity and flexibility of the Indigenous people according to
nature’s cycles and environment, interconnectedness with the environment and the thorough understanding of the seasonal changes.
5.3.2 Climatic Seasons and Settlements
This knowledge of seasonal changes and longer- term climate cycles and events and the locations of
settlements and migration patterns correspond to Memmott’s hypothesis (2007) that climate influences Aboriginal settlements and the ethno- architecture of Aboriginal people across Australia.
Settlements in different regions had specific shelter-type constructions, specifically created to adapt to
the local weather conditions. Analysing the influence of climate upon shelter building and settlement
types across the continent generated a classification of shelter type distribution (Memmott, 2007,
pp. 7–12). This classification can broadly be summarised as follows:
• Open winter windbreaks – whole continent;
• Summer wet-weather enclosed shelters – central and northern;
• Cold wet-weather enclosed shelters – southern; and
• Shades for diurnal use – whole continent (Memmott, 2007).
This occurrence of connection to the land and seasonal relationships is evident through all
Aboriginal tribes in Australia. It was initially recorded by anthropologist Thomson and considered a
quantum leap in the theoretical understanding of Australian Aboriginals by anthropologists (Memmott,
2007). In his paper ‘The Seasonal Factor in Human Culture Illustrated from the life of a Contemporary
Nomadic Group’, Thomson (1939) demonstrated the integrated role of hunter-gatherer lifestyles with
seasons and coastal habitat changes as part of ethno-architecture. Thomson focused upon the coastal
clan of the Cape Keerweer
4
region of the Wik Mungan people and considered the shelter types that had
been constructed according to their cycle of six seasons. Seasonal shelter types and settlement patterns are described and summarized as what Thomson called ‘The Seasonal Factor’ (Thomson, 1939).
4 Cape Keerweer is an area located on the Western coastal area of Cape York, the northernmost point of Australia.
5 Origins of Advanced Knowledge