This page will try to explain who the aborigines are, where they are from what they believe and what they have become. Click on the subject that interests you along the left side of this page.
History
Unlike most other parts of the world, where modern humans evolved from earlier forms, the Aborigines probably came to Australia as modern human beings 40,000 to 60,000 years ago. Some people believe that the Aborigines have existed on Australia for 120,000 to 150,000 years, but have not been able to find conclusive evidence to support their theories. 40,000 years ago the world looked very different. An ice age was just ending and there were huge amounts of ice at the poles of the earth. The large ice caps on the north and south poles caused the oceans to be 400 to 600 feet lower than they currently are, letting Australia extend much farther into the ocean than it currently does. Australia, New Guinea and Tasmania were all part of one continent leaving the widest possible gap of water between Ausralia and the Asian landmass at just 80 miles. The most probable reason for the existance of people in Australia is that people who had already spread throughout the Indonesian islands were able to see the smoke of naturaly occuring Austrlian brush fires from Borneo. The indigenous people of the Indonesian islands today are excellent watercraftsmen and swimmers. It is very likely that the Ancestors of these people realized when they saw smoke in the distance that there was land there and sailed to find it. Once people landed in Australia they spread along the coastline to southern Australia, with some people crossing a land bridge to Tasmania. Eventually Aborigines inhabited every part of Australia. Even though modern day Aborigines originated from a single group of people, the extrmely diverse geography of Australia has greatly shaped the difernt groups of Aborigines living within Australia. Different groups evolved differntly in different parts of Australia, and today there are hundreds of cultures and languages which are different but share the same basic beliefs, such as The Dreaming.

 

A map of Australia 18,000 years ago

As can be seen on the map, even 18,00 years ago Australia was much larger that it is today. 

 
Religion

The Aborigonal religion is based heavily on the Dreaming. The Dreaming is the Aboriginal creation story. Aborigines believe that at the beginning of time the world was a shapeless mass of nothing, waitng to be transformed into what we see today. The mythic beings called the ancestors arrived, the ancestors took many shapes, although most commonly they were great serpents. The ancestors began to travel across the world shaping the landscape and creating new life as they went. Every major geographical feature in australia has an aboriginal story to explain it. The Dreaming gets very abstract, it turns almost into another dimension. Aborigines believe that they are constantly living in the Dreaming and that every time they do something they leave an impression on the other reality that is the Dreaming

Ayers rock pictured below is an example of a landform the Australian religion says was shaped by the ancestors.

Ayers Rock, the largest monolith in the world

Ancestors

The ancestors of the aborigines come in all shapes and sizes, in some ways they are very similar to Greek Gods and Goddess', in that they usually represent a certain theme. Such as the sky, or water. During the Dreaming the ancestors crisscrossed Australia shaping the land into its current state as the went. The Aborigines also consider certain constellations to be ancestors.

The great serpents are representative of Australia winding rivers, and water in general. The most powerful and well known serpent is the Rainbow Serpent. The Rainbow Serpent is known in all Aboriginal cultures and is feared and revered by all.

The above art pictures two of the ancestors fishing.