Scientist debunks nomadic Aborigine 'myth'

Guardian Unlimited ^ | Tuesday October 9, 2007 | Barbara McMahon

[SunkenCiv]

Before white settlers arrived, Australia's indigenous peoples lived in houses and villages, and used surprisingly sophisticated architecture and design methods to build their shelters... Dwellings were constructed in various styles, depending on the climate. Most common were dome-like structures made of cane reeds with roofs thatched with palm leaves. Some of the houses were interconnected, allowing native people to interact during long periods spent indoors during the wet season... Dr Memmott said the myth that indigenous Australians were constantly on the move had come about because early explorers made their observations in good weather, when indigenous people were more mobile than at other times... In the rainforest area around Cairns, in Queensland, where there was heavy rain for much of the year, people would occupy such villages for up to a year, he said. The villages had to be near a staple food source, such as rainforest trees, from which Aborigines could harvest nuts... Dr Memmott also found evidence of dome housing on the west coast of Tasmania, with triple layers of cladding and insulation. In western Victoria, Aborigines built circular stone walls more than a metre high, constructing dome roofs over the top with earth or sod cladding.

[SunkenCiv]

A picture in Dr Memmot's book shows an Aboriginal man sitting in the doorway of a dome-shaped building. Photograph: the Aboriginal Environments Research Centre collection

[SunkenCiv]

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[ASOC]

Thanks for posting.

Looks kinda like a Wickiup or hoghan or even a close to an Eskimo sod shelter.

Regional adpatations
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/settlements/

For the DIY types, see http://www.shelterpub.com/_shelter/sss_book.html

[SunkenCiv]

Actually, a flying elephant let go with a giant turd, and it buried a circus clown. The soles of his shoes can be seen to the right in the picture. That aborigine guy just hollowed out a living space after the stuff dried.