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'''Aboriginal Australians''' are the various [[Indigenous peoples]] of the [[Mainland Australia|Australian mainland]] and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the [[Torres Strait Islands]].
People first migrated to [[Australia (continent)|Australia]] at least 65,000 years ago, and over time formed as many as 500 [[List of Aboriginal Australian group names|language-based groups]].<ref name=socio-cultural>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Traditional sociocultural patterns |encyclopedia=Britannica |year=2023 |last1= Berndt|first1=Ronald M. |last2=Tonkinson |first2=Robert |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |location=Chicago |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Australian-Aboriginal/Traditional-sociocultural-patterns |access-date=19 July 2023}}</ref> They have a broadly shared, complex genetic history, but only in the last 200 years were they defined by others as, and started to self-identify as, a single group. [[Australian Aboriginal identity|Aboriginal identity]] has changed over time and place, with family lineage, self-identification, and community acceptance all of varying importance.
Aboriginal Australians have a wide variety of cultural practices and beliefs that make up the oldest continuous cultures in the world.<ref name="auto"/><ref name=":2"/> At the time of European colonisation of Australia, theythe Aboriginal people consisted of complex cultural societies with more than 250 [[Australian Aboriginal languages|languages]]<ref>{{cite web | title = Community, identity, wellbeing: The report of the Second National Indigenous Languages Survey | year = 2014 | publisher = [[Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies|AIATSIS]] | url = http://aiatsis.gov.au/publications/products/community-identity-wellbeing-report-second-national-indigenous-languages | access-date = 18 May 2015 | ref = {{harvid|AIATSIS|2014}} | archive-date = 24 April 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150424032821/http://aiatsis.gov.au/publications/products/community-identity-wellbeing-report-second-national-indigenous-languages | url-status = dead }}</ref> and varying degrees of technology and settlements.{{vague|date=July 2023}} Languages (or dialects) and language-associated groups of people are connected with stretches of territory known as "Country", with which they have a profound spiritual connection. Over the aeons, Aboriginal people developed complex trade networks, inter-cultural relationships, law and religions.<ref name=socio-cultural/><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Australian Aboriginal peoples |encyclopedia=Britannica |year=2023 |last1= Berndt|first1=Ronald M. |last2=Tonkinson |first2=Robert |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |location=Chicago |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Australian-Aboriginal |access-date=19 July 2023}}</ref>
Languages (or dialects) and language-associated groups of people are connected with stretches of territory known as "Country", with which they have a profound spiritual connection. Over the millennia, Aboriginal people developed complex trade networks, inter-cultural relationships, law and religions.<ref name=socio-cultural/><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Australian Aboriginal peoples |encyclopedia=Britannica |year=2023 |last1= Berndt|first1=Ronald M. |last2=Tonkinson |first2=Robert |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |location=Chicago |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Australian-Aboriginal |access-date=19 July 2023}}</ref>
Contemporary Aboriginal beliefs are a complex mixture, varying by region and individual across the continent.<ref name=":1"/> They are shaped by traditional beliefs, the disruption of colonisation, religions brought to the continent by Europeans, and contemporary issues.<ref name=":1"/><ref name=":3"/><ref name=":4"/> Traditional cultural beliefs are passed down and shared by [[Indigenous Australian dance|dancing]], [[Oral tradition|stories]], [[songline]]s and [[Indigenous Australian art|art]] that collectively weave an [[ontology]] of modern daily life and ancient creation known as [[The Dreaming|Dreaming]]. ▼
▲Contemporary Aboriginal beliefs are a complex mixture, varying by region and individual across the continent.<ref name=":1"/> They are shaped by traditional beliefs, the disruption of colonisation, religions brought to the continent by Europeans, and contemporary issues.<ref name=":1"/><ref name=":3"/><ref name=":4"/> Traditional cultural beliefs are passed down and shared bythrough [[Indigenous Australian dance|dancing]], [[Oral tradition|stories]], [[songline]]s , and [[Indigenous Australian art|art]] that collectively weave an [[ontology]] of modern daily life and ancient creation known as [[The Dreaming|Dreaming]].
In the past, Aboriginal people lived over large sections of the [[continental shelf]] and were isolated on many of the smaller offshore islands and [[Tasmania]] when the land was inundated at the start of the [[Holocene]] [[Interglacial|inter-glacial period]], about 11,700 years ago. Despite this, Aboriginal people maintained extensive networks within the continent and certain groups maintained relationships with Torres Strait Islanders and the [[Makassar people|Makassar]] people of modern-day Indonesia. Studies of Aboriginal groups' genetic makeup are ongoing, but evidence suggests that they have genetic inheritance from ancient Asian but not more modern peoples, and share some similarities with [[Papuans]], but have been isolated from [[Southeast Asia]] for a very long time. ▼
▲In the past, Aboriginal people lived over large sections of the [[continental shelf]] . andThey were isolated on many of the smaller offshore islands and [[Tasmania]] when the land was inundated at the start of the [[Holocene]] [[Interglacial|inter-glacial period]], about 11,700 years ago. Despite this, Aboriginal people maintained extensive networks within the continent and certain groups maintained relationships with Torres Strait Islanders and the [[Makassar people|Makassar]] people of modern-day Indonesia. Studies of Aboriginal groups' genetic makeup are ongoing, but evidence suggests that they have genetic inheritance from ancient Asian but not more modern peoples ,. andThey share some similarities with [[Papuans]], but have been isolated from [[Southeast Asia]] for a very long time.
In the {{CensusAU|2021}}, Indigenous Australians comprised 3.8% of Australia's population.<ref name="auto1"/>
Most Aboriginal people today speak [[English language|English]] and live in cities, and. someSome may use Aboriginal phrases and words in [[Australian Aboriginal English]] (which also has a tangible influence of [[Australian Aboriginal languages|Aboriginal languages]] in the [[phonology]] and [[grammatical structure]]). Many but not all also speak the various [[Australian aboriginal languages|traditional languages]] of their clans and peoples.
Aboriginal people, along with Torres Strait Islander people, have a number of severe [[Indigenous health in Australia|health]] and economic deprivations in comparison with the wider Australian community.
==Origins==
{{Main|History of Indigenous Australians|Prehistory of Australia}}
{{see also|Early human migrations#Near Oceania}}
{{Multiple image
| image3 = Didgeridoo (Imagicity 1070).jpg
| caption3 = [[Didgeridoo]] player Ŋalkan Munuŋgurr performing with [[East Journey]]<ref>{{cite web |last=Graves |first=Randin |title=Yolngu are People 2: They're not Clip Art |url=https://yidakistory.com/blog/page/4/ |website=Yidaki History |date=2 June 2017 |access-date=30 August 2020}}</ref>}}
DNA studies have confirmed that "Aboriginal Australians are one of the oldest living populations in the world, certainly the oldest outside of Africa". Their ancestors left the African continent 75,000 years ago. They may have the oldest continuous culture on earth.<ref>{{cite web | title=DNA confirms Aboriginal culture one of Earth's oldest | website=[[Australian Geographic]] | date=23 September 2011 | url=https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2011/09/dna-confirms-aboriginal-culture-one-of-earths-oldest/ | access-date=21 May 2024}}</ref> In [[Arnhem Land]] in the [[Northern Territory]], oral histories comprising complex narratives have been passed down by [[Yolngu people]] through hundreds of generations. The [[Aboriginal rock art]], dated by modern techniques, shows that their culture has continued from ancient times.<ref>{{cite web | title=Discover the oldest continuous living culture on Earth | website=The Telegraph | date=22 December 2023 | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/plan-your-australian-holiday/northern-territory/oldest-continuous-living-culture/ | access-date=21 May 2024}}</ref>
The ancestors of present-day Aboriginal Australian people migrated from Southeast Asia by sea during the [[Pleistocene]] epoch and lived over large sections of the [[Australia (continent)|Australian continental shelf]] when the [[sea level]]s were lower. andAt that time, Australia, Tasmania and [[New Guinea]] were part of the same landmass, known as [[Sahul]]. As sea levels rose, the people on the [[Australian mainland]] and nearby islands became increasingly isolated, some on Tasmania and some of the smaller offshore islands when the land was inundated at the start of the [[Holocene]], the [[Interglacial|inter-glacial period]] that started about 11,700 years ago.<ref>{{cite book|title=Unearthed: The Aboriginal Tasmanians of Kangaroo Island|author=Rebe Taylor|publisher=Wakefield Press|year=2002|isbn=978-1-86254-552-6|location=Kent Town|author-link=Rebe Taylor}}</ref> Prehistorians believe it would have been difficult for Aboriginal people to have originated purely from mainland Asia, and not enough numbers would have made it to Australia and surrounding islands to fulfil the beginning of the population seen in the last century. This is why it is commonly believed that most Aboriginal Australians originated from Southeast Asia, and if this is the case, Aboriginal Australians were among the first in the world to complete sea voyages.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Read|first1=Peter|last2=Broome|first2=Richard|date=1982|title=Aboriginal Australians|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/27508560|journal=Labour History|issue=43|pages=125–126|doi=10.2307/27508560|jstor=27508560|issn=0023-6942}}</ref>
As sea levels rose, the people on the [[Australian mainland]] and nearby islands became increasingly isolated, some on Tasmania and some of the smaller offshore islands when the land was inundated at the start of the [[Holocene]], the [[Interglacial|inter-glacial period]] that started about 11,700 years ago.<ref>{{cite book|title=Unearthed: The Aboriginal Tasmanians of Kangaroo Island|author=Rebe Taylor|publisher=Wakefield Press|year=2002|isbn=978-1-86254-552-6|location=Kent Town|author-link=Rebe Taylor}}</ref> Scholars of this ancient history believe that it would have been difficult for Aboriginal people to have originated purely from mainland Asia. Not enough people would have migrated to Australia and surrounding islands to fulfill the beginning of the size of the population seen in the 19th century. Scholars believe that most Aboriginal Australians originated from Southeast Asia. If this is the case, Aboriginal Australians were among the first in the world to have completed sea voyages.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Read|first1=Peter|last2=Broome|first2=Richard|date=1982|title=Aboriginal Australians|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/27508560|journal=Labour History|issue=43|pages=125–126|doi=10.2307/27508560|jstor=27508560|issn=0023-6942}}</ref>
A 2017 paper in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' evaluated artefacts in [[Kakadu National Park|Kakadu]] and concluded "Human occupation began around 65,000 years ago".<ref name="ClarksonJacobs2017">{{cite journal| last1=Clarkson| first1=Chris| last2=Jacobs| first2=Zenobia| last3=Marwick| first3=Ben| last4=Fullagar| first4=Richard| last5=Wallis| first5=Lynley|author-link5=Lynley Wallis| last6=Smith|first6=Mike|last7=Roberts|first7=Richard G.|last8=Hayes|first8=Elspeth|last9=Lowe|first9=Kelsey| last10=Carah|first10=Xavier|last11=Florin| first11=S. Anna|last12=McNeil| first12=Jessica|last13=Cox|first13=Delyth|last14=Arnold|first14=Lee J.|last15=Hua|first15=Quan |last16=Huntley|first16=Jillian| last17=Brand| first17=Helen E. A.|last18=Manne| first18=Tiina|last19=Fairbairn| first19=Andrew| last20=Shulmeister| first20=James| last21=Lyle| first21=Lindsey| last22=Salinas| first22=Makiah|last23=Page|first23=Mara |last24=Connell|first24=Kate|last25=Park|first25=Gayoung |last26=Norman| first26=Kasih|last27=Murphy|first27=Tessa|last28=Pardoe|first28=Colin|title=Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago| journal=Nature| volume=547| issue=7663| year=2017| pages=306–310| issn=0028-0836| doi=10.1038/nature22968| pmid=28726833| bibcode=2017Natur.547..306C| hdl=2440/107043|s2cid=205257212|hdl-access=free| display-authors=2}}</ref> ▼
▲A 2017 paper in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' evaluated artefacts in [[Kakadu National Park|Kakadu]] . andIts authors concluded "Human occupation began around 65,000 years ago".<ref name="ClarksonJacobs2017">{{cite journal| last1=Clarkson| first1=Chris| last2=Jacobs| first2=Zenobia| last3=Marwick| first3=Ben| last4=Fullagar| first4=Richard| last5=Wallis| first5=Lynley|author-link5=Lynley Wallis| last6=Smith|first6=Mike|last7=Roberts|first7=Richard G.|last8=Hayes|first8=Elspeth|last9=Lowe|first9=Kelsey| last10=Carah|first10=Xavier|last11=Florin| first11=S. Anna|last12=McNeil| first12=Jessica|last13=Cox|first13=Delyth|last14=Arnold|first14=Lee J.|last15=Hua|first15=Quan |last16=Huntley|first16=Jillian| last17=Brand| first17=Helen E. A.|last18=Manne| first18=Tiina|last19=Fairbairn| first19=Andrew| last20=Shulmeister| first20=James| last21=Lyle| first21=Lindsey| last22=Salinas| first22=Makiah|last23=Page|first23=Mara |last24=Connell|first24=Kate|last25=Park|first25=Gayoung |last26=Norman| first26=Kasih|last27=Murphy|first27=Tessa|last28=Pardoe|first28=Colin|title=Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago| journal=Nature| volume=547| issue=7663| year=2017| pages=306–310| issn=0028-0836| doi=10.1038/nature22968| pmid=28726833| bibcode=2017Natur.547..306C| hdl=2440/107043|s2cid=205257212|hdl-access=free| display-authors=2}}</ref>
A 2021 study by researchers at the [[ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage|Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage]] has mapped the likely migration routes of the peoples as they moved across the [[Australian continent]] to its southern reaches of what is now [[Tasmania]], then part of the mainland. The modelling is based on data from [[archaeologist]]s, [[anthropologist]]s, [[ecologist]]s, [[geneticist]]s, [[climatologist]]s, [[geomorphologist]]s and [[hydrologist]]s, and it is intended to compare the modelling with the [[oral tradition|oral histories]] of Aboriginal peoples, including [[The Dreaming|Dreaming]] stories, [[Australian rock art]] and linguistic features of [[Aboriginal Australian languages|the many Aboriginal languages]]. The routes, dubbed "superhighways" by the authors, are similar to current highways and [[stock route]]s in Australia. [[Lynette Russell]] of [[Monash University]] sees the new model as a starting point for collaboration with Aboriginal people to help uncover their history. The new models suggest that the first people may have landed in the [[Kimberley region]] in what is now [[Western Australia]] about 60,000 years ago, and settled across the continent within 6,000 years.<ref>{{cite web | last=Morse | first=Dana | title=Researchers demystify the secrets of ancient Aboriginal migration across Australia| website=ABC News|publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] | date=30 April 2021 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-30/research-into-ancient-aboriginal-migration-across-australia/100105902 | access-date=7 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| title=Landscape rules predict optimal superhighways for the first peopling of Sahul | journal=[[Nature Human Behaviour]] | url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-021-01106-8 | access-date=7 May 2021|doi=10.1038/s41562-021-01106-8| author1=Crabtree, S.A.|author2= White, D.A.|author3= Bradshaw, C.J.A|display-authors=2| date=29 April 2021| volume=5 | issue=10 | pages=1303–1313 | pmid=33927367 | s2cid=233458467 }}</ref> A 2018 study using [[archaeobotany]] dated evidence of continuous human habitation at [[Karnatukul]] (Serpent's Glen) in the [[Carnarvon Range (Western Australia)|Carnarvon Range]] in the [[Little Sandy Desert]] in WA from around 50,000 years ago.<ref name=mcdonald2018>{{cite journal|author1=McDonald, Josephine|author2= Reynen, Wendy |author3= Petchey, Fiona |author4= Ditchfield, Kane |author5= Byrne, Chae |author6= Vannieuwenhuyse, Dorcas |author7= Leopold, Matthias|author8= Veth, Peter|date=September 2018| title=Karnatukul (Serpent's Glen): A new chronology for the oldest site in Australia's Western Desert|journal= [[PLOS ONE]]|volume= 13 | url=https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Location-of-Karnatukul-in-the-Western-Desert-showing-the-location-of-sites-named-in_fig1_327758227|issue= 9|pages= e0202511 | doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0202511|pmid= 30231025 |pmc= 6145509 |bibcode= 2018PLoSO..1302511M | via=[[ResearchGate]]|doi-access= free }}</ref><ref group="note">"The re-excavation of Karnatukul (Serpent’s Glen) has provided evidence for the human occupation of the Australian Western Desert to before 47,830 cal. BP (modelled median age). This new sequence is 20,000 years older than the previous known age for occupation at this site."</ref><ref name=veth2008>{{cite journal| author1= McDonald, Jo| author2=Veth, Peter|date =2008| journal= [[Australian Aboriginal Studies]]| issue= 2008/1|title= Rock- art: Pigment dates provide new perspectives on the role of art in the Australian arid zone. |pages= 4–21| via=[[ResearchGate]]|url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272158814 }}</ref><ref name=mcdonald2020>{{cite journal | last=McDonald | first=Jo | title=Serpents Glen (Karnatukul): New Histories for Deep time Attachment to Country in Australia's Western Desert| journal=[[Bulletin of the History of Archaeology]] | volume=30 | issue=1 | date=2 July 2020 | issn=2047-6930 | doi=10.5334/bha-624 | page=| s2cid=225577563 | doi-access=free }}</ref> ▼
A 2021 study by researchers at the [[ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage|Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage]] has mapped the likely migration routes of the peoples as they moved across the [[Australian continent]] to its southern reaches and what is now [[Tasmania]], then part of the mainland. The modelling is based on data from [[archaeologist]]s, [[anthropologist]]s, [[ecologist]]s, [[geneticist]]s, [[climatologist]]s, [[geomorphologist]]s and [[hydrologist]]s.
It is intended to compare this data with the [[oral tradition|oral histories]] of Aboriginal peoples, including [[The Dreaming|Dreaming]] stories, [[Australian rock art]], and linguistic features of [[Aboriginal Australian languages|the many Aboriginal languages]] which reveal how the peoples developed separately. The routes, dubbed "superhighways" by the authors, are similar to current highways and [[stock route]]s in Australia.
▲A 2021 study by researchers at the [[ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage|Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage]] has mapped the likely migration routes of the peoples as they moved across the [[Australian continent]] to its southern reaches of what is now [[Tasmania]], then part of the mainland. The modelling is based on data from [[archaeologist]]s, [[anthropologist]]s, [[ecologist]]s, [[geneticist]]s, [[climatologist]]s, [[geomorphologist]]s and [[hydrologist]]s, and it is intended to compare the modelling with the [[oral tradition|oral histories]] of Aboriginal peoples, including [[The Dreaming|Dreaming]] stories, [[Australian rock art]] and linguistic features of [[Aboriginal Australian languages|the many Aboriginal languages]]. The routes, dubbed "superhighways" by the authors, are similar to current highways and [[stock route]]s in Australia. [[Lynette Russell]] of [[Monash University]] seesbelieves that the new model asis a starting point for collaboration with Aboriginal people to help uncoverreveal their history. The new models suggest that the first people may have landed in the [[Kimberley region]] in what is now [[Western Australia]] about 60,000 years ago ,. andThey settledmigrated across the continent within 6,000 years.<ref>{{cite web | last=Morse | first=Dana | title=Researchers demystify the secrets of ancient Aboriginal migration across Australia| website=ABC News|publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] | date=30 April 2021 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-30/research-into-ancient-aboriginal-migration-across-australia/100105902 | access-date=7 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| title=Landscape rules predict optimal superhighways for the first peopling of Sahul | journal=[[Nature Human Behaviour]] | url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-021-01106-8 | access-date=7 May 2021|doi=10.1038/s41562-021-01106-8| author1=Crabtree, S.A.|author2= White, D.A.|author3= Bradshaw, C.J.A|display-authors=2| date=29 April 2021| volume=5 | issue=10 | pages=1303–1313 | pmid=33927367 | s2cid=233458467 }}</ref> A 2018 study using [[archaeobotany]] dated evidence of continuous human habitation at [[Karnatukul]] (Serpent's Glen) in the [[Carnarvon Range (Western Australia)|Carnarvon Range]] in the [[Little Sandy Desert]] in WA from around 50,000 years ago.<ref name=mcdonald2018>{{cite journal|author1=McDonald, Josephine|author2= Reynen, Wendy |author3= Petchey, Fiona |author4= Ditchfield, Kane |author5= Byrne, Chae |author6= Vannieuwenhuyse, Dorcas |author7= Leopold, Matthias|author8= Veth, Peter|date=September 2018| title=Karnatukul (Serpent's Glen): A new chronology for the oldest site in Australia's Western Desert|journal= [[PLOS ONE]]|volume= 13 | url=https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Location-of-Karnatukul-in-the-Western-Desert-showing-the-location-of-sites-named-in_fig1_327758227|issue= 9|pages= e0202511 | doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0202511|pmid= 30231025 |pmc= 6145509 |bibcode= 2018PLoSO..1302511M | via=[[ResearchGate]]|doi-access= free }}</ref><ref group="note">"The re-excavation of Karnatukul ( Serpent’sSerpent's Glen) has provided evidence for the human occupation of the Australian Western Desert to before 47,830 cal. BP (modelled median age). This new sequence is 20,000 years older than the previous known age for occupation at this site."</ref><ref name=veth2008>{{cite journal| author1= McDonald, Jo| author2=Veth, Peter|date =2008| journal= [[Australian Aboriginal Studies]]| issue= 2008/1|title= Rock- art: Pigment dates provide new perspectives on the role of art in the Australian arid zone. |pages= 4–21| via=[[ResearchGate]]|url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272158814 }}</ref><ref name=mcdonald2020>{{cite journal | last=McDonald | first=Jo | title=Serpents Glen (Karnatukul): New Histories for Deep time Attachment to Country in Australia's Western Desert| journal=[[Bulletin of the History of Archaeology]] | volume=30 | issue=1 | date=2 July 2020 | issn=2047-6930 | doi=10.5334/bha-624 | page=| s2cid=225577563 | doi-access=free }}</ref>
===Genetics===
| image1 = Phylogenetic structure of Eastern Eurasians.png
| caption1 = Phylogenetic position of the Aboriginal Australian lineage among other [[East-Eurasian|East Eurasians]].}}
Genetic studies have revealed that Aboriginal Australians largely descended from an [[Ancient East Eurasians|Eastern Eurasian]] population wave during the [[Initial Upper Paleolithic]],. andThey are most closely related to other [[Oceania]]ns, such as [[Melanesians]]. The Aboriginal Australians also show affinity to other [[Australasia]]n populations, such as [[Negritos]], as well as to [[East Asian peoples]]. Phylogenetic data suggests that an early initial eastern lineage (ENA) trifurcated somewhere in [[South Asia]], and gave rise to Australasians (Oceanians), Ancient Ancestral South Indian (AASI), Andamanese and the East/Southeast Asian lineage, including ancestors of the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]], although. Papuans may have received approximately 2% of their geneflow from an earlier group (xOOA)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Almost all living people outside of Africa trace back to a single migration more than 50,000 years ago |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/almost-all-living-people-outside-africa-trace-back-single-migration-more-50000-years |access-date=2022-08-19 |website=science.org |language=en}}</ref> as well, next to additional archaic admixture in the [[Sahul]] region.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Yang |first=Melinda A. |date=2022-01-06 |title=A genetic history of migration, diversification, and admixture in Asia |url=http://www.pivotscipub.com/hpgg/2/1/0001/html |journal=Human Population Genetics and Genomics |language=en |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=1–32 |doi=10.47248/hpgg2202010001 |issn=2770-5005|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref group="note">Genetics and material culture support repeated expansions into Paleolithic Eurasia from a population hub out of Africa, Vallini et al. 2022 (April 4, 2022): "Taken together with a lower bound of the final settlement of Sahul at 37 ka (the date of the deepest population splits estimated by Malaspinas et al. 2016), it is reasonable to describe Papuans as either an almost even mixture between East Asians and a lineage basal to West and East Asians occurred sometimes between 45 and 38 ka38 ka, or as a sister lineage of East Asians with or without a minor basal OoA or xOoA contribution. We here chose to parsimoniously describe Papuans as a simple sister group of Tianyuan, cautioning that this may be just one out of six equifinal possibilities."</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Taufik |first1=Leonard |last2=Teixeira |first2=João C. |last3=Llamas |first3=Bastien |last4=Sudoyo |first4=Herawati |last5=Tobler |first5=Raymond |last6=Purnomo |first6=Gludhug A. |date=2022-12-16 |title=Human Genetic Research in Wallacea and Sahul: Recent Findings and Future Prospects |journal=Genes |language=en |volume=13 |issue=12 |pages=2373 |doi=10.3390/genes13122373 |pmid=36553640 |pmc=9778601 |issn=2073-4425 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
[[File:PCA of Orang Asli and Andamanese with world populations in HGDP.png|thumb|[[Principal component analysis|PCA]] of Orang Asli (Semang) and Andamanese, with worldwide populations in HGDP.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Aghakhanian |first=Farhang |date=14 April 2015 |title=Unravelling the Genetic History of Negritos and Indigenous Populations of Southeast Asia |url=https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/7/5/1206/604030 |access-date=2022-05-08 |journal=Genome Biology and Evolution|volume=7 |issue=5 |pages=1206–1215 |doi=10.1093/gbe/evv065 |pmid=25877615 |pmc=4453060 }}</ref>]]
[[File:Noongar traditional dancers, Perth, Australia.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Noongar]] traditional dancers in Perth]]
Aboriginal people are genetically most similar to the indigenous populations of [[Papua New Guinea]], and more distantly related to groups from East Indonesia. They are more distinct from the indigenous populations of [[Borneo]] and [[Malaysia]], sharing drift with them than compared to the groups from Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. This indicates that populations in Australia were isolated for a long time from the rest of Southeast Asia,. andThey remained untouched by migrations and population expansions into that area, which can be explained by the [[Wallace line]].<ref name="Huoponen2001"/>
In a 2001 study, blood samples were collected from some [[Warlpiri people]] in the [[Northern Territory]] to study their genetic makeup (which is not representative of all Aboriginal peoples in Australia). The study concluded that the Warlpiri are descended from ancient Asians whose DNA is still somewhat present in Southeastern Asian groups, although greatly diminished. The Warlpiri DNA lacks certain information found in modern Asian genomes, and carries information not found in other genomes,. reinforcingThis reinforces the idea of ancient Aboriginal isolation.<ref name="Huoponen2001">{{Cite journal|last1=Huoponen|first1=Kirsi|last2=Schurr|first2=Theodore G.|last3=Chen|first3=Yu-Sheng|last4=Wallace|first4=Douglas C.|display-authors=2|date=1 September 2001|title=Mitochondrial DNA variation in an Aboriginal Australian population: evidence for genetic isolation and regional differentiation|journal=Human Immunology| volume=62| issue=9| pages=954–969| doi=10.1016/S0198-8859(01)00294-4|pmid=11543898}}</ref>
Genetic data extracted in 2011 by Morten Rasmussen et al., who took a [[DNA sample]] from an early-20th-century lock of an Aboriginal person's hair, found that the Aboriginal ancestors probably migrated through [[South Asia]] and [[Maritime Southeast Asia]], into Australia, where they stayed,. withAs thea result that, outside of Africa, the Aboriginal peoples have occupied the same territory continuously longer than any other human populations. These findings suggest that modern Aboriginal Australians are the direct descendants of the eastern wave, who left Africa up to 75,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite journal| last1=Rasmussen| first1=Morten|last2=Guo|first2=Xiaosen |last3=Wang| first3=Yong|last4=Lohmueller| first4=Kirk E.| last5=Rasmussen|first5=Simon| last6=Albrechtsen|first6=Anders|last7=Skotte|first7=Line| last8=Lindgreen| first8=Stinus|last9=Metspalu|first9=Mait|last10=Jombart|first10=Thibaut|display-authors=2|date=7 October 2011|title=An Aboriginal Australia Genome Reveals Separate Human Dispersals into Asia|journal=Science|publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science|volume=334|issue=6052|pages=94–98|doi=10.1126/science.1211177|pmc=3991479|pmid=21940856|bibcode=2011Sci...334...94R}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Callaway|first=Ewen|url=http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110922/full/news.2011.551.html|title=First Aboriginal genome sequenced|journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|issn=1476-4687|doi=10.1038/news.2011.551|year=2011|access-date=16 January 2016}}</ref> This finding is compatible with earlier archaeological finds of [[Lake Mungo remains|human remains near Lake Mungo]] that date to approximately 40,000 years ago.{{Citation needed|date=June 2020}} The idea of the "oldest continuous culture" is based on the Aboriginal peoples' geographical isolation, with little or no interaction with outside cultures before some contact with [[Makassan]] fishermen and Dutch explorers up to 500 years ago. {{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}
The Rasmussen study also found evidence that Aboriginal peoples carry some genes associated with the [[Denisovan]]s (a species of human related to but distinct from [[Neanderthal]]s) of Asia; the study suggests that there is an increase in [[allele]] sharing between the Denisovan and Aboriginal Australian genomes, compared to other Eurasians or Africans. Examining DNA from a finger bone excavated in [[Siberia]], researchers concluded that the Denisovans migrated from [[Siberia]] to tropical parts of Asia and that they interbred with modern humans in Southeast Asia 44,000 years BP, before Australia separated from New Guinea approximately 11,700 years BP. They contributed DNA to Aboriginal Australians alongand withto present-day New Guineans and an indigenous tribe in the Philippines known as [[Mamanwa]]. This study makesconfirms Aboriginal Australians as one of the oldest living populations in the world. andThey are possibly the oldest outside Africa, confirmingand they may also have the oldest continuous culture on the planet.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2011/09/dna-confirms-aboriginal-culture-one-of-earths-oldest|title=DNA confirms Aboriginal culture is one of the Earth's oldest|publisher=Australian Geographic|date=23 September 2011}}</ref>
A 2016 study at the [[University of Cambridge]] suggests that it was about 50,000 years ago that these peoples reached [[Sahul]] (the [[supercontinent]] consisting of present-day Australia and its islands and [[New Guinea]]). The sea levels rose and isolated Australia about 10,000 years ago, but Aboriginal Australians and Papuans diverged from each other genetically earlier, about 37,000 years BP, possibly because the remaining land bridge was impassable,. andThis itisolation wasmakes thisthe isolation which makesAboriginal itpeople the world's oldest culture. The study also found evidence of an unknown [[hominin]] group, distantly related to Denisovans, with whom the Aboriginal and Papuan ancestors must have interbred, leaving a trace of about 4% in most Aboriginal Australians' genome. There is, however, increased genetic diversity among Aboriginal Australians based on geographical distribution.<ref name=klein2016>{{cite web | last=Klein | first=Christopher | title=DNA Study Finds Aboriginal Australians World's Oldest Civilization | website=History | publisher=A&E Television Networks | date=23 September 2016 | url=https://www.history.com/news/dna-study-finds-aboriginal-australians-worlds-oldest-civilization | access-date=13 March 2020|quote=Updated Aug 22, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1=Malaspinas | first1=Anna-Sapfo | last2=Westaway | first2=Michael C. | last3=Muller | first3=Craig | last4=Sousa | first4=Vitor C. | last5=Lao | first5=Oscar | last6=Alves | first6=Isabel | last7=Bergström | first7=Anders | last8=Athanasiadis | first8=Georgios | last9=Cheng | first9=Jade Y. | last10=Crawford | first10=Jacob E. | last11=Heupink | first11=Tim H. | last12=Macholdt | first12=Enrico | last13=Peischl | first13=Stephan | last14=Rasmussen | first14=Simon | last15=Schiffels | first15=Stephan | last16=Subramanian | first16=Sankar | last17=Wright | first17=Joanne L. | last18=Albrechtsen | first18=Anders | last19=Barbieri | first19=Chiara | last20=Dupanloup | first20=Isabelle | last21=Eriksson | first21=Anders | last22=Margaryan | first22=Ashot | last23=Moltke | first23=Ida | last24=Pugach | first24=Irina | last25=Korneliussen | first25=Thorfinn S. | last26=Levkivskyi | first26=Ivan P. | last27=Moreno-Mayar | first27=J. Víctor | last28=Ni | first28=Shengyu | last29=Racimo | first29=Fernando | last30=Sikora | first30=Martin | last31=Xue | first31=Yali | last32=Aghakhanian | first32=Farhang A. | last33=Brucato | first33=Nicolas | last34=Brunak | first34=Søren | last35=Campos | first35=Paula F. | last36=Clark | first36=Warren | last37=Ellingvåg | first37=Sturla | last38=Fourmile | first38=Gudjugudju | last39=Gerbault | first39=Pascale | last40=Injie | first40=Darren | last41=Koki | first41=George | last42=Leavesley | first42=Matthew | last43=Logan | first43=Betty | last44=Lynch | first44=Aubrey | last45=Matisoo-Smith | first45=Elizabeth A. | last46=McAllister | first46=Peter J. | last47=Mentzer | first47=Alexander J. | last48=Metspalu | first48=Mait | last49=Migliano | first49=Andrea B. | last50=Murgha | first50=Les | last51=Phipps | first51=Maude E. | last52=Pomat | first52=William | last53=Reynolds | first53=Doc | last54=Ricaut | first54=Francois-Xavier | last55=Siba | first55=Peter | last56=Thomas | first56=Mark G. | last57=Wales | first57=Thomas | last58=Wall | first58=Colleen Ma’run | last59=Oppenheimer | first59=Stephen J. | last60=Tyler-Smith | first60=Chris | last61=Durbin | first61=Richard | last62=Dortch | first62=Joe | last63=Manica | first63=Andrea | last64=Schierup | first64=Mikkel H. | last65=Foley | first65=Robert A. | last66=Lahr | first66=Marta Mirazón | last67=Bowern | first67=Claire | last68=Wall | first68=Jeffrey D. | last69=Mailund | first69=Thomas | last70=Stoneking | first70=Mark | last71=Nielsen | first71=Rasmus | last72=Sandhu | first72=Manjinder S. | last73=Excoffier | first73=Laurent | last74=Lambert | first74=David M. | last75=Willerslev | first75=Eske | display-authors=7 | title=A genomic history of Aboriginal Australia | journal=Nature | volume=538 | issue=7624 | date=2016-10-13 | issn=0028-0836 | doi=10.1038/nature18299 | pages=207–214| pmid=27654914 | bibcode=2016Natur.538..207M | hdl=10754/622366 | hdl-access=free }}</ref>
[[File:Migration routes and their contribution to the East Timor mtDNA pool.gif|thumb|The initial human settlement of Oceania is estimated to have been between 60,000 and 40,000 years ago. Archaeogenetic results indicate a colonisation of southern Sahul (Australia) before 37,000 years ago and an incubation period in northern Sahul (Papua New Guinea), followed by westward expansions within Australia after about 28,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gomes |first1=Sibylle M. |last2=Bodner |first2=Martin |last3=Souto |first3=Luis |last4=Zimmermann |first4=Bettina |last5=Huber |first5=Gabriela |last6=Strobl |first6=Christina |last7=Röck |first7=Alexander W. |last8=Achilli |first8=Alessandro |last9=Olivieri |first9=Anna |last10=Torroni |first10=Antonio |last11=Côrte-Real |first11=Francisco |date=2015-02-14 |title=Human settlement history between Sunda and Sahul: a focus on East Timor (Timor-Leste) and the Pleistocenic mtDNA diversity |journal=BMC Genomics |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=70 |doi=10.1186/s12864-014-1201-x |issn=1471-2164 |pmc=4342813 |pmid=25757516 |doi-access=free }}</ref>]]
Carlhoff et al. 2021 analysed a [[Holocene]] hunter-gatherer sample ("Leang Panninge") from [[Sulawesi|South Sulawesi]], which shares high amounts of genetic drift with Aboriginal Australians and Papuans,. whichThis suggests to representthat a population which split from the common ancestor of Aboriginal Australians and Papuans. The sample also shows genetic affinity forwith East Asians and the Andamanese people of South Asia. The authors note that this hunter-gatherer sample can be modelled with ~50% Papuan-related ancestry and either with ~50% East Asian or Andamanese Onge ancestry, highlighting the deep split between Leang Panninge and Aboriginal/Papuans.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Carlhoff|first1=Selina|last2=Duli|first2=Akin|last3=Nägele|first3=Kathrin|last4=Nur|first4=Muhammad|last5=Skov|first5=Laurits|last6=Sumantri|first6=Iwan|last7=Oktaviana|first7=Adhi Agus|last8=Hakim|first8=Budianto|last9=Burhan|first9=Basran|last10=Syahdar|first10=Fardi Ali|last11=McGahan|first11=David P.|date=2021|title=Genome of a middle Holocene hunter-gatherer from Wallacea|journal=Nature|volume=596|issue=7873|pages=543–547|doi=10.1038/s41586-021-03823-6|issn=0028-0836|pmc=8387238|pmid=34433944|bibcode=2021Natur.596..543C}}</ref><ref group="note">The [[qpGraph]] analysis confirmed this branching pattern, with the Leang Panninge individual branching off from the Near Oceanian clade after the Denisovan gene flow,. althoughThe withmost the most supported topology indicatingindicates around 50% of a basal East Asian component contributing to the Leang Panninge genome (fig. 3c, supplementary figs. 7–11).</ref>
Mallick et al. 2016 and Mark Lipson et al. 2017 study found the bifurcation of Eastern Eurasians and Western Eurasians dates back to least 45,000 years ago, with indigenous Australians nested inside the Eastern Eurasian clade.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mallick |first1=Swapan |last2=Li |first2=Heng |last3=Lipson |first3=Mark |last4=Mathieson |first4=Iain |last5=Patterson |first5=Nick |last6=Reich |first6=David |title=The Simons Genome Diversity Project: 300 genomes from 142 diverse populations |journal=Nature |date=13 October 2016 |volume=538 |issue=7624 |pages=201–206 |doi=10.1038/nature18964 |pmid=27654912 |pmc=5161557 |bibcode=2016Natur.538..201M |issn=0028-0836}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lipson |first1=Mark |last2=Reich |first2=David |title=A Working Model of the Deep Relationships of Diverse Modern Human Genetic Lineages Outside of Africa |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |date=April 2017 |volume=34 |issue=4 |pages=889–902 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msw293 |pmid=28074030 |pmc=5400393 |language=en}}</ref>
Two genetic studies by Larena et al. 2021 found that [[Philippines]] [[Negrito]] people split from the common ancestor of Aboriginal Australians and Papuans before theythe latter two diverged from each other, but after their common ancestor diverged from the ancestor of [[East Asian peoples]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Larena |first=M |date=March 2021 |title="Multiple migrations to the Philippines during the last 50,000 years" Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 118 (13): e2026132118 |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=118 |issue=13 |pages=e2026132118 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2026132118 |pmid=33753512 |pmc=8020671 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |display-authors=6 |vauthors=Larena M, McKenna J, Sanchez-Quinto F, Bernhardsson C, Ebeo C, Reyes R, Casel O, Huang JY, Hagada KP, Guilay D, Reyes J, Allian FP, Mori V, Azarcon LS, Manera A, Terando C, Jamero L, Sireg G, Manginsay-Tremedal R, Labos MS, Vilar RD, Latiph A, Saway RL, Marte E, Magbanua P, Morales A, Java I, Reveche R, Barrios B, Burton E, Salon JC, Kels MJ, Albano A, Cruz-Angeles RB, Molanida E, Granehäll L, Vicente M, Edlund H, Loo JH, Trejaut J, Ho SY, Reid L, Lambeck K, Malmström H, Schlebusch C, Endicott P, Jakobsson M |date=October 2021 |title=Philippine Ayta possess the highest level of Denisovan ancestry in the world |journal=Current Biology |volume=31 |issue=19 |pages=4219–4230.e10 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2021.07.022 |pmc=8596304 |pmid=34388371|bibcode=2021CBio...31E4219L }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lipson |first1=Mark |last2=Reich |first2=David |date=2017 |title=A Working Model of the Deep Relationships of Diverse Modern Human Genetic Lineages Outside of Africa |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |date=2017-4 |volume=34 |issue=4 |pages=889–902 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msw293 |pmidissn=280740300737-4038 |pmc=5400393 |issnpmid=0737-403828074030}}</ref>
===Changes about 4,000 years ago===
The [[dingo]] reached Australia about 4,000 years ago,. andNear near the samethat time, there were changes in language (with the [[Pama-Nyungan languages|Pama-Nyungan language family]] spreading over most of the mainland), and in [[stone tool]] technology,. withSmaller thetools usewere of smaller toolsused. Human contact has thus been inferred, and genetic data of two kinds have been proposed to support a gene flow from India to Australia: firstly, signs of South Asian components in Aboriginal Australian genomes, reported on the basis of genome-wide [[Single-nucleotide polymorphism|SNP]] data; and secondly, the existence of a [[Y chromosome]] (male) lineage, designated [[haplogroup]] C∗, with the most recent common ancestor about 5,000 years ago.<ref name=bergstrom2016/> The first type of evidence comes from a 2013 study by the [[Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology]] using large-scale [[genotyping]] data from a pool of Aboriginal Australians, New Guineans, island Southeast Asians and Indians. It found that the New Guinea and [[Mamanwa]] (Philippines area) groups diverged from the Aboriginal about 36,000 years ago (and supporting evidence that these populations are descended from migrants taking an early "southern route" out of Africa, before other groups in the area), and also that the Indian and Australian populations mixed well before European contact, with this gene flow occurring during the Holocene ({{c.}} 4,200 years ago).<ref name=maxplanck2013>{{cite journal |last1=Pugach |first1=Irina |last2=Delfin |first2=Frederick |last3=Gunnarsdóttir |first3=Ellen |last4=Kayser |first4=Manfred |last5=Stoneking |first5=Mark |title=Genome-wide data substantiate Holocene gene flow from India to Australia |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=110 |issue=5 |date=29 January 2013 |pages=1803–1808 |pmid=23319617 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1211927110 |pmc=3562786 |bibcode=2013PNAS..110.1803P |doi-access=free }}</ref> The researchers had two theories for this: either some Indians had contact with people in Indonesia who eventually transferred those Indian genes to Aboriginal Australians, or that a group of Indians migrated all the way from India to Australia and intermingled with the locals directly.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The ocean of churn : how the Indian Ocean shaped human history| last=Sanyal| first=Sanjeev |date=2016 |isbn=9789386057617|location=Gurgaon, Haryana, India|pages=59|oclc=990782127 | publisher=Penguin UK}}</ref><ref name="MacDonald"/>
The first type of evidence comes from a 2013 study by the [[Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology]] using large-scale [[genotyping]] data from a pool of Aboriginal Australians, New Guineans, island Southeast Asians, and Indians. It found that the New Guinea and [[Mamanwa]] (Philippines area) groups diverged from the Aboriginal about 36,000 years ago (there is supporting evidence that these populations are descended from migrants taking an early "southern route" out of Africa, before other groups in the area).{{cn|date=July 2024}} Also the Indian and Australian populations mixed long before European contact, with this gene flow occurring during the Holocene ({{c.}} 4,200 years ago).<ref name=maxplanck2013>{{cite journal |last1=Pugach |first1=Irina |last2=Delfin |first2=Frederick |last3=Gunnarsdóttir |first3=Ellen |last4=Kayser |first4=Manfred |last5=Stoneking |first5=Mark |title=Genome-wide data substantiate Holocene gene flow from India to Australia |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=110 |issue=5 |date=29 January 2013 |pages=1803–1808 |pmid=23319617 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1211927110 |pmc=3562786 |bibcode=2013PNAS..110.1803P |doi-access=free }}</ref> The researchers had two theories for this: either some Indians had contact with people in Indonesia who eventually transferred those Indian genes to Aboriginal Australians, or a group of Indians migrated from India to Australia and intermingled with the locals directly.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The ocean of churn : how the Indian Ocean shaped human history| last=Sanyal| first=Sanjeev |date=2016 |isbn=9789386057617|location=Gurgaon, Haryana, India|pages=59|oclc=990782127 | publisher=Penguin UK}}</ref><ref name="MacDonald"/>
However, a 2016 study in ''[[Current Biology]]'' by Anders Bergström et al. excluded the Y chromosome as providing evidence for recent gene flow from India into Australia. The study authors sequenced 13 Aboriginal Australian Y chromosomes using recent advances in [[Whole genome sequencing|gene sequencing]] technology, investigating their divergence times from Y chromosomes in other continents, including comparing the haplogroup C chromosomes. They found a divergence time of about 54,100 years between the Sahul C chromosome and its closest relative C5, as well as about 54,300 years between haplogroups K*/M and their closest haplogroups R and Q. The deep divergence time of 50,000-plus years with the South Asian chromosome and "the fact that the Aboriginal Australian Cs share a more recent common ancestor with Papuan Cs" excludes any recent genetic contact.<ref name=bergstrom2016/> ▼
▲However, a 2016 study in ''[[Current Biology]]'' by Anders Bergström et al. excluded the Y chromosome as providing evidence for recent gene flow from India into Australia. The study authors sequenced 13 Aboriginal Australian Y chromosomes using recent advances in [[Whole genome sequencing|gene sequencing]] technology ,. investigatingThey investigated their divergence times from Y chromosomes in other continents, including comparing the haplogroup C chromosomes. They found a divergence time of about 54,100 years between the Sahul C chromosome and its closest relative C5, as well as about 54,300 years between haplogroups K*/M and their closest haplogroups R and Q. The deep divergence time of 50,000-plus years with the South Asian chromosome and "the fact that the Aboriginal Australian Cs share a more recent common ancestor with Papuan Cs" excludes any recent genetic contact.<ref name=bergstrom2016/>
The 2016 study's authors concluded that, although this does not disprove the presence of any Holocene gene flow or non-genetic influences from South Asia at that time, and the appearance of the dingo does provide strong evidence for external contacts, the evidence overall is consistent with a complete lack of gene flow, and points to indigenous origins for the technological and linguistic changes. They attributed the disparity between their results and previous findings to improvements in technology; none of the other studies had utilised complete Y chromosome sequencing, which has the highest precision. For example, use of a ten Y STRs method has been shown to massively underestimate divergence times. Gene flow across the island-dotted {{convert|150|km|mi|adj=mid|-wide}} Torres Strait, is both geographically plausible and demonstrated by the data, although at this point it could not be determined from this study when within the last 10,000 years it may have occurred—newer analytical techniques have the potential to address such questions.<ref name=bergstrom2016>{{cite journal |last1=Bergström |first1=Anders |last2=Nagle |first2=Nano |last3=Chen |first3=Yuan |last4=McCarthy |first4=Shane |last5=Pollard |first5=Martin O. |last6=Ayub |first6=Qasim |last7=Wilcox |first7=Stephen |last8=Wilcox |first8=Leah |last9=van Oorschot |first9=Roland A. H. |last10=McAllister |first10=Peter |last11=Williams |first11=Lesley |last12=Xue |first12=Yali |last13=Mitchell |first13=R. John |last14=Tyler-Smith |first14=Chris |title=Deep Roots for Aboriginal Australian Y Chromosomes |journal=Current Biology |volume=26 |issue=6 |date=21 March 2016 |pages=809–813 |pmid=26923783 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2016.01.028 |pmc=4819516 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2016CBio...26..809B }}</ref>
[[File:Alexander Schramm - An Aboriginal encampment, near the Adelaide foothills - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|An Aboriginal encampment near the [[Adelaide]] foothills in an 1854 painting by Alexander Schramm]]
Aboriginal Australians possess inherited abilities to standadapt to a wide range of environmental temperatures in various ways. A study in 1958 comparing cold adaptation in the desert-dwelling [[Pitjantjatjara|Pitjantjatjara people]] compared with a group of European people showed that the cooling adaptation of the Aboriginal group differed from that of the white people, and that they were able to sleep more soundly through a cold desert night.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Cold Adaptation in Australian Aborigines|journal=[[Journal of Applied Physiology]]|volume = 13|issue = 2|pages = 211–218|first1=P. F.|last1=Scholander|first2=H. T.|last2=Hammel|first3=J. S.|last3=Hart|first4=D. H.|last4=LeMessurier|first5=J.|last5=Steen|display-authors=2|doi=10.1152/jappl.1958.13.2.211|pmid=13575330|date=1 September 1958}}</ref> A 2014 [[Cambridge University]] study found that a beneficial mutation in two genes which regulate [[thyroxine]], a hormone involved in regulating body [[metabolism]], helps to regulate body temperature in response to fever. The effect of this is that the desert people are able to have a higher body temperature without accelerating the activity of the whole of the body, which can be especially detrimental in childhood diseases. This helps protect people to survive the side-effects of infection.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-29/genetic-modification-helps-aboriginal-people-survive-hot-climat/5225742 | title=Genetic mutation helps Aboriginal people survive tough climate, research finds | work=ABC News | date=29 January 2014| author=Caitlyn Gribbin|format=text and audio}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Temperature-responsive release of thyroxine and its environmental adaptation in Australians|journal= Proceedings of the Royal Society B|volume = 281|issue = 1779|pages = 20132747|doi=10.1098/rspb.2013.2747|pmid = 24478298|date=22 March 2014|first1=Xiaoqiang|last1=Qi|first2=Wee Lee |last2=Chan|first3=Randy J.|last3=Read|first4=Aiwu|last4=Zhou|first5=Robin W. |last5=Carrell|pmc=3924073}}</ref>
==Location and demographics==
In the {{CensusAU|2021}}, people who self-identified on the census form as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin totalled 812,728 out of a total of 25,422,788 Australians, equating to 3.2% of Australia's population<ref>{{cite web|title=Australia: 2021 census all persons QuickStats |url=https://abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/AUS |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=Australian Bureau of Statistics |access-date=25 July 2023 }}</ref> and an increase of 163,557 people, or 25.2%, since the previous census in 2016.<ref name=changes>{{cite web |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples/understanding-change-counts-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-australians-census/latest-release |title=Understanding change in counts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians: Census |author=<!--Not stated-->|date=4 April 2023 |website=Australian Bureau of Statistics |access-date=25 July 2023}}</ref> Reasons for the increase were broadly as follows:
* [[Demographics of Australia|Demographic]] factors – births, deaths and migration{{refn|group=note|Population change due to overseas migration continued to account for less than 2 per cent of the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander population.}} – accounted for 43.5% of the increase (71,086 people). In turn, 76.2% of that increase was attributed to people aged 0-190–19 years in 2021, broken down as 52.5% for 0–4 year olds (births since 2016) and 23.7% for 5–19 year olds.<ref name=changes/>
* Non-demographic factors, which are complex to quantify, include persons identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander in a particular census, and changes in census coverage and response – such as persons completing a census form in 2021 but not in 2016. These factors accounted for 56.5% of the increase in the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander population (92,471 people). The increase was higher than observed between 2011–2016 (39.0%) and 2006–2011 (38.7%).<ref name=changes/>
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