tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005668431384229268.post8776325745136956570..comments2024-03-11T18:46:56.863+11:00Comments on New England's History: Unravelling the Anaiwan language mysteryJim Belshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005668431384229268.post-12825902168124937182017-07-13T17:18:13.241+10:002017-07-13T17:18:13.241+10:00Hi Johnb. I agree with you on the importance of th...Hi Johnb. I agree with you on the importance of the two Gs. Oddly, I was writing on this today for my next column. <br /><br />In looking at Aboriginal settlement on the New England Tablelands you have to break it into two parts, before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), post the LGM. <br /><br />When Aboriginal people arrived on Sahul, it is fairly clear that they spread rapidly. While there are evidence problems, it is hard to believe from the date pattern that they hadn't reached Northern NSW by about 32,000 years ago. We don't have any evidence, but again it is reasonable to assume that Aboriginal groups were at least visiting the Tablelands. <br /><br />There is an argument from Sandra Bowdler that these first settlers moved down the coast from Northern Australia. My feeling looking at the geography is that in the east it is more likely they came down western edges of the range or perhaps both. So the first Tablelands settlers could well have come from the west. <br /><br />The LGM forced the Aboriginal population to contract. It is possible that remnant groups continued on the Tablelands in the harsh sub-alpine conditions, we have no evidence, but I think it more likely that the Tablelands were vacated although visits my have continued.<br /><br />After the LGM, and this is what I was writing today, I think it most likely that resettlement came from the coast. <br /> Jim Belshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005668431384229268.post-56208425344221893752017-07-13T00:50:45.355+10:002017-07-13T00:50:45.355+10:00I always think first Geology Jim, then Geography a...I always think first Geology Jim, then Geography as the two building blocks for understanding the Biota of any given area and that includes human settlement. What linguistics appears to be telling our generations is that the Tablelands were first settled via a move inland from the Coast using the Macleay River catchment as the preferred access. The Tableland wasn't settled from the West even though far Western NSW was long settled. Would be interesting to know if that is a unique occrance or a repeat to be found further North via the Clarence/Richmond catchments and further South with the Hunter catchment. How Australia was first settled could tell us a lot about the human journey to Australia, what the environmental preferences were of those first peoples for moving into New to them territories.Johnbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09694479587834247002noreply@blogger.com