Ancient Aboriginal Australians were interconnected across the massive Australian continent for thousands of years, despite living in relatively small, isolated groups. Have you ever wondered how this was possible? How they shared ideas and beliefs? How they found spouses and forged relationships over great distances? How they obtained goods from hundreds of miles away? One clue can be found in the ancient trade routes of Aboriginal Australians.

Relationship Building: Culture and Environment

Australian Aboriginal Ancient trade routes were crucial to the flourishing of daily life prior to European colonization. Trade routes became established over time, reaching all parts of Australia (Kampanelis and Elizalde 2022:1). Trade between communities helped to establish relationships between them and develop some of “the earliest of human cultures” (Kerwin 2006:99; Broome 2019:6). In eastern Australia especially, “economics and trade were central to ritual relationships,” and were often conducted through shared Country tracks (Kerwin 2006:160). Bogong moth feast sites in the southeastern highlands along with bunya feasts in southeast Queensland were established “trade-fair sites” (Kerwin 2006:161). In northern Australia, Oenpelli in Arhem Land was a notable “marketplace” as well (Kerwin 2006:162). Marketplaces not only harbored material goods, but intellectual property, as well (Kerwin 2006:162). Corroboree (interwoven clan groups sharing ceremony, knowledge, and goods) was strengthened by marketplaces, with the emphasis of “convert[ing] intangible knowledge to a tangible form” with the use of “lines on a body, body ornaments, and colour of paint” (Kerwin 2006:163).

Ancient trade routes also supported Australian Aboriginal groups in terms of environmental stresses (Broome 2019:6). For example, over the course of the past 20,000 years, sea levels were variable “by scores of meters,” coastlines got smaller, and the continent as a whole averaged to be “significantly colder and wetter than today” (Broome 2019:6). As the environment around underwent major shifts, large communities were less likely to be sustainable as a result of resource scarcity. Lake Mungo dried in entirety (Broome 2019:6). A majority of Australia’s landscape lacks dense vegetation cover due to the lack of glacial and tectonic activity (Broome 2019:7). Trade routes played a major role in the ability of Australia Aboriginal people to thrive despite the “significant challenges for human survival” (Broome 2019:7). In general, travelling is a pillar in many Australian Aboriginal cultures, being “a response to the need to renew relationships with the country of ancestral birth and the ritual journey to renew relationships with people across the landscape” (Kerwin 2006:130).

Navigation: Songspirals, Astronomy, Way-finding Devices

Navigation through ancient trade routes was accomplished in a number of ways, all of which were effective in bringing Aboriginal groups across Australia together. Songspirals (also called songlines or songcycles), astronomy, and way-finding devices were key navigational tools used.

“Songlines are epic creation songs passed to present generations by a line of singers continuous since the dreamtime. These songs, or songcycles, have various names according to which language group they belong to, and tell the story of the creation of the land, provide maps for the country, and hand down law as decreed by the creation heroes of the dreamtime. Some songlines describe a path crossing the entire Australian continent” (Wositsky and Harney 1999:301).”

Songspirals are supported by and contain astronomical knowledge, both able to aid in navigation through trade routes. The Eaglehawk songspiral connects the Euahlyai people with the Arrente people by mapping Heavitree Gap at Alice Springs to Byron Bay on the East Coast (Norris and Yidumduma 2014:7). Along this songspiral, the Achernar, Canopus, and Siruis stars are also connected. The Euahlyai people also sing the Black Snake/Bogong Moth songspiral following the Milky Way (Norris and Yidumduma 2014:7). In addition, the Wardaman people of northern Australia traveled at night, partly because of the visible stars and because “there was a belief that distances were smaller at night” (Norris and Yidumduma 2014:8). Cardinal directions can also be established through songspirals (Norris and Yidumduma 2014:7). For example, the Yolgnu Morning Star Ceremony details of Yirrkala in Arnhem Land and her journey across the land, noting landmarks along the way (Norris and Yidumduma 2014:7). Therefore, this songspiral acts as an oral map and changes along the way in coordination with cardinal directions (Norris and Yidumduma 2014:7). Songspirals aided in the formation of extensive astronomical knowledge, allowing for elaborate and lengthy trade routes to be established across Australia.

Other navigational tools include toas, message sticks, shell middens, and bora grounds. Toas, often representing a totem figure, indicate what route “people on the move” are following or when people will return to a certain place (Kerwin 2006:118-119). In particular, toas originate from the Lake Eyre basin in southwest Queensland (Kerwin 2006:118). Message sticks were used as a sort of invitation, either to a ceremony or introduction to trade (Kerwin 2006:120). They were able to convey movement and time through lines, circles, and totemic figures (Kerwin 2006:120). Shell middens and bora grounds, circular formations of raised dirt, are both used to signal landmarks such as cardinal directions, water, and food (Kerwin 2006:121-122). The pituri road, following the direction of flow of a river system, was pivotal for both navigation and widespread trade of items (Kerwin 2006:136).

Frequently Traded Items

Due to the nearly ubiquitous nature of the trade routes in Australia, all details of traded items will not be covered. This is a synopsis of the most known items traded by the many Australian Aboriginal groups. Items frequently traded included pearl shells, baler shells, red ochre, and pituri, all discussed below (Kerwin 2006:134-158).

Engraved pearl shells (ringili) were traded over 3,200 km in distance, from the Dampier Peninsula in northwestern Australia to the Great Australian Bright (Kerwin 2006:154). These shells were important, particularly, in “initiation ceremonies or circumcision rituals” (Kerwin 2006:155). Baler shells were from Cape York in northeastern Australia and traded over 3,000 km to the Flinders Ranges in South Australia (Kerwin 2006: 154-155). These shells were worn as pendants by men in South Australian tribes to signify status (Kerwin 2006:155). Shells could fulfill a multitude of demands, from rain-making ceremonies in desert regions to magic love charms (Kerwin 2006:155). After their intended use, the shells would be traded and consequently take on a different purpose (Kerwin 2006:155). As the shells were traded further from their origin of production, they took on higher value and “would be traded for goods that could not be procured locally” (Kerwin 2006:155).

Red ochre was an essential trading item throughout Australia, particularly “in South Australia, the desert areas of Lake Eyre, and the Simpson Desert, New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory” (Kerwin 2006:157-158). Red ochre is a sacred material used as a pigment for art, specifically for rock art and decorating the human body for ceremony or corroborrees (Kerwin 2006:157). It is primarily sourced from the “Flinders Range at Parachilna in South Australia and is collected by the Diyari peoples,” as well as from Western Australia at Wilga mia (Kerwin 2006:158).

Pituri is a native tobacco-like plant, “chewed in the days before European tobacco took its place” (Kerwin 2006:136-137). It is a narrow-leafed plant that grew in desert areas and, desirably, in the southwest corner of Queensland (Kerwin 2006:136). It was transported inside specially woven bags namely on the aforementioned pituri road, following the Two Dog Dreaming story (Kerwin 2006:137; Kampanelis and Elizalde 2022:7). Besides for chewing, pituri was also used to catch game like emus, parrots, and wallabies (Kerwin 2006:138). The Other frequently traded resources included stone for tool making, “trapping devices such as bird nets and fish traps,” weapons, and medicine (Kerwin 2006:160-161).

Implications of Colonization

The economic activity of Australia today is influenced by Australian Aboriginal ancient trade routes. Once Europeans made contact and began colonizing Australia, the established trade routes “provided essential know-how” for exploration and settlements (Kampanelis and Elizalde 2022:1). Australian Aboriginal groups provided colonizers with information on adaptational skills to the harsher environment as well as where food and water sources were located (Kampanelis and Elizalde 2022:8). Therefore, infrastructure was placed along these routes, further establishing and connecting colonizer settlements (Kampanelis and Elizalde 2022:1). Due to the integration of Australian Aboriginal traditional knowledge of the landscape into European colonizer exploration, the ancient trade routes are evidently influencing economic activity of today (Kampanelis and Elizalde 2022:9).

At the time of initial European contact, introduced diseases were spread along established trading routes (Kerwin 2006:43). Smallpox, or galgalla to the Eora people, was a conduit in the ability of Europeans to colonize Australia (Kerwin 2006:43). As carriers of the disease traveled, the smallpox virus followed and became more present and more destructive. The scale of the damage was so large because of the prior lack of immunity to the virus in Australian Aboriginals (Kerwin 2006:44). The first outbreak of smallpox was in Sydney in 1789, about a year after the arrival of the first fleet (Kerwin 2006:45). Consequently, the smallpox virus had spread to Adelaide in southern Australia by 1814 via the trade routes taken over by the Europeans (Kerwin 2006:45). The Eora nation, in particular, was decimated by the smallpox virus with over half of the nation dying by the virus by 1792 (Kerwin 2006:46).

Besides colonizer economic activity and introduced disease outbreaks, colonization likely interfered with the ease with which Australian Aboriginal groups were able to trade with one another. Cultural genocide not only impacts individual groups, but the collective corroborees, Dreamings, and Songspirals supported by trade routes. Due to the disruption of communication, resources, knowledge, and social ties were lost. With the spread of European colonization, Australian Aboriginal populations were decimated, violence was increasingly common, and ecological imperialism took place. In addition, since European settlements were likely placed adjacent to trade routes, it can be inferred that travel was much less accessible. The disparities of European colonization were amplified by the lessening accessibility to trade routes and marketplaces, central to both cultural and biological survival of Australian Aboriginal groups.

Overview of the importance of trade routes and frequently traded items

Video clip from the First Australians documentary explaining the importance of trade routes

Overview of frequently traded items

Links from scientifically collected data and Dreamtime stories confirming ancient trade routes

Explanations of parallels between astronomy and Songspirals

References

Broome, Richard. 2019. Aboriginal Australians. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.

Kampanelis, Sotiris and Aldo Elizalde. 2022. “Cultural transmission, ancient trade routes, and contemporary economic activity: Evidence from Australia.” Athens University of Economics and Business Research Seminar Series. (Retrieved from Google Scholar on October 26, 2022).

Kerwin, Dale Wayne. 2006. Aboriginal Dreaming Tracks or Trading Paths: The Common Ways. Queensland, Australia: Griffith University.

Norris, Ray P. and Bill Yidumduma Harney. 2014. “Songlines and Navigation in Wardaman and other Australian Aboriginal Cultures.” Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage 17(2).

Wositsky, J., and Harney, B.Y., 1999. Born under the paperbark tree. Marlston, SA, JB Books.

Annalee Anderson, December 2022