Aborigine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Aborigines (adjective: aboriginal) are in general the peoples who were the first inhabitants of a land, or with some identified pre-existing or prior association to a land (see indigenous peoples). Other similar descriptions include native peoples, tribal peoples, First Peoples, First Nations and autochthonous.
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Various meanings
The term Aborigine can mean:
Generally
- Aborigine, the peoples who were the first inhabitants of a land, or with some identified pre-existing or prior association to a land.
Specific cultural groups referred to as Aborigines
Peoples commonly (but perhaps not neutrally) referred to as Aborigine (by English speakers) notably include:
Canada
- Aboriginal peoples in Canada, indigenous peoples recognized in the Canadian Constitution Act, 1982.
Taiwan
- Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous peoples of Taiwan.
Australia
- Australian Aborigines is a collective name for the indigenous Australians of the mainland of Australia and some islands surrounding it before the arrival of European settlers in 1788. The Australian Aborigines continue to exist as a cultural, ethnological and sociological group. It is believed their ancestors had first arrived on the continent by at least 40,000 years ago (most widely-held conservative view); other scholars place the arrival at 50,000 years ago or even considerably earlier. Tasmanian Aborigines were a related group from the southern island of Tasmania and nearby smaller islands.
Word origin
The word derives from the Latin: ab origine, "from the origin"; applied originally to refer to the inhabitants of the region of Latium or more generally Italy as a whole, and thereafter to indigenous inhabitants of any given region.
see also:
Indigenous peoples for more information about these and other aboriginal or indigenous peoples, as well as discussion on some common themes.
