Cav’s Geography Homework 1.3

1. How old is Australian Aboriginal culture:

·         50,000 years old

2. What is the Dream time?

·         The Dream time refers to the ‘time before time’ when all things were created by the spirit ancestors

3. What are Dreaming stories?

·         Dreaming Stories are stories that have been passed on from generation to generation to explain physical features of the land, creation, how animals came to be and why things are the way they are in the Aboriginal culture

4. How is Aboriginal knowledge passed on?

·         Aboriginal culture is passed on through elders and though the dream time (through stories) passed down from father to son

5.  What do the Aboriginal people mean by ‘country’?

·         This country, this world, when used by Aboriginal people, refers to a spiritual place that gives and receives life, and has its own consciousness.

6. Why is the Rainbow Serpent significant?

·         The Rainbow serpent is significant because she carved out the land for the Aboriginals, summoned all creatures including humans from the center of the earth and now guards all aquatic life

7. How did the Rainbow Serpent form the landscape?

·         By traveling all over the land and carving deep canyons and ranges with her large body

8. Why do Aboriginal people respect the land?

·         They respect the land because they don’t believe they own it or have any claim on it they are there simply as caretakers

9. What is a common theme in Aboriginal stories?

·         Death is the result in all the stories and this is what has shaped the land

10. Choose one of the stories in this unit and summaries it in your own words.

·         The rainbow serpent awoke one day and burst forth upon the surface of the earth, she had been asleep for a long nesting in the center of the earth, now she weaved in and out of the land creating big channels and mountains that filled with water. She then called upon all the creatures who lived inside the earth including humans and gave them a new home, she went back into the sea she had forged and lays there now protecting the sea life while the aboriginals were left to protect the land and not over fish or kill unnecessary aquatic life otherwise the rainbow serpent would come out once again and punish them.

11. Discuss how Aboriginal people’s perspective of landforms would influence their use of the land. Present your ideas to the rest of the class.

·         Because of the Aboriginals perspective of the land they did not farm it, mass logging for agriculture, build upon it and destroy the landscape, Dam Rivers and lakes, mine the ground for precious minerals. Because of their perspective of the land, their job was to protect it not destroy it; they were able to live comfortably without ripping apart the land.