ntensification, population and social change in south-eastern Australia: the skeletal evidence

Abstract

Insights into past societies have nearly always been achieved through archaeological investigation, but by studying skeletal rather than cultural remains it is possible to make substantial additions to this knowledge. This is especially so in regard to the evaluation of environmental pressures exerted on individuals living a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Such biological studies also add further dimensions to the investigation of prehistory. It is, after all, people, not their tools and chattels, that suffer the vagaries of the environment in which they live, and these vagaries are often reflected in the form of diagnosable traits within the skeleton. This paper asks three basic questions: (1) are there differences in health and stress patterns between Aboriginal groups inhabiting different ecological zones? (2) can the answers to these questions tell us more about Aboriginal society and life-ways? and (3) does the health status of Australian hunter-gatherers differ from similar people around the world?

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