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Within specific environmental regions, Aborigines developed characteristic methods of obtaining and preparing foods and medicines and they made different kinds of tools, clothing and shelter. Thus the Aboriginal economy varied from region to region. Aborigines also created extensive networks of trade.
Food: Aborigines generally enjoyed a mixed and abundant diet of plant and animal foods that varied according to time of year and local environmental conditions. They understood the beneficial nutritional and medicinal properties of the natural resources in their surroundings. When it was necessary they developed methods of extracting beneficial substances and eliminating harmful ones. The earliest groups relied on fish for food. To maximise their catches, they built large underwater stone-walled traps, they also made broad nets of plant fibres for catching fish and other aquatic animals. Inland groups also ate a variety of plant and animal foods. Some common plant foods included acacia seeds, a type of wild tomato and several types of tubers. Animal foods in the diet of the inland aborigines often included wallabies, ostrich eggs, insects, lizards, snakes, rodents, frogs and birds. Scientists are sure that they have never practised any sort of agriculture, probably because they had other adequate food resources and fairly small populations.
Tools and crafts: Aborigines also used regional natural resources to manufacture many kinds of tools and crafts. To obtain desirable materials for making these items, groups traded with each other over long distances. They made simple spears, knives or sticks for hunting. Later on they also learned how to make string spun from vegetable fibre and animal fur to manufacture ropes, nets and bags. All Aboriginal groups made personal ornaments including armbands, headbands, pendants, necklaces or bracelets. Depending on available resources they made these decorative objects from shell, bone, animal teeth and tufts of feather.
Trade: In order to get natural resources and manufactured items from distant regions Aboriginal groups established extensive networks of trade. Some trade routes eventually spanned the entire continent. In addition to material goods populations also exchanged regional culture, including songs, artistic motifs, stories and accounts of important events. But the Aborigines did not only trade with their groups. From the early 1700Os to the early 1900Os Indonesian fishermen sailed to northern Australia to fish for sea slugs. The Chinese imported these marine animals as a popular food. The fishermen exchanged such items as tobacco, iron, glass and some technological know-how for the privilege of fishing in Aboriginal territorial waters.
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