Oceania
Oceania is a continent located at the southeastern part of the world, the Pacific Ocean and Indian ocean surround that at the same time on the foundation. Australia is one of the country's located in that geographical region.[1]
Indigenous People
The indigenous people who inhabited the land during the pre-colonial period are said to have spoken close to two hundred and fifty languages. According to written records and their history which goes back to the thousands of years lived the Tasmanian people.[2]
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country that is also located in the same geographic area. It is suggested that the first occupants who inhabited the land are the Polynesian people who appeared around the middle 13th and 14th century. The Polynesian people are assumed to be of Taiwan origin and migrate all through to the famous and final destination. It is stated that a chief ruled their primary vessel that touched ground by Polynesian people.[3] These first inhabitants were later joined after some years and were even chased and killed by the new inhabitants.
Architecture
When the subject of architecture is brought up the first thing we think of is buildings but what we hardly ever do is to take a closer look and fully internalize the subject to its core sense. According to the Oxford English dictionary, architecture is defined as the training, designing and erecting structures. Architecture is not just about constructing buildings and creating them there is so much more to it.[4] Through architecture, we see and understand a people's history, culture and their traditions and even their spiritual journey. Take the case of Australia and New Zealand they are both Pacific islands but their architectural passages are independent of each other and yet they are also both similar as they are different and unique.[5]
Australian Architecture
The same country, the British colonized both these countries. Zaheda stated that the earlier Australians were nomads meaning that whatever little shelter they could manage to construct, it would be out of being out of material that is within reach. It further states that they hardly ever built permanent homes.[6] The homes that they created were dome-shaped, and the most comfortable material that was readily available was grass. These houses were thatched. The early settlers of New Zealand were nomads and hunters. This means that they did not make permanent structures at any one point. They created temporary structures that could protect them from the cold and rain. During the 1400's and the 1600's the people from New Zealand went through a phase where they started painting and curving as part of their architectural culture.[7]
Tasmanian Architecture
One such building that had these types of techniques is the whare-whakairo.
Tasmanian People
The Tasmanian people were people opted to use limestone caves and cliff hangovers as their permanent residents when they first arrived. This caves and hangovers protected them from the freezing temperature since they had migrated during the Pleistocene ice age.[8] Since they settled along the coastline, they practiced fishing. The built hut depressions were located five hundred meters from the shores. These were structures that were built into small hills; they were primarily meant for protection and cover from wild animal and shelter from the harsh weather. Later on, they traveled further inward in the land discovering more of this previously uninhabited land. As they moved in also into the area, their economic activity of fishing became more and more unsustainable which led them to become hunters and gatherers as well. They used specialized tools to perform medical procedures and other things such as skinning, knifing and even making spears.
Migration of Tasmanian People
These tools were made out of stone. While inland they also found caves to inhabit for shelter. Entrance to these caves was somewhat challenging to maneuver. This safety, cover, and protection all in one. Just as the other type of housing near the shore, it is clear that they were an intelligent people that were extremely cautious about their well-being. Unlike the Polynesian people who built canoes to travel to the new land, the Tasmanian people walked as they migrated.[9]
Pleistocene Ice Age
Since they wandered during the Pleistocene ice age, the oceans were mostly frozen solid.[10]
Similarities and Differences
Both these indigenous people were intelligent and resilient; they built tools and structures that helped improve their lives for the better. The lived in the stone-age period, so they mostly used the stone to make weapons. The Polynesian people who settled in New Zealand had an advantage over the Tasmanian people since as the Polynesian people were on the journey to their final destination they made some stopovers that met other communities.[11]
Cultural Exchange
These interactions led to them acquiring skills and artifacts from them that further improved an enriched their culture. Some of the skills they had acquired by later dropped it after they arrived in New Zealand was pottery. They made pots that were similar to the ones that were located in the Melanesian Islands.
Conclusion
Both the Polynesians and the Tasmanian people had a lot in common. Judging from their lifestyles and the period in which they both lived the stone age, some few instances make them differ. They both initially settled along the coastlines thus they were both fishermen before they moved inwards into the lands they inhabited. After the move some they both turned to hunt and gathering and source of food. They both created their stone-made tools to make work easier. They both lived in caves; the only difference came in where the Tasmanian people opted to dig into hills and build their homes some of which could even house as many as ten people at a time. All this came to an end once the first European explorers arrived at the two countries, and thus colonization followed suit immediately after, this led to some of these indigenous people losing their lives, cultural heritage, and land.
Bibliography
Bennett, Simon T., and Duncan R. Babbage. "Cultural Adaptation of CBT for Aboriginal Australians." Australian Psychologist 49, no. 1 (2014): 19-21. doi:10.1111/ap.12029.
Blust, Robert. "Dual Divisions in Oceania: Innovation or Retention?" Oceania
52, no. 1 (2001): 66-79. doi:10.1002/j.1834-4461.1981.tb01485.x.
Chansons, Sant, and Sirimas Hengramee. "In Search of Modern Tropical Architecture: 50 Years Experiences." 2017, 211-43. doi:10.5176/2301-394x_ace17.53.
Delsing, Riet. "The Polynesian Homeland." Articulating Rapa Nui, 2015, 191-206. doi:10.21313/hawaii/9780824851682.003.0009.
Imbrie, John, and Katherine Palmer Imbrie. "Pleistocene Temperatures." Ice Ages, 2011, 135-40. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-04699-7_12.
Kakar, Ayem, and Yelena Kolezeva. "Factor Analysis on the Tasmanian Topsoil Microscopic Community." 2017. doi:10.1101/241240.
[1] Robert Blust, "Dual Divisions in Oceania: Innovation or Retention?" Oceania 52, no. 1 (2001): , doi:10.1002/j.1834-4461.1981.tb01485.x.
[2] Ayem Kakar and Yelena Kolezeva, "Factor Analysis on the Tasmanian Topsoil Microscopic Community," 2017, , doi:10.1101/241240.
[3] Ibid., 144
[4] Sant Chansomsak and Sirimas Hengramee, "In Search of Modern Tropical Architecture: 50 Years Experiences," 2017, , doi:10.5176/2301-394x_ace17.53.
[5] Sant Chansomsak and Sirimas Hengramee, "In Search of Modern Tropical Architecture: 50 Years Experiences," 2017, , doi:10.5176/2301-394x_ace17.53.
[6] Simon T. Bennett and Duncan R. Babbage, "Cultural Adaptation of CBT for Aboriginal Australians," Australian Psychologist49, no. 1 (2014): , doi:10.1111/ap.12029.
[7] Ayem Kakar and Yelena Kolezeva, "Factor Analysis on the Tasmanian Topsoil Microscopic Community," 2017, , doi:10.1101/241240.
[8] Ibid., 152
[9] Ayem Kakar and Yelena Kolezeva, "Factor Analysis on the Tasmanian Topsoil Microscopic Community," 2017, , doi:10.1101/241240.
[10] John Imbrie and Katherine Palmer Imbrie, "Pleistocene Temperatures," Ice Ages, 2011, , doi:10.1007/978-1-349-04699-7_12.
[11] Riet Delsing, "The Polynesian Homeland," Articulating Rapa Nui, 2015, , doi:10.21313/hawaii/9780824851682.003.0009.
