Genetic, archaeological and environmental evidence suggest the Indigenous population fell by more than 90% in the 70 years after the British invaded.

Using three methods that do not depend on colonial-era headcounts, we calculated a median population of 2.22 million people in 1788, with a likely range roughly between 1 and 4 million. Our work is published in Nature Human Behaviour.

The new figure also implies that over 90% of the Indigenous population died in the 70 years after the invasion. It is not simply a revision to a historical statistic. It changes the scale at which Australians must understand “terra nullius”, and subsequent invasion, survival and recovery.

  • Peaceful Shadows@aussie.zone
    1·
    27 days ago

    There have never been a million (AU) Aboriginal people living on the planet at one time. I’m Koori. We don’t need ‘science’ to build us up to be more acceptable to western eyes (this includes Bruce Pascoe). We’re just fine as we are. The 1788 was just as genocidal whichever way you look at it.