South Australia is home to over 30 Aboriginal language groups, each with distinct beliefs, cultural practices and languages.

Sites of significance according to Aboriginal tradition and sites significant to Aboriginal archaeology, anthropology and history are protected in South Australia by the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988.

Aboriginal creation ancestor stories

Aboriginal creation ancestor stories explain how natural elements in the landscape were formed or how certain species came to be.

The stories describe how creation ancestors:

  • shaped and shifted the landscape
  • crafted its beauty and natural resources
  • then entrusted these places to specific groups of people across South Australia.

The stories inform cultural practices, which govern how Aboriginal communities live with each other and maintain the land, plants and animals of their country, and are also a way of passing information to younger generations.

These stories hold strong significance for Aboriginal groups and Traditional Owners.

Aboriginal sites and the stories associated with them often originate from the very distant past and, importantly, contribute to the living belief systems and customs of many contemporary Aboriginal people. It is essential that research undertaken about South Australia is done hand in hand with Aboriginal people.

Aboriginal sites in South Australia

South Australia is archaeologically rich and contains some of the most significant archaeological sites in Australia, with current evidence suggesting Aboriginal people have been present in South Australia for a conservatively estimated 45,000 years before present.

There are also many significant areas of traditional Aboriginal land use and occupation in South Australia that have never been archaeologically or anthropologically surveyed and may reveal a rich tapestry of life prior to colonisation.

Australian Aboriginal traditional knowledge, encoded in sites and stories and passed down through generations, has informed unique ways of living and has enabled life and community to endure and flourish, even in the harshest environments.

Despite the adversities of climate and social change, traditional knowledge has sustained Australian Aboriginal culture.