The continuation of the hunter gatherer culture amongst Australian
Aborigines was explained in Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel
and Flannery's The Future Eaters. The Australian continent
lost a significant proportion of its large animals in the period
immediately after the arrival of the Aborigines (the proposed
explanations for this are still the matter of controversy).
Australia lacked the pool of animals and plants that could have
formed the basis of a settled agricultural communities. Also, the
soils are poor and the weather variable. The largest river basin
Murray-Darling did have settlements and fixed structures along its
banks but even here the river would from time to time run dry.
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