The Origins and Evolution of the Term "Aboriginal" from Ancient Latium to Indigenous Australia
Today, the term aboriginal (meaning "native," referring to an original inhabitant of a place) is primarily associated with Indigenous Australian populations. It was introduced in the late 18th century to describe the native people inhabiting Australia before British colonization (1788). Organized in hunter-gatherer societies, these people were considered the most primitive among humans. Some groups still survive in remote parts of rural Australia. When Captain Cook landed in Australia in 1770, he found over 300,000 Indigenous inhabitants who spoke 200 different dialects. Over the next two centuries, their numbers dwindled to only 50,000 people, primarily concentrated in the tropical north and northwest. Since the 1930s, they have been confined to protected reserves. Aboriginal people have been of great importance to anthropological studies, as they represent an ancient civilization of significant interest. They possess a complex mythology, refined and abstract art, a sophisticated social structure, and a profoundly rich spirituality.
Marble relief depicting the landing of the Trojans, coming from Gaeta and kept at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples
In ancient times, the term aboriginal (from Latin Aborigenes or Aborigines) was used to refer to the earliest inhabitants of Latium, who, when joined with the Trojans, later derived their name, Latins, from King Latinus. In some texts, they are considered the oldest inhabitants of Latium Vetus (or Antiquum), the central region of today's Latium. Since the derivation from King Latinus is undoubtedly the most obvious and ancient, the legend of the Aborigines is not extremely old, though it was already known to Sicilian writers of the 3rd century BCE, like Callias of Syracuse. According to these Sicilians, King Latinus ruled over the Aborigines when Aeneas arrived in Latium, and together with the Trojans, the Aborigines founded Rome.
When the view of Antiochus of Syracuse and Timaeus spread, stating that the earliest inhabitants of Latium were the Siculi, the Aborigines could no longer be considered native, and by then, Marcus Porcius Cato considered them Greeks from Achaea who had come to Italy before the Trojan War, though he provided no supporting reference.
Alternatively, since the ancient Sabine civilization aligned with the concept of a primitive population that always adhered to the name Aborigines (Sallust, Catiline, 6, 1), others, like Varro, believed them to be long-standing residents of the Sabine lands, occupying the mountainous regions of central Italy, the Apennines.
Throne of the Sabines from Tomb 36 in Colle del Forno - Fara Sabina Museum, Rieti, Italy
In ancient times, the Sabines conquered their capital, Lista, which was never reclaimed by its inhabitants, who had taken refuge in Rieti. Due to the ritual of Sacred Spring, they expanded their territory, coming into conflict with neighboring populations, notably the Siculi. The cities of Antemnae, Tellenae, Ficulea, and Tibur were founded as a result.
The Aborigines later came into contact with the Pelasgians, a people from whom the Greeks and Illyrians descended, and allied with them. The united peoples fought against the Umbrians and Siculi, conquering several cities and founding others, including Caere, Pisa, Saturnia, and Alsium. When Aeneas arrived in Latium with his Trojans, the union of the two peoples gave rise to a new nation, the Latins, named in honor of King Latinus.
The Aborigines worshipped Saturn, who was said to have taught them agriculture, and also observed the ritual of the Sacred Spring, through which young people of the same age were sent to establish new colonies. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, referencing an account by the Reatinian Marcus Terentius Varro, lists several cities founded by the Aborigines, including Lista, their capital, all in what would become the territory of Regio Samnium et Sabina.
The Sabines Prince’s Chariot of Eretum is a war chariot of orientalizing era (VIII century B.C.) found in 1970 inside the Tomb XI of Colle del Forno. Richly decorated with figurative bronzes, it represents an exceptional example of Sabino art and craftsmanship - Fara Sabina Museum, Rieti, Italy, Rieti, Italy
Linked to the myth of the Aborigines is the mention of Cures Sabini, the city from which Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome, originated. According to ancient mythology, it was founded by Modius Fabidius, born of a maiden of the Aborigines who had joined with the god Quirinus.
Traditionally, the term Aborigines is thought to be connected to the Latin expression ab origine, meaning "from the beginning." However, many scholars suggest that it derives from the Latin Aborigines and actually has a lost pre-Latin origin, with the association with ab origine arising later. A significant discussion on the Aborigines and their migrations (for which the Latin term aberrigenes, meaning "wanderers" from Latin aberrare, was coined due to their initial nomadic nature) appears in Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Roman Antiquities, 1, 9). He describes them as Arcadians who came to Italy with Oenotrus, called Aborigines for their mountainous habitats, and mentions the names of their cities in the Rieti area, which they had conquered from the Umbrians. With the help of other Greeks, the Pelasgians, they expelled the Siculi (the earliest people known to have inhabited Latium) from the Alba Longa region after a prolonged war.
The Origo Gentis Romanae ("Origin of the Roman People") is a short 4th-century CE Latin literary compilation narrating the most remote origins, straddling history and mythology, of the Roman people, from Saturn to Romulus. It traces Aborigines back to a Greek word meaning "mountain," referring to their Apennine origin. According to Lycophron, Aborigines means "northern men," while another etymological theory links the term to arborigines, meaning "born of trees."
Latium vetus
Last update: October 31, 2024
DONATE Go to definitions: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
See also: