How were early New Guineans different from Australia’s first people? (1 point)
Responses
They were divided into hundreds of distinct ethnic groups.
They were divided into hundreds of distinct ethnic groups.
They migrated to the Pacific region from another part of the world.
They migrated to the Pacific region from another part of the world.
They lived by hunting, fishing, and gathering.
They lived by hunting, fishing, and gathering.
They were among the first people to discover farming.
Early New Guineans were different from Australia's first people as they were among the first people to discover farming. The highlands of New Guinea are one of the few places in the world where agriculture independently developed—people began cultivating crops like taro and bananas there more than 9,000 years ago. In contrast, Indigenous Australians primarily lived as hunter-gatherers and did not develop agriculture to the same extent, due to different environmental conditions and cultural adaptations.
What???
Apologies for any confusion. To clarify, while both early New Guineans and Australia’s first people were indigenous peoples who lived through hunting, fishing, and gathering, a significant difference is that the people in the New Guinea highlands were among the earliest to independently develop agriculture. They began domesticating plants like taro and bananas around 9,000 years ago, and possibly even earlier.
On the other hand, Australia's indigenous peoples, the Aboriginal Australians, traditionally did not practice agriculture in the sense of crop cultivation and animal domestication. Instead, they managed the land through complex systems such as fire-stick farming, which encouraged the growth of certain plants and animals they hunted. This form of land management sustained their hunter-gatherer lifestyle over tens of thousands of years across the diverse landscapes of Australia.
So the answer that best reflects the early differences would be:
They were among the first people to discover farming.
To determine how early New Guineans were different from Australia's first people, we need to examine the given responses and choose the one that highlights a unique characteristic or distinction.
The first response states that early New Guineans were divided into hundreds of distinct ethnic groups. This information points to a significant difference between the two groups as it does not mention the same level of ethnic diversity among Australia's first people.
Therefore, the correct response to the question is: They were divided into hundreds of distinct ethnic groups.