Teacher background information

This elaboration provides opportunities for students to investigate some of the remarkable physical traits of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and how this is evident by the overrepresentation of First Nations’ Australians in some historical as well as contemporary professional fields. By studying the theory of evolution by natural selection in this context, students gain an understanding of the mechanism that is responsible for the development of such characteristics. At the same time students learn about and appreciate the important contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to Australian society. 

On initial contact with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, European colonisers quickly noted that First Australians were equipped with many abilities and traits superior to their own, such as exceptional eyesight, reflexes, jumping ability, throwing accuracy, spatial awareness, running speed and stamina. This has been well documented in the private journals and official documents of early European colonisers. As a consequence, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians were, and still are, highly sought-after in certain professional fields that require such abilities, such as the whaling and pearling industries of the 1800s or professional sports today.  

It has been recognised that such variations in physical abilities cannot be explained through differences in training and lifestyle alone, but contain a strong genetic component. The theory of evolution by natural selection explains how such diversity appears in populations of organisms including humans. Traits or characteristics that confer a reproductive advantage will, over many generations, become more frequent throughout the entire population. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' long habitation in the diverse regions of Australia has led to the development of physical characteristics that are favourable to living in those environments. It is likely that the traits held by pre-contact Australians are responsible for remarkable achievements in certain sports. Many scientists believe that this can explain the overrepresentation of First Nations Australians in the highest levels of many sports today.  

Investigating the exceptional sprinting and jumping abilities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander football players due to the predominance of type II (fast twitch) muscle fibres, or the acuity of vision and rowing abilities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander whalers employed in the Australian and New Zealand whaling industries in the early 19th century, may provide the context in which students can explore the mechanisms that explain how such characteristics evolve.