CANBERRA, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Australia had a much larger Indigenous population before European arrival, with far greater population losses from colonization than previously thought, new research shows.
Computer modelling showed the Indigenous population was up to seven times larger than previously estimated, but 93 percent was lost within 80 years of the First Fleet's arrival in 1788, according to a statement released Wednesday by Australia's Flinders University.
"Understanding the size of Indigenous populations in Australia before European invasion in 1788 is essential to truth-telling and reconciliation," said Corey Bradshaw, a professor at Flinders University and member of a research team investigating Indigenous population sizes through time.
The study, published in Nature Human Behavior, showed the estimate is up to seven times larger than previous estimates of 250,000 to 1 million people, which researchers said underestimated the population because of the far-reaching impacts of disease, frontier conflict and structural violence. ■