What caused the extinction of the Aboriginal Tasmanians?

It is a common belief that the extinction of an indigenous population is caused by the settling of the area by European settlers. The extinction of the Aboriginal Tasmanians is unique in that it was not caused by white settlers, but instead by their hostile habits, customs, and the harsh climate in which they lived.

The Aboriginal Tasmanians could change from friendly to openly hostile because of a slight offense. They were a society of hunters and warriors that gave them a clear advantage in warfare when fighting with new settlers. While they were superior to the settlers from a fighting perspective, they lived in tribes that were not unified and could be hostile to each other. Also, the warlike nature has caused many complications relating to childbirth. One issue is that only the tribe's elders are able to have a wife/wives, so if a younger member of the tribe takes one of the women as his wife, their would be infighting in the tribe. Another big problem is that when a pregnant women could no longer keep up with the tribe, the tribe would abandon her with a small supply of food. If the woman and the child survive childbirth, they would have to wander through the harsh terrain in search of their tribe and hope that they wouldn't be found by another tribe. If the woman and newborn were found by another tribe, they would likely be killed then possibly eaten. This warrior mentality would help the Aboriginal Tasmanians fight invaders but cause more harm to them than good.

The Aboriginal Tasmanians had many customs that could easily lead to death. They would not wear clothing from birth to death and instead coat themselves in layers of mud, grease, charcoal, and red ochre. The lack of hygiene would lead to any scratch or cut becoming infected and spreading. They would hold rituals for protection that involved a person being cut by a stone, after which the cut would most likely become infected. They also had very unhealthy eating habits. They would gorge themselves and eat entire animals in one sitting. One example is just two men eating a whole seal. They would not waste any part of the animal, except for the fur and feathers that would be burned off by the fire. The men would usually eat the meat, flesh, bones, eyes, and brain. The women were not treated as equal to the men and would get the worst parts of the bone, organs, and gristle that was left.  The customs of the people would lead to death through poor hygiene and poor eating habits.

Another reason the Aboriginal Tasmanians died out is because of the harsh climate they lived in. Tasmania's climate is often cold but the summer days are extremely hot. The temperature causes the indigenous people to never bathe because the cold nights would kill them if they lost their layer of grease and charcoal on their skin. Any hazardous weather would also cause sickness and harm to the indigenous people because many were nomadic. Many died to exposure to the elements because they lacked a home or a permanent shelter. This harsh climate would be the demise of many indigenous people even before white settlers came to the area.

The harsh climate combined with the hostile habits and customs of the Aboriginal Tasmanians lead to their extinction more than the introduction of white settlers. The indigenous people of Tasmania were dying out even before white settlers started colonizing Tasmania. While many would blame European settlers for the extinction of the Aboriginal Tasmanians, the real cause was the warlike nature of the people, the harmful customs, and the unforgiving climate they lived in.

Source:
Patricia Cobern, "Who really killed Tasmania's aborigines?" Wicked Dox, May 6, 2007 http://wickeddox.blogspot.com/2007/05/who-really-killed-tasmanias-aborigines.html