The concept of zero

During World War II a Japanese Zero fighter plane crashed onto Aboriginal land in Northern Australia.  That started me thinking about the mathematical concept of zero.

Historically, the concept of zero as a number did not exist in western mathematics until it was introduced from the east via Spain, I believe around the 11th century.  I wondered if the concept had originated way, way back in a culture like that of traditional Indigenous Australians.

It's worth remembering that modern technology is made possible only by 1 and 0, on and off, west and east, coming together.