Australia's ancient Aboriginal past: a global perspective

by Murray Johnson

This book places the Aboriginal occupation of Australia within a broad framework of human evolution and habitation. The author discusses the pioneering studies that delve into the mists of antiquity, and he engages with current controversies, including the extinction of mega fauna, land management practices, and social development over many millennia. The extraordinary achievements of Australian Aborigines are revealed in all their complexity and the evidence surrounding the identity of Australia’s first occupants is re-examined. The discovery of the ‘Hobbits’ of the island of Flores show that proto-humans were edging towards the great southern continent; their capacity to cross the sea implies intelligence and organisation, but how far did their footsteps extend? This is just one of many challenging questions brought to life in this absorbing account of Australia’s pre-contact history.

Genres: Nonfiction, Australia

260 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Siri Olsen]

Australia's Ancient Aboriginal Past combines the presentation of remarkable archaeological discoveries with insightful (and sometimes unconventional) interpretations to provide an engaging and thorough introduction to the deep history of the Australian human population, set within a framework that highlights Aboriginal history and experience while still basing itself on archaeology. Although Aboriginal history and archaeology is a highly contested area of study, I, with my admittedly limited right to pass comment, found this study to be a respectful and accurate representation of our current state of knowledge about Aboriginal colonisation of Australia and the early history of human occupation of the continent. The book is academic and intended for an academic audience, but not overly so, and it comes highly recommended for archaeologists or people with an interest in archaeology and deep human history.

[Mr_wormwood]

Makes an interesting point that the elements of ecological conservatism in aboriginal culture may have been born of collective trauma due to the extinction of the Megafauna which was propelled, in some part, by anthropogenic burning.