Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

PART ONE: ORIGINS OF ABORIGINAL CULTURE

1. Early human colonisation

A changing planet. Bridging the gap. Occupying 'new' land. Human impact on the landscape.

2. Religious landscapes

The Dreaming. Sacred sites. The Skyworld and Underworld.

3. Kinship and family life

Knowing your kin. Gender and taboos. Play and games. Rites of passage.

4. Mapping people

Tribes and clans. Travelling ceremonies. Languages. Layering of identity.

PART TWO: MATERIALS OF CULTURE

5. The hunting and gathering mode

Food and water quest. Medicines and narcotics. Resource management.

6. The toolmaker

Stone and bone as tools. Holding it together. Retooling.

7. The gatherer's toolkit

Gathering implements. Clothing. Domestic life.

8. Weapons and hunting implements

Weapons. Hunting and fishing. Watercraft.

9. Art and the music of the Dreaming

Mythologic

About the Author

Philip Clarke is Head of Anthropology and Manager of Sciences at the South Australian Museum.

Reviews

Philip Clarke has penned an insightful and wide-ranging account of Australia's Aboriginal cultures from a perspective of great learning and insider privilege. It's an immensely significant work, revealing the extraordinary richness of one of the world's oldest continuous cultures. Tim Flannery, author, "The Future Eaters""

""Philip Clarke has penned an insightful and wide-ranging account of Australia's Aboriginal cultures from a perspective of great learning and insider privilege. It's an immensely significant work, revealing the extraordinary richness of one of the world's oldest continuous cultures."