Theme 1 - Aboriginal Antiquity
Over untold millennia, Aboriginal people developed knowledge systems that allowed them to live in sustainable harmony with the land. Despite being regarded by Europeans as ‘simple, primitive, pagan and nomadic’ it was a society free of poverty, hunger, pestilence and war, with the highest common standard of living in the world.
This first collection of nine articles examines the length of Aboriginal antiquity, the nature of Aboriginal environmental management, and how Aboriginal ‘Permaculture Farming’ was largely invisible to European eyes.
THEME 1 - QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION
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In your lifetime, how far has the estimated time of Aboriginal occupation moved backward?
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Is it possible there was world-wide trade 4000 years ago, or do our perceptions of world history remain Eurocentric?
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In view of the specialization of western science, is ‘knowledge splitters’ an accurate term?
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Did early British artists paint what they actually saw in Australia, or did they paint an idealized image of England?
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Can you identify any main roads in your area that follow ridge lines, valley lines and easy contours, so might well have been Songlines?
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What evidence is recorded in your own municipality of prior Aboriginal occupation and land use?