Australia's Ancient Aboriginal Past : A Global Perspective.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Johnson, Murray.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Aboriginal Australians--History.

Archaeology--History.

Archaeology--Australia.

Tasmania--History.

Tasmania.

Australia--Civilization.

Australia.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (290 pages)

Edition:

2nd ed.

Other Title:

Australia's Ancient Aboriginal Past

Place of Publication:

Melbourne : Australian Scholarly Publishing Pty, Limited, 2021.

Summary:

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.

Contents:

1. archaeology and the archaeological endeavour

2. Human origins, evolution and global dispersal

3. The Neanderthal anomaly

4. The Hobbit enigma

5. Colonisation of Sahul

the archaeological and skeletal evidence

6. Demise of the megafauna

7. Pleistocene Australia

adaptation and innovation

8. Holocene Australia and regional case studies

9. Tasmania

an isolated trajectory

Conclusion.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9781922454805

192245480X

OCLC:

1247655827