Searching for the astronomy of aboriginal Australians
Volume 10 (2008): Astronomy and Cosmology in Folk Traditions and Cultural Heritage, pp. 246–252
Pub. online: 20 December 2008
Type: Article
Open Access
Received
25 October 2007
25 October 2007
Revised
7 January 2008
7 January 2008
Published
20 December 2008
20 December 2008
Abstract
It is widely accepted that the traditional culture of Aboriginal Australians has a significant astronomical component, but it is unclear whether this component extended beyond ceremonial songs and stories. Here I summarise a growing body of evidence that there was a deep understanding of the motion of objects in the sky, that this knowledge was used for practical purposes such as constructing calendars, and there may even be evidence for careful records and measurements.