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Farmers or hunter-gatherers? : the Dark Emu debate /

An authoritative study of pre-colonial Australia that dismantles and reframes popular narratives of First Nations land management and food production. Australians' understanding of Aboriginal society prior to the British invasion from 1788 has been transformed since the publication of Bruce Pas...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sutton, Peter, 1946- (Author), Walshe, Keryn (Author)
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: Carlton, Victoria : Melbourne University Press, [2021]
Subjects:
Pascoe, Bruce, > 1947- > Dark emu.
Aboriginal Australians > Social life and customs.
Aboriginal Australians > Agriculture.
Aboriginal Australians > Antiquities.
Aboriginal Australians > History.
Land use, Rural > Australia.
Hunting and gathering societies > Australia.
Australia > History.
Table of Contents:
  • 1. The Dark Emu debate
  • 2. Spiritual propagation
  • 3. The language question
  • 4. Ecological agents and 'firestick farming'
  • 5. Social evolutionism rebirthed
  • 6. The agriculture debate
  • 7. Patterns of apparel
  • 8. 'Aquaculture' or fishing and trapping?
  • 9. Dwellings
  • 10. Mobility
  • 11. The explorers' records
  • 12. 'Agricultural' implements and antiquity
  • 13. Stone circles and 'smoking' trees
  • Conclusion
  • Appendix 1: When did Indigenous people arrive in Australia?
  • Appendix 2: Band movements recorded by William Buckley
  • Acknowledgements
  • Image credits
  • Notes
  • References
  • Index