They were looking to study rock art at a remote desert site but what they found showed people had been using the place almost since the first people arrived in Australia.
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Articles on Aboriginal heritage
Displaying 1 - 20 of 25 articles
Aboriginal Australians have effectively been on their country for as long as modern human populations have been outside of Africa. We have a limit as to how long ago that was: around 50,000 years.
Essays on Air: how archaeology helped save the Franklin River.
The Conversation23.2 MB (download)
The battle to save the Franklin River - an exhilarating story of politics, cultural heritage and passionate environmentalism - captivated the nation in 1983.
A damning inquiry has revealed the extent of the abuse suffered by British children sent abroad between 1920 and 1970. But it skirts around Aboriginal cultural genocide.
A new study pushes back the first known evidence of human activity in Australia – to 65,000 years ago.
Despite improvements to their content over time, secondary school history textbooks still imply that ‘real’ Australians are white.
Imagine if we did urban development in a way that honours Indigenous histories, knowledge and relationships with those places.
New DNA research working with Indigenous Australians is answering many of the questions about when and where the First Australians emerged many thousands of years ago.
Research first published in 2001 has been used to question of whether Aboriginal People were the First Australians. So why not re-test those results with improved techniques and equipment?
The French capital will light up to the sights and sounds of Cleverman, Samson and Delilah, and The Sapphires.
For the Barkindji people, the Darling River has been a symbol of Aboriginal survival since colonial times. Now, the once busy NSW town of Wilcannia is in danger of losing its water.
Museums are cracking open the temperature-controlled, dehumidified display cases and inviting people in. Working with Aboriginal communities is reawakening cultural connections and ancient art forms.
The stage version of The Secret River gives us a deeper sense of our history. But can understanding the past from different perspectives help us confront the inequalities that linger in our present?
Australia's original $1 note featured artwork taken without permission from Aboriginal artist, David Malangi. He was later given $1000, a medallion and a fishing kit, but archival evidence sheds new light on the affair.
European invasion completely disrupted the way aboriginal Australians managed fire. Learning from Australia's first people could help us fight fires in the future.
Aboriginal heritage has had significant protections removed in Western Australia. Following principles of respect and consultation would be a huge step forward for Aboriginal cultural management.
The Dja Dja Warrung bark etchings are hugely significant Aboriginal artefacts. They're back in Australia for only the second time in 160 years. We look at the complex issue of repatriation.
More than 3,000 Aboriginal heritage sites in Western Australia have lost registration status as part of sweeping changes in classifications in the Aboriginal Heritage Register. That needs to change.
The remains of the Aboriginal man who lived more than 40,000 years ago are on the move again. But they're still not returning home, to the place where they were discovered four decades ago.
Succeeding generations need to know where they are placed in the unfolding grand narrative of Aboriginal art. Those of us who are not Aboriginal need to understand the complex relationship between settler Australians and the people of the land.
Top contributors
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Senior Research Fellow, Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University
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Research Fellow in Genomics, Griffith University
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Professor of Evolutionary Biology, Griffith University
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Senior Lecturer, Human Geography, Curtin University
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PhD Researcher in Ancient DNA, Griffith University
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Professor of Linguistics, Yale University
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David Bowman is a Friend of The Conversation.
Professor, Environmental Change Biology, University of Tasmania
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Joanna Mendelssohn is a Friend of The Conversation.
Honorary Associate Professor, Art & Design: UNSW Australia. Editor in Chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, UNSW
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Kimberley Chair in Rock Art and Professor of Australian Archaeology, Centre for Rock Art Research and Management, University of Western Australia
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Emeritus Professor, School of Humanities, University of New England
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Research fellow, Deakin University
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Director, Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, University of Adelaide
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Associate Investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, UNSW
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Professor, University of Wollongong
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Curator of Indigenous Art, National Gallery of Victoria and Phd Candidate, University of Melbourne
