Aboriginal stories of sea level rise preserved for thousands of years
February 14, 2015Nicky Phillips
Science Editor
Aboriginal stories of sea level rise preserved for thousands of years
Details of life before and after this significant sea rise, which flooded areas around the Australian coast that were previously dry land, were recorded in the oral histories of the continent's Indigenous people.
Sydney Morning Herald
... "Western culture tends to value innovation whereas Aboriginal cultures throughout Australia tend to be deeply conservative," says Reid. They value consistency.
Reid says clans have very explicit mechanisms for teaching people to tell oral histories, as well as tasking others to ensure the orator tells stories accurately.
For instance, when children are told tales by their parents, they are tasked with quizzing the details and cross-checking them with their grandparents.
"People take these relationships very seriously," says Reid.
"The beauty of the relationship is that it is cross-generational and that provides a kind of scaffolding that's very successful at keeping stories accurate, not succumbing to a Chinese whispers effect." This feature of oral tradition appears to be specific to Australia.
Reid says most of the stories were recorded by "well-meaning white people who interacted with Aboriginal people in the early days of the colony" such as missionaries and government surveyors.
Academic historians have often scoffed at oral traditions, regarding them as fables or legends devoid of facts.
"Anglo-Australians have really ignored what Aboriginal people may know about Australia for quite a long time. We've come in and superimposed Western science," says Nunn.
Only recently have scientists realised these stories may contribute to our understanding of natural phenomena, says Nunn.
The pair are keen to track down more version of stories as well as new tales.
"We suspect we're just scratching the surface," says Reid...
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