Comet and Meteorite Traditions of Aboriginal Australians

TL;DR

Many Aboriginal Australian cultures have oral traditions describing comets, meteors, and impact events, often linking them to spirits and omens, with some traditions describing impact phenomena unknown to Western science.

Contribution

This paper documents and analyzes Aboriginal Australian oral traditions related to celestial phenomena and impact events, highlighting cultural interpretations and scientific correlations.

Findings

Rich oral traditions describing impact phenomena

Descriptions of impact craters unknown to Western science

Cultural explanations linking phenomena to spirits and omens

Abstract

Of the hundreds of distinct Aboriginal cultures of Australia, many have oral traditions rich in descriptions and explanations of comets, meteors, meteorites, airbursts, impact events, and impact craters. These views generally attribute these phenomena to spirits, death, and bad omens. There are also many traditions that describe the formation of meteorite craters as well as impact events that are not known to Western science.