Finding meteorite impacts in Aboriginal oral tradition

TL;DR

This paper explores how Aboriginal oral traditions may encode historical meteorite impacts, specifically examining stories about the Henbury craters to understand their potential as ancient impact records.

Contribution

It introduces a methodology for interpreting Aboriginal stories as possible evidence of ancient meteorite impacts, linking oral tradition with geological events.

Findings

Stories describe fire from the sky consistent with meteorite impacts

Oral traditions may preserve geological history over thousands of years

Potential to identify other impact sites through indigenous narratives

Abstract

Aboriginal stories dating back many thousands of years talk of a fire from the sky in an area now home to the Henbury meteorite craters, in the Northern Territory