Reconstructing the Star Knowledge of Aboriginal Tasmanians

TL;DR

This paper reconstructs Aboriginal Tasmanian astronomical knowledge from historical records, revealing its cultural, spiritual, and subsistence significance, and emphasizes the diversity of these traditions beyond previous simplified views.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of ethnohistorical documents to reconstruct the diverse astronomical knowledge of Aboriginal Tasmanians, laying groundwork for future ethnographic research.

Findings

Stars, Milky Way, and constellations held cultural and spiritual significance.

Dark nebulae, the Sun, Moon, meteors, and aurorae were also culturally important.

The study highlights the diversity of Aboriginal astronomical traditions in Tasmania.

Abstract

The canopy of stars is a central presence in the daily and spiritual lives of Aboriginal Tasmanians. With the arrival of European colonists, Tasmanian astronomical knowledge and traditions were interrupted and dispersed. Fragments can be found scattered in the ethnographic and historical record throughout the nineteenth century. We draw from ethnohistorical documents to analyse and reconstruct Aboriginal astronomical knowledge in Tasmania. This analysis demonstrates that stars, the Milky Way, constellations, dark nebula, the Sun, Moon, meteors, and aurorae held cultural, spiritual, and subsistence significance within the Aboriginal cultures of Tasmania. We move beyond a monolithic view of Aboriginal astronomical knowledge in Tasmania, commonly portrayed in previous research, to lay the groundwork for future ethnographic and archaeological fieldwork with Aboriginal elders and communities.