Unlike a lot of the popular paleontology I have read, this book is not a synthesis of various disciplines. Dr Smith does discuss DNA, linguistics and anthropology at points, but the book is a firmly archaeological text. I did find this frustrating at times - as the recent leaps forward in the first two of those disciplines has greatly added to our understanding of societal development globally. It also means the book does not deeply engage with the culture or viewpoint of Aboriginal societies themselves - given the context of Australian society today, I'll admit to being a little uncomfortable about that as well.
But what Smith does draw out of the story of desert archaeology is a compelling picture of societies responding to climactic conditions, changing technologies and social organisation to survive in a unique and challenging environment.
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As oddly as this is to say of a very dispassionate technical text, there are insights from this book which haunt me. One is the brutal realisation of how many groups of humans tried and failed to colonise regions before a group took hold - and the real picture of how common starvation is in our human history.
Another is the amazing strength of human connection, as knowledge and expertise move across the continent, passed from social group to social group, as surely as key cultural artifacts like ochre do. It is both an intriguing, and in some ways challenging, implication of the book that much of modern Australian desert societies has emerged within the last years. I've been putting off writing this review, because I feel like I won't remember to put in all the good bits.
But in the end, perhaps the most important thing to mention is how much more I wanted to know as a consequence - particularly from linguistics, and DNA work, where big chunks of knowledge are hinted at in the text. However, it was unreadable on anything other than a PC due to the large size format even my 9" tablet failed me.
After trying to persist despite the squintiness for ages, I tried to get the reflow epub version. At some point I remembered I have access to Australia's best library collection, and borrowed the big, handsome hardcover.
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I find print very annoying to read now, and actively avoid it I have arthritis in my hands all you judgmental people - holding a book open can actually hurt! So much I think I might buy it - it is a very, very pretty book. I am aware of the cultural complexities here, but really have no idea how well they are being negotiated. Sep 02, Murray rated it liked it.
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This is a really important book for Australian history. The main issue for the everyday reader is that the prose is really academic and full of academic phrases and terminology that I really struggled with. If it were re-written for a general audience, I would recommend this wholeheartedly. Oct 04, Mills College Library added it. Barbora rated it it was amazing Sep 02, Rachel rated it it was amazing Mar 24, Dan Rogers rated it really liked it Jan 02, Jason marked it as to-read Oct 22, Allan marked it as to-read Jul 25, Jen marked it as to-read Oct 10, David Mclean added it May 30, Noah marked it as to-read Jul 26, Nikki marked it as to-read Jul 27, Lara marked it as to-read Nov 25, Joe marked it as to-read Dec 09, There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
The Archaeology of Australia's Deserts : Mike Smith :
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Synopsis Product Details Shipping This is the first book-length study of the archaeology of Australia's deserts, one of the world's major habitats and the largest block of drylands in the southern hemisphere. Over the last few decades, a wealth of new environmental and archaeological data about this fascinating region has become available. Drawing on a wide range of sources, The Archaeology of Australia's Deserts explores the late Pleistocene settlement of Australia's deserts, the formation of distinctive desert societies, and the origins and development of the hunter-gatherer societies documented in the classic nineteenth-century ethnographies of Spencer and Gillen.
Written by one of Australia's leading desert archaeologists, the book interweaves a lively history of research with archaeological data in a masterly survey of the field and a profoundly interdisciplinary study that forces archaeology into conversations with history and anthropology, economy and ecology, and geography and Earth sciences. Cambridge University Press Country of origin: On order from our US supplier to our Sydney distribution centre.
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The Archaeology of Australia's Deserts
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