... In the case of the Aboriginal Rangers from UluruKata Tjuta National Park, the course was the... more ... In the case of the Aboriginal Rangers from UluruKata Tjuta National Park, the course was the beginning step Page 50. Learning to Walk Together and Work Together| 49 in acquiring a certificate in cultural heritage management from James Cook University. ...
This paper describes research, undertaken in the 1980s, which resulted in the development of a co... more This paper describes research, undertaken in the 1980s, which resulted in the development of a community-based approach to archaeological research in northern Cape York. It begins with an archaeological doctoral project that was underpinned by the desire to undertake adequate and appropriate consultation with traditional owners. However, northern Cape York is extremely culturally complex, stemming largely from the Indigenous and non-Indigenous history of this region over the last 150 years or so. A joint anthropological-archaeological project was undertaken, initially to identify appropriate traditional owners but which was subsequently expanded to include the recording of cultural information.
We describe here a pattern of archaeological sites that suggest that 'mainland' Aboriginal people... more We describe here a pattern of archaeological sites that suggest that 'mainland' Aboriginal people were viewed by their Torres Strait neighbours as being specialists in particular ritual knowledge. The region under consideration includes the northern-most tip of the Australian continent and extends northward through Torres Strait to Papua. Our study area focuses on the southern end of the region: the Australian mainland as well as Pabaju (Albany Island), Muri (Mt Adolphus Island) and associated islands and islets. Archaeological investigation over many years reveals a high density of ritual sites over this relatively small area. These include sites on prominent headlands. The density and visibility of sites could be interpreted as both marking and 'marketing' ritual expertise. The location of some of the sites also suggests they served as 'sentinels' within a cosmo-political seascape. Far from having an impoverished role in regional exchange networks, Australian mainlanders clearly held something of extraordinary value that drew people from the Torres Strait to their shores. We contend that southern reciprocity in regional trade and exchange may have been based on intangible knowledge transactions, in particular, knowledge related to increase ritual.
Abstract In this paper, the authors will explore current interpretations of Torres Strait archaeo... more Abstract In this paper, the authors will explore current interpretations of Torres Strait archaeology. These interpretations suggest that while mainland Australians occupied the'ancestral Cape York Peninsula'until around 6000 years ago, they were colonized by ...
ABSTRACT In this article we examine the concept of 'indigenous knowledge' as it i... more ABSTRACT In this article we examine the concept of 'indigenous knowledge' as it is currently used in resource management discourse. In the process of engaging with government agents and researchers in the bureaucracy of resource management, indigenous knowledge is a powerful concept in the legitimization of local indigenous practice as well as the recognition of resource and socio-environmental management aspirations. Our use of the phrase 'management speak' frames our analysis of these bureaucratic engagements as process (management) and dialogue, rather than a 'space'. We do so in order to gain insights into the politics and practice of these engagements that might go beyond recognition of indigenous interests and toward more practical approaches. Our discussion draws on research conducted at Yarrabah Aboriginal Community in northern Queensland in relation to marine resource management in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.
Iconic painted shields and baskets made by Aboriginal people of the North Queensland rainforest r... more Iconic painted shields and baskets made by Aboriginal people of the North Queensland rainforest region have been collected and placed in museums all over the world. We describe the historical ethnographic context of the production and use of these things and explore transformations in their value through time. These things are of value to museums and were of value to the collectors who originally procured them. They were also of value to the Aboriginal producers and are of value today to their descendants. We reflect upon the concept of value by considering the different values that inform how the shields and baskets were valued in the past, and how their worth continues to be evaluated today.
Outside the Antipodes, Australian archaeology is best known as an archaeology of the distant Pala... more Outside the Antipodes, Australian archaeology is best known as an archaeology of the distant Palaeolithic past. However, where communities have been closely involved in developing and undertaking archaeological research programs, the focus of archaeological research has been radically different, often dealing with the archaeology of the recent, remembered past and crossing disciplinary boundaries between Aboriginal and historical archaeology. Distinguishing between 'community-based archaeology' and reactive or 'consent-based' community involvement in archaeology, this paper reviews the state of archaeology and its engagement with communities in Australia. Through several case studies in both indigenous and post-contact archaeology, it demonstrates the way in which community-based research and practise is changing what it is we think of as 'archaeology' in Australia.
We describe here a pattern of archaeological sites that suggest that 'mainland' Aboriginal people... more We describe here a pattern of archaeological sites that suggest that 'mainland' Aboriginal people were viewed by their Torres Strait neighbours as being specialists in particular ritual knowledge. The region under consideration includes the northern-most tip of the Australian continent and extends northward through Torres Strait to Papua. Our study area focuses on the southern end of the region: the Australian mainland as well as Pabaju (Albany Island), Muri (Mt Adolphus Island) and associated islands and islets. Archaeological investigation over many years reveals a high density of ritual sites over this relatively small area. These include sites on prominent headlands. The density and visibility of sites could be interpreted as both marking and 'marketing' ritual expertise. The location of some of the sites also suggests they served as 'sentinels' within a cosmo-political seascape. Far from having an impoverished role in regional exchange networks, Australian mainlanders clearly held something of extraordinary value that drew people from the Torres Strait to their shores. We contend that southern reciprocity in regional trade and exchange may have been based on intangible knowledge transactions, in particular, knowledge related to increase ritual.
This paper outlines some of the ways early artefact collecting contributed to the definition of t... more This paper outlines some of the ways early artefact collecting contributed to the definition of the Australian region now known and marketed as the 'World Heritage Wet Tropics'. While others have collected in this region, we focus on the collecting activities of Hermann Klaatsch and the work of Norman Tindale to explore some factors that contributed to their claims that certain artefacts represent a region and its history. We argue that these understandings of region and the past, along with the now widely dispersed artefacts, maintain a lively, albeit transformed, presence in current debates about Aboriginal regional culture, linking assertions of rights to lost and stolen cultural property with notions of large-scale environmental management within the 'Wet Tropics'.
... In the case of the Aboriginal Rangers from UluruKata Tjuta National Park, the course was the... more ... In the case of the Aboriginal Rangers from UluruKata Tjuta National Park, the course was the beginning step Page 50. Learning to Walk Together and Work Together| 49 in acquiring a certificate in cultural heritage management from James Cook University. ...
This paper describes research, undertaken in the 1980s, which resulted in the development of a co... more This paper describes research, undertaken in the 1980s, which resulted in the development of a community-based approach to archaeological research in northern Cape York. It begins with an archaeological doctoral project that was underpinned by the desire to undertake adequate and appropriate consultation with traditional owners. However, northern Cape York is extremely culturally complex, stemming largely from the Indigenous and non-Indigenous history of this region over the last 150 years or so. A joint anthropological-archaeological project was undertaken, initially to identify appropriate traditional owners but which was subsequently expanded to include the recording of cultural information.
We describe here a pattern of archaeological sites that suggest that 'mainland' Aboriginal people... more We describe here a pattern of archaeological sites that suggest that 'mainland' Aboriginal people were viewed by their Torres Strait neighbours as being specialists in particular ritual knowledge. The region under consideration includes the northern-most tip of the Australian continent and extends northward through Torres Strait to Papua. Our study area focuses on the southern end of the region: the Australian mainland as well as Pabaju (Albany Island), Muri (Mt Adolphus Island) and associated islands and islets. Archaeological investigation over many years reveals a high density of ritual sites over this relatively small area. These include sites on prominent headlands. The density and visibility of sites could be interpreted as both marking and 'marketing' ritual expertise. The location of some of the sites also suggests they served as 'sentinels' within a cosmo-political seascape. Far from having an impoverished role in regional exchange networks, Australian mainlanders clearly held something of extraordinary value that drew people from the Torres Strait to their shores. We contend that southern reciprocity in regional trade and exchange may have been based on intangible knowledge transactions, in particular, knowledge related to increase ritual.
Abstract In this paper, the authors will explore current interpretations of Torres Strait archaeo... more Abstract In this paper, the authors will explore current interpretations of Torres Strait archaeology. These interpretations suggest that while mainland Australians occupied the'ancestral Cape York Peninsula'until around 6000 years ago, they were colonized by ...
ABSTRACT In this article we examine the concept of 'indigenous knowledge' as it i... more ABSTRACT In this article we examine the concept of 'indigenous knowledge' as it is currently used in resource management discourse. In the process of engaging with government agents and researchers in the bureaucracy of resource management, indigenous knowledge is a powerful concept in the legitimization of local indigenous practice as well as the recognition of resource and socio-environmental management aspirations. Our use of the phrase 'management speak' frames our analysis of these bureaucratic engagements as process (management) and dialogue, rather than a 'space'. We do so in order to gain insights into the politics and practice of these engagements that might go beyond recognition of indigenous interests and toward more practical approaches. Our discussion draws on research conducted at Yarrabah Aboriginal Community in northern Queensland in relation to marine resource management in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.
Iconic painted shields and baskets made by Aboriginal people of the North Queensland rainforest r... more Iconic painted shields and baskets made by Aboriginal people of the North Queensland rainforest region have been collected and placed in museums all over the world. We describe the historical ethnographic context of the production and use of these things and explore transformations in their value through time. These things are of value to museums and were of value to the collectors who originally procured them. They were also of value to the Aboriginal producers and are of value today to their descendants. We reflect upon the concept of value by considering the different values that inform how the shields and baskets were valued in the past, and how their worth continues to be evaluated today.
Outside the Antipodes, Australian archaeology is best known as an archaeology of the distant Pala... more Outside the Antipodes, Australian archaeology is best known as an archaeology of the distant Palaeolithic past. However, where communities have been closely involved in developing and undertaking archaeological research programs, the focus of archaeological research has been radically different, often dealing with the archaeology of the recent, remembered past and crossing disciplinary boundaries between Aboriginal and historical archaeology. Distinguishing between 'community-based archaeology' and reactive or 'consent-based' community involvement in archaeology, this paper reviews the state of archaeology and its engagement with communities in Australia. Through several case studies in both indigenous and post-contact archaeology, it demonstrates the way in which community-based research and practise is changing what it is we think of as 'archaeology' in Australia.
We describe here a pattern of archaeological sites that suggest that 'mainland' Aboriginal people... more We describe here a pattern of archaeological sites that suggest that 'mainland' Aboriginal people were viewed by their Torres Strait neighbours as being specialists in particular ritual knowledge. The region under consideration includes the northern-most tip of the Australian continent and extends northward through Torres Strait to Papua. Our study area focuses on the southern end of the region: the Australian mainland as well as Pabaju (Albany Island), Muri (Mt Adolphus Island) and associated islands and islets. Archaeological investigation over many years reveals a high density of ritual sites over this relatively small area. These include sites on prominent headlands. The density and visibility of sites could be interpreted as both marking and 'marketing' ritual expertise. The location of some of the sites also suggests they served as 'sentinels' within a cosmo-political seascape. Far from having an impoverished role in regional exchange networks, Australian mainlanders clearly held something of extraordinary value that drew people from the Torres Strait to their shores. We contend that southern reciprocity in regional trade and exchange may have been based on intangible knowledge transactions, in particular, knowledge related to increase ritual.
This paper outlines some of the ways early artefact collecting contributed to the definition of t... more This paper outlines some of the ways early artefact collecting contributed to the definition of the Australian region now known and marketed as the 'World Heritage Wet Tropics'. While others have collected in this region, we focus on the collecting activities of Hermann Klaatsch and the work of Norman Tindale to explore some factors that contributed to their claims that certain artefacts represent a region and its history. We argue that these understandings of region and the past, along with the now widely dispersed artefacts, maintain a lively, albeit transformed, presence in current debates about Aboriginal regional culture, linking assertions of rights to lost and stolen cultural property with notions of large-scale environmental management within the 'Wet Tropics'.
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Papers by Shelley Greer