belong to the ethnic descendants of those first inhabitants?.

“British archaeologist Christopher Chippindale reflected, ‘Does the history of humans in Australia. The human presence here has been revealed to be more ancient than that of Europe, and the Australian landscape, far from being terra nullius, is now recognised to be cultural as much as natural, imprinted with stories and law and shaped by the hands and firesticks of thousands of generations of Indigenous men and women. In the decades since, Australian history has been pushed back into the dizzying expanse of deep time. When John Mulvaney began his fieldwork in January 1956, it was widely believed that the first Australians had arrived on this continent only a few thousand years earlier.

It brings to life the deep time dreaming that has changed the way many Australians relate to their continent and its enduring, dynamic human history. It explores what it means to live in a place of great antiquity, with its complex questions of ownership and identity. In this original, important book, Griffiths investigates a twin revolution: the reassertion of Aboriginal identity in the second half of the twentieth century, and the simultaneous uncovering of the traces of ancient Australia by pioneering archaeologists.ĭeep Time Dreaming is about a slow shift in national consciousness. Equipped with a historian’s inquiring mind, he embarks on a journey through time, seeking to understand the extraordinary deep history of the Australian continent.ĭeep Time Dreaming is the passionate product of that journey. Soon after Billy Griffiths joins his first archaeological dig as camp manager and cook, he is hooked.

Deep Time Dreaming by Billy Griffiths