Tasmanian Aboriginal oral traditions among the oldest recorded narratives

Palawa Aboriginal stories from Tasmania recalling the creation of Bass Strait 12,000 years ago and the presence of a bright southern star may be among the oldest recorded stories in the world, according to research published today in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

A trans-disciplinary research team investigated Palawa oral traditions recorded in journals in the 1830s, which described rising seas flooding the Bassian Land Bridge connecting Tasmania to mainland Australia. At the same time the star Canopus was near the south celestial pole.

By measuring the varying heights of the sea floor in the Bass Strait, researchers worked out when the land bridge was last passable on foot, then calculated the position of Canopus in the ancient past. They found that both conditions described in the stories occurred at least 12,000 years ago.

Astronomer and lead author, Associate Professor Duane Hamacher from the University of Melbourne, said using scientifically datable natural events – such as a volcanic eruption or meteorite impact – shows that the integrity of oral traditions can be maintained for thousands of years.

“Palawa elders spoke about a bright star called Moinee near the South Celestial Pole at the time rising seas made Tasmania an island. This is the only example in the world of an oral record describing the position of a star as it would have appeared in the sky more than 10,000 years ago,” Associate Professor Hamacher said.

The project, which includes Palawa community member and co-author Professor Greg Lehman, engaged with members of the Palawa community as part of ongoing research into their oral traditions.

Professor Lehman, who is also the University of Tasmania’s Pro Vice-Chancellor Aboriginal Leadership and Palawa cultural historian, emphasised the importance of academic collaboration with Indigenous scholars and that scientific validation of oral traditions reinforces, rather than supersedes, the authority of Indigenous knowledge.

“Scientific investigation of colonial records that articulate traditional systems of knowledge preservation creates a wonderful multi-disciplinary and cross-cultural way of making our history and our landscape more meaningful in our lives,” Professor Lehman said.

“Physicists and astronomers sometimes struggle to do this alone. This project has profoundly deepened our relationship with history and science by taking Aboriginal traditions seriously.”

Geographer and co-author, Professor Patrick Nunn from the University of the Sunshine Coast, said there were ongoing debates about the length of time oral traditions can be passed down while still maintaining vitality.

“Aboriginal Australians developed complex knowledge systems that were committed to memory and passed down through generations via oral traditions,” Professor Nunn said.

“Our research suggests that Palawa oral traditions accurately recall the flooding of the land bridge between Tasmania and the mainland – showing that oral traditions can be passed down more than 400 successive generations while maintaining historical accuracy.”

Historian and co-author, Associate Professor Rebe Taylor from the University of Tasmania, stresses the significance of Palawa oral traditions.

“They endured not only millennia, but also the genocide committed by the British in the nineteenth century and the wrongful representation of the Palawa as a so-called 'extinct race',” Associate Professor Taylor said.

The team also included Michelle Gantevoort from RMIT University, Ka Hei Andrew Law from the University of Melbourne, and Mel Miles from Swinburne University of Technology.