Cosmos Conversation Biology 05 May 2018
The Dreamtime, science and narratives of Indigenous Australia
New techniques for genetic analysis are helping us build more detailed and accurate stories about the ancient histories of the first Australians. David Lambert, professor of Evolutionary Biology at Griffith University in Queensland, explains.
Scientific and Indigenous knowledge systems have often been in conflict. In my view, too much is made of these conflicts; they have a lot in common.
For example, Indigenous knowledge typically takes the form of a narrative, usually a spoken story about how the world came to be. In a similar way, evolutionary theories, which aim to explain why particular characters are adapted to certain functions, also take the form of narratives. Both narratives are mostly focused on “originsâ€.
https://cosmosmagazine.com/biology/the-dreamtime-science-and-narratives-of-indigenous-australia
