Uncovering Australia
Sarah Colley
Allen & Unwin
Since the 1970s, Australian archaeologists have uncovered a vast wealth of knowledge about their country - from tens of thousands of years ago to the very recent past. But the last three decades have been times of confrontation, compromise and uneasy reconciliation between archaeologists, Aborigines, governments and others with a stake in cultural places. Ancient history and contemporary politics repeatedly clash as established ways of practicing archaeology come into conflict with emerging indigenous and other rights movements - and into the headlines. Tourists vandalize the world's most ancient art, indigenous ancestral remains are removed from museum collections and debates over the date of first human settlement in Australia meet debates about Aboriginal rights claims. The shifting world of Australian archaeology reflects the great social and political transformations throughout the world over the last 50 years. Sarah Colley backgrounds this conflict providing a snapshot of the state of archaeology in Australia today and its interplay with the institutions, the culture and the ideas of its time.