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Is an Aboriginal tale of an ancient volcano the oldest story ever told?

sciencemag.org

41–50 of 73 posts

Re: Is an Aboriginal tale of an ancient volcano the oldest story ever told?

#41
post #5

Maybe there were the more recent flows from this volcano? I could not find info on when it went extinct.

You may need to search for Mount Eccles.

I grew up in Warrnambool but mobed away years ago and had never heard it referred by the traditional name until the recent fires went through there: The painting was instantly recognisable though.

Probably of more interest...

https://www.newsweek.com/australia-bushfires-unearth-6600-ye...

Re: Is an Aboriginal tale of an ancient volcano the oldest story ever told?

#42
post #5

Maybe there were the more recent flows from this volcano? I could not find info on when it went extinct.

> There have been no other large volcanic eruptions in the area in the intervening years that could have provided inspiration for the stories It's literally in the article

Not completely correct.

The Mount Gambier eruption (VEI 4) was about 5,000 years ago and it's only 100km away, so it's possible they had contact with people fleeing that area, along with ash fall and a 10km high plume. VEI 5 and you have a Mount St Helens scale event.

A similar eruption (and one of the more likely to occur in Australia) would be catastrophic with the town literally built around the crater.

Re: Is an Aboriginal tale of an ancient volcano the oldest story ever told?

#43
post #9

I ask this question out of more curiosity than skepticism, but how do the scientists in this article distinguish between stories that explain the 'appearance' of the volcano vs. the 'formation' of the volcano? As a point of comparison, there are a lot of stories about how Paul Bunyan created various lakes, mountains, and valleys. These are clearly invented backstories for part of the existing landscape. I can't find…

For context there's a pseudo debate going on in Australia about whether the indigenous people had large-scale agri- and aquaculture. A book, highly recommended, called Dark Emu quotes primary sources from early settlers and white explorers clearly describing an agrarian economy that was rapidly wiped out by invading settlers and their livestock. If true, and it's a convincing theory, the indigenous first Australians…

I'll second the Pascoe recommendation. Also Bill Gammage's The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia is eye opening

Re: Is an Aboriginal tale of an ancient volcano the oldest story ever told?

#44

What's the word for this? Where you tell or get a generic story then fit it to specific objects or events? They use it in Astrology all the time. So do Mind readers. Jordan Peterson does this a well. I think what he does in general is based in science, but his interpreting old stories is scientific nonsense, but entertaining. It is funny how people rail up against the colonial past, but then still treat the natives l…

Watch Jordan's discussions with Sam Harris in Vancouver to see how he plays with the reductionist fact based perspective on all those old stories.

Describing the stories as generic is half the point, they are going to apply a lot of places and appear obvious. It is not a bunch of arbitrary connections.

Re: Is an Aboriginal tale of an ancient volcano the oldest story ever told?

#45
post #9

I ask this question out of more curiosity than skepticism, but how do the scientists in this article distinguish between stories that explain the 'appearance' of the volcano vs. the 'formation' of the volcano? As a point of comparison, there are a lot of stories about how Paul Bunyan created various lakes, mountains, and valleys. These are clearly invented backstories for part of the existing landscape. I can't find…

The article mentions that human artefacts have been found in the sediment under the solidified lava from the eruption of the said volcanos. It also appears to claim that Australia seems to be a general exception to the rule that human populations move around - in this case they appears to have stayed put. As a result, it’s a reasonable deduction that there were humans before the said volcanoes, and (less credibly) th…

"Appears to have stayed put" is very interesting. For as long as I remember, the theory was Aboriginal settlement was in waves over a long period of time, from different regions depending on what routes were available at the time (land bridges etc.). Waves of settlement pushed existing populations further south, with the oldest group down in Tasmania (well documented as wiped out by Europeans). Now I'm reading "a single, rapid migration along the east and west coasts", and extrapolating from that the significant racial diversity would be divergence over the last 50,000 years.

(https://www.nature.com/articles/nature21416 linked from the article)

(A tenancy to stay put might also help explain the amazing density of languages)

Re: Is an Aboriginal tale of an ancient volcano the oldest story ever told?

#46
post #9

I ask this question out of more curiosity than skepticism, but how do the scientists in this article distinguish between stories that explain the 'appearance' of the volcano vs. the 'formation' of the volcano? As a point of comparison, there are a lot of stories about how Paul Bunyan created various lakes, mountains, and valleys. These are clearly invented backstories for part of the existing landscape. I can't find…

For context there's a pseudo debate going on in Australia about whether the indigenous people had large-scale agri- and aquaculture. A book, highly recommended, called Dark Emu quotes primary sources from early settlers and white explorers clearly describing an agrarian economy that was rapidly wiped out by invading settlers and their livestock. If true, and it's a convincing theory, the indigenous first Australians…

Related: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/australian-bushfir...

Re: Is an Aboriginal tale of an ancient volcano the oldest story ever told?

#47
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article mentions that human artefacts have been found in the sediment under the solidified lava from the eruption of the said volcanos. It also appears to claim that Australia seems to be a general exception to the rule that human populations move around - in this case they appears to have stayed put. As a result, it’s a reasonable deduction that there were humans before the said volcanoes, and (less credibly) th…

"Appears to have stayed put" is very interesting. For as long as I remember, the theory was Aboriginal settlement was in waves over a long period of time, from different regions depending on what routes were available at the time (land bridges etc.). Waves of settlement pushed existing populations further south, with the oldest group down in Tasmania (well documented as wiped out by Europeans). Now I'm reading "a sin…

Don't have sources at hand, but my impression from news articles over the last decade has been that recent archeological evidence has tended to indicate that aboriginal populations have been in australia for for quite a bit longer than the 50/60K years that was previously believed.

One example: I think there were some campfire remains and associated artifacts in Tasmania that were recently dated and turned out to be a lot older than than expected, like at least 80K years old.

Re: Is an Aboriginal tale of an ancient volcano the oldest story ever told?

#48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It does indeed refer to the indigenous people of Australia, and is a general term used by many indigenous people who were displaced by colonisation in Australia, the USA and Canada. Australian Aboriginal People use this term freely - I believe it is politically leveraged in a contemporary context to indicate alignment with other displaced peoples around the world. Euro-Australians are generally not as content with th…

I haven't once heard 'First Nations People' used on the ground other than by visiting speakers (usually from overseas). Indigenous & Koorie are the most common terms used here (I live in the Northern Rivers - Bundjalung country).

The "first nations" phrase is used frequently on aboriginal radio in perth (Noongar fm 100.9) At least half the people they talk to are from the eastern states, so I don't think that the phrase is unusual (at least among the sort of people who get interviewed on radio stations).

Re: Is an Aboriginal tale of an ancient volcano the oldest story ever told?

#49
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't once heard 'First Nations People' used on the ground other than by visiting speakers (usually from overseas). Indigenous & Koorie are the most common terms used here (I live in the Northern Rivers - Bundjalung country).

The "first nations" phrase is used frequently on aboriginal radio in perth (Noongar fm 100.9) At least half the people they talk to are from the eastern states, so I don't think that the phrase is unusual (at least among the sort of people who get interviewed on radio stations).

Sure, I'm just saying I don't hear it 'on the street' where I live. I honestly find the whole officially-approved nomenclature issue a bit overblown anyway. I'm completely happy to use whatever people prefer, but have known enough rednecks who can inflect racism into entitrely innocuous language, to feel that 'correct' word choice is a pretty small determinant of what's communicated. At least beyond the twitterverse.

Re: Is an Aboriginal tale of an ancient volcano the oldest story ever told?

#50
There is a sad history in Australia of treating the indigenous population as nothing more than a bunch of savages. This had its origins as a kind of reality distortion to justify taking their land and in some cases, exterminating them entirely as happened in Tasmania. There is still this perverse incentive today, since acknowledging that there was a full blown civilisation with a very long history present before English colonisation means we are a morally bankrupt nation, and also invites discussion of reparations.
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