Night Skies of Aboriginal Australia: A Noctuary

Description

Written by anthropologist Dianne Johnson, Night Skies of Aboriginal Australia has been in demand since its publication in 1998. It is a record of the stars and planets which pass across the night-time skies. This noctuary holds not only a record of what appears in the skies and how Aboriginal people see them, but also offers an appreciation of the Aboriginal stories that are tied to the night skies and the ideas and beliefs behind them.

Dianne Johnson (1947 - 2012) was a social anthropologist who worked closely with the Darug and Gundungurra peoples.

'the book is the elegant end product of diligent and committed research. Johnson says that she was inspired to undertake that research through reflection upon the apparent arbitrary nature of European constellations and, later, by her desire to rescue `some of the rich and fabulous stories and ideas which constitute Aboriginal astronomy' -- John Morton * The Australian Journal of Anthropology * 'Johnson's work is a valuable contribution to the defining of Aboriginal astronomy and to the interface between mainstream astronomy and anthropology. It stands as a launch platform for a new branch of the social sciences in this country.' -- John Morieson * Oceania *