Discovering Aboriginal plant use : journeys of an Australian Anthropologist
Clarke, Philip A2014
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The career of a museum-based anthropologist is diverse, involving the curation of artifact collections, organizing exhibits, answering inquiries, and conducting fieldwork. Philip A. Clarke started work at the South Australian Museum over 30 years ago, and, during that time, his role changed from museum assistant, to collection manager, registrar, curator, and head of anthropology. There are many ways to explore a culture other than your own, and Clarke chose ethnobotany as the 'window' through which to gain insights into Aboriginal Australia. Ethnobotany is a diverse field that is concerned with investigating the relationships between human cultures and the flora. In the past, it was mainly used by scholars who studied the societies of hunter-gatherers and non-Western horticulturalists. Today, it is increasingly being used to document aspects of the lives of Indigenous peoples in a postcolonial world. Clarke argues that we can understand a people better if we know how they see and use plants. In this book, Clarke dips into his field journals to provide a rich account of journeys - as both an anthropologist and an ethnobotanist - that span the temperate, arid, and tropical zones of Australia and neighboring landmasses. Clarke describes the cultural and natural heritage of each region, examining the distinctiveness of the plant life used by Australia's Aboriginal people.
Main title:
Discovering Aboriginal plant use : journeys of an Australian Anthropologist / Philip A. Clarke
Author:
Imprint:
Dural Delivery Centre, NSW, Rosenberg, 2014
Collation:
192 pages : col. ill. ; 29 cm.
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
Contents:
Part 1 : Southeastern Australia: Adelaide Plains : the museum crypt; The value of collections; Fibrous bullrushes; Yam-daisies as a staple food -- The lower Murray : missions and spirit beings; Beyond the mission; Sedges for making artefacts; Flax-lilies for medicine and string -- Southeast of South Australia and Southwestern Victoria : south of the Coorong; East of the Glenelg River; Muntrie : a food for the future; Grasstrees: multipurpose plants -- Part 2: Arid interiors: Eastern Central Australia: Northern Flinders Ranges; Cooper Creek and the Diamantina River; Western New South Wales; The river red gum; Pituri and tobacco: narcotics -- Western Desert: Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands; The Northern Goldfields; Great Victoria Desert; Eremophila: strong medicine; Spinifex for "bush araldite" -- The northern deserts : the Centre; Across the Tropic of Capricorn; The batwing coral tree: soft timber and hard beans; Wild capers and related fruits -- Part 3: Monsoonal northern regions : across the dry monsoonal tropics : The Kimberley; Cape York Peninsula; Timor-Leste; Beach hibiscus for fibre; Yams and people -- Western Top End: Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks; South Goulburn Island; Daly River; Northern ironwood : a most useful tree; Cycad nuts: treacherous -- Arnhem land: Blue Mud Bay; Maningrida in Central Arnhem Land; Numbulwar and Ngukurr; Waterlilies as food; The sacred lotus.
ISBN:
9781925078220
Dewey class:
333.953089915
Language:
English
Added title:
Subject:
BRN:
357196
More Information:
| Location | Collection | Call number | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beaumaris Library | Adult Non Fiction - Indigenous | 333.953089915 CLA | Available |