Table of Contents

List of figures
Note to the 2014 edition
Preface

1. Prologue
2. Aboriginal cosmology
3. Natural cycles and the stars
4. Mythology
5. Social relations and kin ties
6. Healing
7. Astronomical observations
8. The fall of the sky-dome
Epilogue
Appendices
Bibliography

Promotional Information

By anthropologist Dianne Johnson, Night Skies of Aboriginal Australia records the Aboriginal stories tied to the stars and planets.

About the Author

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

Reviews

'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'
*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.'
*Oceania*