Summary

This immensely readable book discusses the history of human occupation of Australia from the initial peopling of the continent to the advent of European colonists.

Using not only the latest archaeological evidence but also information from myths told by Aboriginal people, Josephine Flood examines the ways in which the prehistoric cultures adapted to and modified their environments in such areas as the rainforests of the north, the isolated highlands of Tasmania, and he 'island of the dead' off the coast of South Australia.

Flood draws a fascinating and absorbing picture of a dynamic and highly adaptable people whose art, religion, and social organisation were sophisticated, whose trading networks covered vast distances, and whose ingenuity and technological skills enabled them to survive in one of the most inhospitable regions in the world.

First published in 1983, Archeology of the Dreamtime has been revised and updated with information from all the latest archaeological discoveries. A special feature is a totally new chapter of the Pleistocene in Tasmania.