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Australian Aboriginal Astronomy and Cosmology

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Handbook of Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy

Abstract

Australian Aboriginal ethnoastronomical traditions were recorded from a wide variety of sources in different periods. While the corpus of mythology concerning the heavens is diverse, it is unified by beliefs of a Skyworld as land with its own topography, containing plants and animals familiar to those living below. Spirits of the dead reside alongside the Creation Ancestors as celestial bodies in the Skyworld. Aboriginal hunter-gatherers used the regular movement of constellations and planets to measure time and to indicate the season, while unexpected change in the sky was seen as an omen.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental & Landscape Planning, Urban Research Program, School of Environment, Griffith University, Nathan, Qld, 4111, Australia

    Philip A. Clarke

Authors
  1. Philip A. Clarke
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Correspondence to Philip A. Clarke .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Archaeology & Ancient History, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom

    Clive L.N. Ruggles

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Clarke, P.A. (2015). Australian Aboriginal Astronomy and Cosmology. In: Ruggles, C. (eds) Handbook of Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6141-8_240

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