A new publication, The First Inventors, that captures the story of how Indigenous knowledge shaped the Australian continent has been published. Based on the SBS and Channel 10 TV series, The First Inventors, it takes readers on a journey through 65,000 years of innovation, diplomacy and design. The book by prize‑winning historian Dr Billy Griffiths, celebrated First Nations author Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt AO, and leading archaeologist Distinguished Professor Sean Ulm was launched at the Australian Museum this week.
Prof Ulm, who is a supervisor of the Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures (CIEHF) at James Cook University has collaborated with ANSTO scientist Dr Quan Hua on First Nations research. Dr Vladimir Levchenko, Dr Pauline Gadd and Patricia Gadd are associated with the Centre. The new work has Indigenous perspectives at its heart. The First Inventors is a celebration of the survival and resilience of cultural knowledge. It explores how people managed and engineered entire landscapes, and how they orchestrated seascapes according to the stars, tides and relationships with animal kin. The First Inventors is grounded in the idea of Country: a transformative way of seeing, and relating to, the world. It honours old ways of knowing and relates fresh insights from cutting-edge collaborative research: from astronomy, navigation and ancient memory systems to archaeology, pottery and international trade. The launch event included viewing of Ngurrawarra/Derndernyin, a striking new exhibition at the Museum, that depicts the fish traps of the Wellesley Islands referenced in The First Inventors. The book is available at the Australian Museum shop The First Inventors | How people shaped a continent - Australian Museum Shop |
