Social history

In this sem­i­nal book, Bruce Pas­coe uncov­ers evi­dence that long before the arrival of white men, Abo­rig­i­nal peo­ple across the con­ti­nent were build­ing dams and wells; plant­i­ng, irri­gat­ing, and har­vest­ing seeds, and then pre­serv­ing the sur­plus and stor­ing it in hous­es, sheds, or secure ves­sels; and cre­at­ing elab­o­rate ceme­ter­ies and manip­u­lat­ing the land­scape. All of these behav­iours were incon­sis­tent with the hunter-gath­er­er tag, which turns out have been a con­ve­nient lie that worked to jus­ti­fy dispossession.