Ethnoarchaeology in Australia

[kevin wooldridge]

Do you remember the nasty villain in the comedy show Porridge called Harry Grout? He would probably have enjoyed being described as siliceous.....

But on a serious point. These paintings were originally made in such a way that they should over a period of time deteriorate and disappear. To me that seems part of the relationship between the Australian aboriginals and their natural surroundings. I am not sure that introducing material not natural to the environment in which the paintings were originally made merely to allow tourists the opportunity to spectate is particularly dignified. It seeems to me to be the imposition of western conservation and consumption ideals .....etc etc, which is surely the antithesis of the declared aims of this project....

[Maggie]

We can't get away from the fact that Aboriginal life will never be the same again. The situation is as it is and everyone including the Aboriginals need money to survive. They also need to be treated with respect, and to know that their culture is as important as every other person in that country. Right meaning people probably always get things wrong at the start, their initial approaches may seem clumsy. Mistakes will be made, but as long as all of this is done for the right reasons and there is no sense of exploitation then all should be well for the future. The traditional owners, if they do not like what is happening should feel they have the right to say so. This will only happen through making connections such as those people are making. Talking and listening are the most important things. The Traditionals Owners are losing of have lost their own culture and if someone doesn't do something about it the situation will only get worse.