Changing Perspectives in Australian Archaeology, part III. Hidden in plain view—the Sydney Aboriginal Historical Places Project
Abstract
Post-contact Aboriginal archaeology is a relatively new but growing discipline in Australia, though most work has been focussed on non-urban areas. A scoping study initiated in 2006 sought to determine the viability of an historical and archaeological research project in Sydney, Australia’s oldest and largest urban centre. Such research has not been previously attempted in a systematic way, due to the assumed high impact of European settlement on the region’s post contact Aboriginal archaeology. The study has shown this not to be the case, combining the records of previous archaeological and historical research to create a spatial database of 280 post-contact Aboriginal places within the Sydney region. Preliminary analysis of this data has shown some interesting trends in the location and nature of these places, which suggest further research could be of significant value to the interpretation of post-contact Aboriginal history and the nature of cross-cultural interactions in urban centres, as well as pre-contact archaeology and traditional Aboriginal life in the region. The Sydney Aboriginal Historical Places Project has been formed to progress this research in conjunction with local Aboriginal communities in the Sydney region.
