The First Astronomers: How Indigenous Elders read the stars

Duane Hamacher: Allen&unwin, $33 Astronomers have made incredible leaps in determining the age of our planet and its place in the solar system and galaxy, but there is so much more to learn. Astrophysicist Hamacher has spent a long time researching Indigenous knowledge from around the world. Thousands of years of careful observation of the movement of the sun, moon and stars meant they could hunt, fish, plant and travel thousands of kilometres on land and sea. It’s not quite an open book; much of the knowledge is held in trust by elders who hold it as a sacred trust. But it’s an engrossing review which reminds us how completely Indigenous people lived with their environment. ROBYN DOUGLASS