The Archaeology of Australia’s Deserts and Drylands

Australia’s deserts form the largest and most distinctive arid region in the Southern Hemisphere. A wealth of detailed new data on their environmental history and archaeology has become available over the last decade, revealing a more dynamic and deeper history than previously thought.

Australia is the driest inhabited continent – and our distinctive drylands make up the largest of the continent’s biomes. The Archaeology of Australia’s Deserts and Drylands reviews and synthesizes the deep history of Australia’s deserts, charting the development of distinctive Aboriginal societies over 30 millennia. Mike Smith’s forthcoming book – to be published by Cambridge University Press in 2011 – will take stock of thirty years of lively research in desert archaeology.

Researcher: Mike Smith