Projects - Anthropology from the Shed

The Science of the Dark and Light Seasons in Nyungar Culture

By Ken Macintyre and Barb Dobson, Research anthropologists and Iva Hayward-Jackson, Nyungar heritage consultant and Land & Culture Protector ‘Qua, bir-ok, mag-goro warh-rang.’ ‘Yes, three years (summers and winters).’ (Symmons 1841: xiii) Charles Symmons (1841) who was the “Protector of Aborigines” and reasonably fluent in the Nyungar language provides the earliest linguistic reference to the … Continued

Investigative Anthropology

Will this ancient succulent herb reveal a medical miracle?

By Ken Macintyre & Barb Dobson, Research anthropologists The Noongar spokesman pointed to the purplish-red fruit of the pigface (Carpobrotus virescens) growing on the dunes at Swanbourne and stated that ‘in summer the ripe fruit of the johnny coolbungs was used just like a salt tablet. It quenched your thirst, gave you energy and was a … Continued

Macrozamia: the fermented oil fruit of southwestern Australia

Aim: The aim of our reconstructive anthropological experiments was to gain an understanding of why Noongar people, unlike other Aboriginal groups in Australia, processed and consumed only the sarcotesta (outer fleshy layer) of Macrozamia discarding the carbohydrate-rich seed (endosperm). It is our assumption that the sarcotesta was processed for a number of reasons, most importantly … Continued

The ancient practice of Macrozamia pit processing in southwestern Australia

Introduction Why did Noongar people ferment Macrozamia sarcotesta? Was it to detoxify it? It is our view that over many thousands of years of trial-and-error and empirical scientific observations that Noongar people developed their own unique and sustainable food processing techniques, in particular the controlled anaerobic fermentation of the fruit (seed covering, outer rind) of Macrozamia … Continued

Some notes on Banksia useage in traditional Noongar culture

Cultural knowledge determines what we eat, the timing of eating and how food is prepared. Probably in the distant past when the original inhabitants of this land were adapting to their new environment, they ate certain plant products (roots, berries, gums and fruits) that made them ill or even killed them. From these trial-and-error experiments … Continued

Day time reckoning: “Light time” in traditional Noongar culture

“Light time” could be described as a Noongar way of time reckoning using a system of daily categories based on the intensity of light from dawn to dusk. ‘Wanting to know the ideas of the blacks of the origin of mankind, I got him [Mokare] this evening after some difficulty to understand my questions, when … Continued