The First Astronomers: How Indigenous Elders read the stars

This book is a remarkable and deeply respectful collaboration between astrophysicist Duane Hamacher and Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Holders from across Australia. The book weaves together scientific insight with ancient cultural knowledge, showing that astronomy has always been a human practice grounded in observation, meaning, and relationship with the land and sky. It invites readers to look up differently and to recognise the depth of wisdom in the world’s oldest continuing cultures.

What stands out most is how beautifully Hamacher honours Indigenous ways of knowing. Rather than translating this knowledge into Western scientific terms, he invites readers to see how Indigenous astronomy is science in its own right, rigorous, tested, and inseparable from ethics, story, and Country. The book challenges the myth that science began in Europe and reveals that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have studied the stars for tens of thousands of years.

Each chapter connects celestial patterns to practical applications such as navigation, calendars, weather prediction, and ecological care, while also exploring spiritual and cultural dimensions. The writing is clear, respectful, and filled with wonder. It asks readers to rethink what counts as science and to approach Indigenous Knowledge Systems with humility and curiosity, reminding us that knowledge and relationship cannot be separated.

The First Astronomers is essential reading for anyone interested in astronomy, culture, or truth-telling in Australia. It offers a vision of knowledge that is collaborative rather than extractive and rooted in care rather than conquest. More than a book about the stars, it is a guide to seeing the world differently, and an invitation to listen deeply to the skies, the land, and the Elders who continue to hold this knowledge.

Found here: https://amzn.to/4hPw46o

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