Whaling and Sealing in Nineteenth-Century Australia

Title
Whaling and Sealing in Nineteenth-Century Australia
Publication Date
2023
Author(s)
Gibbs, Martin
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8158-7613
Email: mgibbs3@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:mgibbs3
Russell, Lynette
Editor
Editor(s): Ian J McNiven and Bruno David
Type of document
Book Chapter
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Place of publication
New York, United States of America
Edition
1
DOI
10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190095611.013.39
UNE publication id
une:1959.11/56648
Abstract

The colonial industries of whaling and sealing dominated the first decades of nineteenth-century Australia. This article considers the archaeology of these maritime industries, particularly Aboriginal employment and labour. Examining both historical and precontact archaeology, we argue that the involvement of Aboriginal men and women was an extension of traditional hunting and ritual engagements. Whales and seals were sought out for food, rituals and other uses, and their harvesting involved both men and women. Although archaeological research into whaling and sealing in Australia has been relatively limited, it will prove a fruitful and revealing area, promising a nuanced understanding of Indigenous agency and colonial maritime expansion.

Link
Citation
The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Indigenous Australia and New Guinea, p. 1043-1056
ISBN
9780190095611
9780190095628
Start page
1043
End page
1056

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