Farmers or Hunter-Gatherers? The Dark Emu debate

In 2014 Bruce Pascoe published his book Dark Emu which set out to discredit many beliefs about how Aboriginal Australians lived prior to 1788. This book, and subsequent versions, won many awards and  encouraged many people to rethink their views on the topic and how it has been taught in the past.

However in Farmers or Hunter-Gatherers? social anthropologist Professor Peter Sutton and archaeologist Dr Keryn Walshe examine some of the claims made in Bruce Pascoe's book. They are concerned not only by many of his conclusions but also the lack of references to his sources and the tendency to use segments of quotes out of context so that they might support his theory. 

As Peter Sutton states in the opening paragraph of this book - 'This book is about a debate over how Australia's First People's lived, and made a living economically, before conquest by the British Empire. Were they farmers, hunter-gatherers, or something in betweem?" (p1)

Both Peter Sutton and Keryn Walshe have many years experience living and working with Aboriginal groups in different parts of Australia. Apart from this experience, detailed references are made to the work of other Aboriginal studies. More than eighty pages of this study consist of appendices, notes, references and an index. I recommend this book to anyone interested in reading a study as to how First Nations people lived in Australia prior to European settlement, particularly if they have already read Dark Emu.

In 2019 I read Garry Linnell's book, Buckley's Chance, a novel about escaped convict, William Buckley, who spent many years living with Aboriginal Peoples before Europeans decided to settle in Victoria. Buckley later provided an account of his experiences which Peter Sutton refers to on several occasions.