The boab trees of the remote Tanami desert are carved with centuries of Indigenous history – and they’re under threat

<https://theconversation.com/the-boab-trees-of-the-remote-tanami-desert-are-carved-with-centuries-of-indigenous-history-and-theyre-under-threat-191676>

"Australia’s Tanami desert is one of the most isolated and arid places on
Earth. It’s a hard place to access and an even harder place to survive.

But sprinkled across this vast expanse of desert, sweeping for thousands of
kilometres across the Northern Territory and Western Australia, are some of the
oldest and most incredible stories of human life and settlement of our ancient
continent.

It takes the shape of art in the bark of iconic and bountiful boab trees.

Our newly published research looks at 12 examples of these carved trees across
the Tanami desert. This artwork tells the incredible story of the Indigenous
Traditional Owners who have long called the Tanami home.

Sadly, after lasting centuries if not millennia, this incredible artwork is now
in danger of being lost.

We are in a race against time to document and preserve this invaluable art."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics