What is a ‘continuous culture’... and are Aboriginal cultures the oldest?

Fri, 3 Feb 2023 18:58:47 +1100

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/what-is-a-continuous-culture-and-are-aboriginal-cultures-the-oldest/cuehbdmpd>

"As I got older I noticed some slight variations in how people would phrase
this, and noticed similar patterns of what the perceived problem was. I would
hear it said as ‘are among the oldest cultures on earth’, or more pointedly,
‘the oldest continuous cultures outside of Africa’.

This is the point of confusion for many who follow the ‘out of Africa’
migration theory. If Aboriginal people came to Australia from Africa, and there
are still people in Africa, then wouldn’t that mean that African cultures are
the oldest continuous cultures on earth?

Personally, I have always been happy to presume that Aboriginal people have
always been in Australia, as our knowledges suggest, but I am also happy to
concede that if the scientific consensus is currently with the out of Africa
theory then they presumably have some evidence to back this up even if it isn’t
necessarily conclusive. However, this doesn’t seem to be the source of the
confusion as I have heard various academics and scientists alike support the
statement that Aboriginal cultures are indeed the oldest continuous cultures on
earth."

Via Clarice Boomshakala Bouvier.

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

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