Doing History: Stories of the Australian Dreamtime

1. Considering human commonality and diversity: The study of world history highlights both the common humanity of people from all times and places as well as the vast differences that have separated particular cultures from one another. How might these texts serve to illustrate both of these perspectives?
2. Linking documents and text narrative: How do these documents support or amplify the narrative account of the Paleolithic era in Chapter 1? How might they challenge or contradict that narrative?
3. Considering the relationship of technology and culture: How might the gathering and hunting technology of these Australian peoples have shaped their cultural understandings as expressed in these sources? In what ways might cultural expression, as a product of human imagination, have developed independently of their technology? Does it make sense to evaluate technology as more or less “advanced”? Should culture be assessed in the same way?
4. Pondering relevance: How might these stories from a very different time and place speak to us in the modern world of the twenty-first century? Or are they only of historical interest?
5. Thinking about sources: How does the fact that these stories were only committed to writing over the past two centuries affect their usefulness as historical sources?