Keeping Up With the Joneses: Population Change and the Group-Resources-Territory Balance
Abstract
‘No man is an island.’ Hence, people live in groups. Beyond the family such groups are usually self-governing. Members of groups must live by commonly supported rules. The land a group controls varies in area. For Australian Aboriginal communities the land area usually varies according to available resources. Hence, population changes are largely economics based. This paper discusses three specific examples where a change in population numbers can be documented. The effects of such changes relate to the social mechanisms that regulate an ‘ideal’ day-to-day group-resources-territory balance that supports social stability. Any discussion of population change must be framed in terms of group dynamics.
About the Presenter
Dr Eleanor Crosby is a Senior Consultant with Turnix Cultural Heritage. She was born in the UK (during a bombing raid!) and educated in
New Zealand (MA Auckland). She was Curator of Anthropology at the Queensland Museum from 1965 – 1967. Eleanor completed her PhD in Prehistory/Archaeology at ANU in 1974. She also served as Curator of Anthropology Museums & Art Galleries of NT (before and after Tracy). She is married, with 2 supposedly adult children, one grandchild, and has spent the last 40 years working with and for the Traditional Owners of the local Bandjalang clans (of which only 3% have left descendants today).
About Archaeology Working Papers
The Working Papers in Archaeology seminar series provides a forum for dissemination of archaeological research and ideas amongst UQ archaeology students and staff. All students are invited to attend the series and postgraduate students, from honours upwards, are invited to present their research. The aim is to provide opportunities for students, staff and those from outside UQ, to present and discuss their work in an informal environment. It is hoped that anyone interested in current archaeological directions, both within and outside the School and University, will be able to attend and contribute to the series.