IISS1003 - Songlines: An Integral Part of Indigenous Knowledge Systems

This essay discusses the importance of songlines in indigenous knowledge systems. Songlines trace the journeys of ancestral spirits and are deeply connected with the Australian landscape, providing cultural values, wisdom, and knowledge to indigenous people. The essay highlights the encyclopedic memories of elders and the powerful memory techniques used in traditional songlines. It explores how these ancient techniques, still a puzzle for archaeologists, might explain the construction of stone monuments like Stonehenge. The essay references research articles by Norris & Harney (2014) and Morland (2018) to support its claims and provide a deeper understanding of songlines' cultural and historical significance. Desklib is a great platform to find similar assignments and study tools.

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Writing Task 1: Evidence based writing
IISS1003 Indigenous Science and STEM
Word Count:
Acknowledgment of Country
I begin to acknowledge to the old traditional custodians of Australia who help me to
understand the importance of songlines. I also pay my respect to all elders and also extend my
respect towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. They have a talent and a memory
technique which they are used for giving name to all animals and plants.
Student Declaration of Originality
☐ This assignment is my own original work, and no part has been copied from another
student’s work or source, except where it is clearly attributed,
☐ All facts/ideas/claims are from academic sources are paraphrased and cited/referenced
correctly,
☐ I have not previously submitted this work in any form for THIS or for any other unit; or
published it elsewhere before
☐ No part of this work has been written for me by another person,
☐ I recognise that should this declaration be found to be false, disciplinary action could be
taken and penalties imposed in accordance with Curtin College policy.
Electronic Submission:
☐ I accept that it is my responsibility to check that the submitted file is the correct file, is
readable and has not been corrupted,
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treated as a non-submission
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receipt as evidence of submission

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Explain the importance of songlines in indigenous knowledge system
Songlines are tracing the journey of ancestral spirits because they were created animals,
land and law. It is found that songlines are deeply connected with Australian landscape. They
provided many important cultural values, wisdom and knowledge to indigenous people. It is found in
the past that our elders help encyclopaedic memories. This memory is concerned with
comprehending a wide range of information. In the case of aboriginal Australians, they had some
songlines. With the help of using their traditional songlines, it is found that powerful memory
technique was identified which used by indigenous people. It is identified that ancient memory
technique is very important and secretive. It is the secret which cannot understand by every person.
It becomes puzzles for archaeologist. There are many stone circles in Britain and North Europe which
contains great stone monuments. One important stone monument is the Stonehenge. It becomes
possible for archaeologist that how indigenous people formulate these types of monuments. They
have memory technique which is not easy to understand. This is the reason that archaeologist are
trying to understand the songlines of Aboriginal Australians. It is very helpful in order to understand
their ancient memory technique which is secret in the eyes of archaeologist.

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References
Norris, R. P., & Harney, B. Y. (2014). Songlines and navigation in Wardaman and other Australian
Aboriginal cultures. arXiv preprint arXiv:1404.2361. < https://arxiv.org/abs/1404.2361>
Morland, L., 2018. Values added in speciality coffee: Connecting product and place through
songlines. The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 19(2), pp.113-124.
< https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1465750318761648>