Land and language in Cape York Peninsula and the Gulf Country
This volume has a dual purpose. Firstly, it offers a state-of-the-art survey of linguistic, anthropological, archaeological and historical work in Cape York Peninsula, situated in the northeast of Australia, and the adjacent region of the Gulf Country, in and around the Gulf of Carpentaria. At the same time, the volume honours Bruce Rigsby, emeritus professor of anthropology at the University of Queensland, whose pioneering work in this region inspired all of the contributors to the volume. By way of introduction, we provide a brief overview of the region and its history, as well as the main lines of research in the disciplines included here (Section 1), and the role Bruce Rigsby’s work played in them (Section 2). The following sections then outline the major themes of the volume, situating the contributions in the broader context of work on Cape York Peninsula and the Gulf Country, as well as Aboriginal Australia more generally.
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