Plants: Past, Present and Future reframes botanical knowledge through the lens of Indigenous Australian practice, tracing 65,000 years of plant stewardship — fire management, selective harvesting, replanting — as sophisticated technology rather than mere tradition.
About This Book
Part of Thames & Hudson Australia's First Knowledges series, this volume examines the reciprocal relationships between Indigenous Australians and the plant world — relationships that sustained communities, generated complex material technologies, and shaped landscapes over millennia. Far from passive foraging, these practices represent a rigorous, accumulated science of ecological management. The book makes a compelling case that re-engaging with this heritage of Indigenous first knowledges is not nostalgic but urgently practical: a blueprint for more sustainable futures. Essential reading for anyone working at the intersection of design, ecology, and cultural knowledge.
Key Features
- 224 pages exploring Indigenous Australian plant knowledge across cultural, ecological, and technological dimensions
- Edited by Margo Neale
- Published by Thames & Hudson Australia, ISBN 9781760761875
What You'll Discover
- How fire management and selective harvesting functioned as sophisticated, long-term ecological technologies rather than incidental practices
- The material complexity of plant-based technologies developed and refined across tens of thousands of years of Indigenous knowledge systems
- Why reciprocal relationships with the natural world — rather than extraction — form the foundation of enduring environmental stewardship
- How Indigenous first knowledges offer concrete, applicable frameworks for addressing contemporary sustainability challenges
About the Author
Margo Neale is the editor of this volume and a key figure in the First Knowledges series, which draws on Indigenous Australian expertise to illuminate knowledge systems developed over at least 65,000 years. [Details available upon request]
Specifications
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 224
- Dimensions: 196 x 131 mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9781760761875
- Publisher: Thames & Hudson Australia
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Designers, architects, and landscape practitioners engaged with sustainable and Country-informed approaches; academics and students in Indigenous studies, ecology, and environmental humanities; cultural institutions and design thinkers seeking grounding in first knowledges.