Description
Book SynopsisMeticulously examining ethnographic sources, Christophe Darmangeat argues that warfare among Australian Aborigines was often an extension of their penal systems. He demonstrates how violent conflict occurred when circumstances prohibited regulated judicial proceedings.
Trade ReviewThis is the first comprehensive study of the literature on the roles of collective violence in classical Aboriginal Australia. . . . Justice and Warfare in Aboriginal Australia makes a most useful addition to the anthropological literature on Australian society as it was before conquest by the British Empire. The nature of that society has recently come under considerable social media debate and public discussion in Australia. This book is thus a very timely contribution to our understanding of the past.
-- Peter Sutton, South Australian Museum
Table of ContentsChapter 1: Characterizing Aboriginal Societies
Chapter 2: Common Forms of Justice
Chapter 3: Deadly Confrontations
Chapter 4: Why Fight?
Chapter 5: A General Classification of Organized Violence
Chapter 6: On the War Path
Chapter 7: Means of War
Chapter 8: Australia, a Unique Case
