The unwritten Kamilaroi and Kurnai: unpublished kinship schedules collected by Fison and Howitt

Abstract

Inspired by Luise Hercus� groundbreaking work on the use of historical sources in salvaging Aboriginal languages, this paper explores early methods of anthropology in Australia and how nineteenth century texts might be used to reconstruct aspects of Aboriginal languages and culture. It examines the rich but little known kinship material gathered by Lorimer Fison and A. W. Howitt through the 1870s and 1880s and now held in a number of Australian libraries and museums.