The New Age of alternative archaeology in Australia

Abstract

A review of unconventional views of the chronology of humans in Australia reveals something of the structure and diversity of alternative archaeology. Alternative ideas on Australian prehistory are increasingly brought to the public through high volume sales of magazines and books, and there are indications that such views currently have a surprising level of popularity. Increasingly these views are being rephrased to be mystical or ‘New Age’ in nature rather than pseudo-scientific. Some of the complexity of any response by conventional archaeology is discussed.