What the Bones Say: Tasmanian Aborigines, Science, and Domination

Thomas S. Abler is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Waterloo and the author of A Canadian Indian Bibliography, 1960-1970.

Like the Beothuk of Newfoundland, Tasmania’s aboriginal people have
been portrayed as an “island race” brought to extinction by European
colonization. The last of the Tasmanians, a woman named Truganini, died
in 1876. John Cove, an anthropologist at Carleton University, examines
the fate of her remains within a broader context of race relations
within Tasmania and the fight there of persons with aboriginal ancestry
to establish themselves as Aborigines within the Tasmanian and
Australian political arenas. He also considers the roles played by
social anthropologists, archeologists, and physical anthropologists
(especially osteologists) in these issues. Cove weaves these multiple
threads together so skilfully that anyone with an interest in even one
of them will have difficulty putting this book down.

Cove tells the story of how Truganini’s bones, against her wishes,
were placed on exhibit in Tasmania. Parallel to this is the story of
persons of part-aboriginal descent, who found themselves subject to
racial discrimination yet unable to assert any claim to aboriginal
status or any rights. Cove shows how the fate of Truganini’s remains
gave them a focal point around which to reassert their aboriginal
identity in Tasmania.

The work is not without criticism of the past behavior of
anthropologists. In many cases, however, Cove simply quotes past
statements that appear wrong-headed in the light of current political
sensibilities. But Cove is something of a defender of anthropology, not
a blind critic. In his final chapter he makes a strong case for
anthropology as science rather than advocacy. His considered discussion
about the relationship between research and power makes this book
important reading for an audience far beyond those who have a specific
interest in aboriginal Tasmanians.