Indigenous Australian storytelling accurately records sea level rises 7,000 years ago

[L. Coyote]

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/sep/16/indigenous-australian-storytelling-records-sea-level-rises-over-millenia

Indigenous stories of dramatic sea level rises across Australia date back more than 7,000 years in a continuous oral tradition without parallel anywhere in the world, according to new research.

Sunshine Coast University marine geographer Patrick Nunn and University of New England linguist Nicholas Reid believe that 21 Indigenous stories from across the continent faithfully record events between 18,000 and 7000 years ago, when the sea rose 120m.

Reid said a key feature of Indigenous storytelling culture – a distinctive “cross-generational cross-checking” process – might explain the remarkable consistency in accounts passed down by preliterate people which researchers previously believed could not persist for more than 800 years.

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[ellenrr]

1. thanks, this is fascinating

reminds me of how the Jawara tribe survived the 2004 tsunami.
"Government officials and anthropologists believe that ancient knowledge of the movement of wind, sea and birds may have saved the indigenous tribes from the tsunami."

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ancient-tribe-survives-tsunami/

Estimates are that there are only 400-1000 members of the tribe left, so their ancient wisdom will die with them.