Skin and Kin in Aboriginal Australia: linguistic and historical perspectives on the dynamics of social categories

Indigenous Australians are linked in family-like networks, underpinned by ways of talking about social relationships. Social category systems unique to Australia are central to this linking, enabling people to view others as family. The unparalleled database created for the Austkin project gives an empirical basis for investigating the language of social categories. Using methods from linguistics, history and anthropology, we will trace the history of 'skin' systems and their dynamic relationships with kinship, marriage patterns, and land connections. This project will give fresh insight into how Aboriginal people have organised social interaction and created enduring societies.