The Memory Code: The traditional Aboriginal memory technique that unlocks the secrets of Stonehenge, Easter Island and ancient monuments the world over

I soon understood why indigenous people will make sand paintings or draw in the earth, arrange leaves or paint on bark only to throw their creation away. The process is powerful and rewarding, intellectually and emotionally, and really enhances memorability of the knowledge.

walk through time when I walk the dog and through space when I do the shopping or sing in the shower. Each day, I choose to either recall what has already been encoded or add something new. There is no hurry. No additional time has to be allocated to the study; it just blends in naturally with my normal life. Like the oral cultures I write about, t

In the New Guinea Highlands, the ‘spells’ recited when planting taro include a range of knowledge about taro crop cultivation, but are often simply described as ‘rituals’.

Whenever an attempt is made to convey indigenous knowledge in writing, a great deal of the original genre is lost.

This brings us to the problematic term ‘art’. In the Western context, the primary measure of art is aesthetic. In non-literate contexts, the primary motivation is didactic.

Elders would retrieve their tjuringa from hiding places at sacred sites, which were visited on journeys to ceremonial grounds.

traditional Aboriginal art is always to help remember Country, the stories and the knowledge. Aboriginal people gain a great deal of pleasure out of the aesthetics of their art, she explained, but it is never the primary purpose. In traditional Australian societies, designs were owned.

All cultures do, however, make a fuss about maintaining a calendar. In all non-literate cultures, timekeepers were revered members of the community, as they ran the ceremonial calendar and ensured that everyone had been notified of upcoming events.

will describe in more detail in the next chapter, one of my favourite objects is my own version of a lukasa. I took a piece of wood and attached beads and shells to it without paying any attention to the arrangement. It is very comfortable to hold in one hand. Once I started using it, I had no trouble finding structure in what appeared to be a rand