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

It is not necessary for the Anangu knowledge specialists to be walking the rock to recall the stories. The sequence of sites is so well known after years of learning that they can travel any part of the perimeter in their memories whenever they want.

My most meaningful experiment is creating a songline as close as I can to my understanding of Australian Aboriginal singing tracks. I am using a walking track in the bush near my home. I have named many locations along the track. I find that by singing the names I have given these ‘sacred places’ I can imagine every step of the walk in a way I woul

Many rituals among non-literate cultures were an essential repetition of critical knowledge at times when the knowledge was specifically required.

The oral tradition itself is retained in the memory of the owner, the device being an aid to that memory.

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.

The more I play with these memory spaces, the more the whole system becomes an integrated whole of many mnemonic parts.

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

have no doubt that the elders ran a calendar using solar, stellar and lunar observations while telling stories of characters visible in the night skies.