Australian astronomers have been studying Aboriginal culture and deciphering cave drawings to build a picture of the heavens as seen by these ancient cultures. Aborigines have been gazing at the night skies for thousands of years. It seems they even pre-dated European stargazers, including Britain's astronomy-linked Stonehenge, estimated at 3,100 BC.

Tribes used the sky for navigation, time keeping and to mark out the seasons, writes Dave Reneke from Australasian Science Magazine. They ordered their lives by the stars. Most tribes have dreaming stories that explain tides, eclipses and rising and setting times of the Sun and Moon.

In one story, Walu the Sun is a woman who lights her fire every morning and scatters red ochre across the clouds, creating dawn. She then carries her torch across the sky, creating daylight. At day’s end she descends, puts out her fire and travels underground through the night back to her morning camp. My favourite dreamtime story is about the Southern Cross. One Northern Territory Aboriginal tribe believed it was a giant Stingray and the two pointer stars to the cross are sharks ready to pounce.  You can’t beat the Dreamtime stories for sheer drama and imagination.

To many cultures the Southern Cross has different meanings. The Maori know it as Te Punga, meaning the Anchor. To Aborigines near the border of Victoria it represents the four unmarried daughters of a tribal elder named Mulululu. Magic stuff.

Star patterns were important for Aboriginal people. For example, at different times of the year the Emu in the Sky is oriented so it appears to be either running or sitting down. Depending upon its position some Aboriginal tribes knew it was time to hunt for emus or collect their eggs.      

Sadly much of the richness of the Aboriginal night sky has already disappeared. But boy, what an amazing legacy it’s left behind!