  The canopy of stars is a central presence in the daily and spiritual lives of
Aboriginal Tasmanians. With the arrival of European colonists, Tasmanian
astronomical knowledge and traditions were interrupted and dispersed. Fragments
can be found scattered in the ethnographic and historical record throughout the
nineteenth century. We draw from ethnohistorical documents to analyse and
reconstruct Aboriginal astronomical knowledge in Tasmania. This analysis
demonstrates that stars, the Milky Way, constellations, dark nebula, the Sun,
Moon, meteors, and aurorae held cultural, spiritual, and subsistence
significance within the Aboriginal cultures of Tasmania. We move beyond a
monolithic view of Aboriginal astronomical knowledge in Tasmania, commonly
portrayed in previous research, to lay the groundwork for future ethnographic
and archaeological fieldwork with Aboriginal elders and communities.
