Australian languages and interdisciplinary approaches to the past

TL;DR: Australian languages can contribute to building an integrated history of the Australian past, but face challenges due to missing information, paucity of sound change, and language contact.

Abstract: Abstract This chapter discusses the role that Australian languages can play in building an integrated history of the Australian past, and the challenges that must be overcome in order to make genuine progress. We first discuss linguistic-internal issues that have arisen in the course of reconstructing a picture of the linguistic past more specifically—e.g. missing information, paucity of sound change, and the effects of language contact. We then go on to present a case study to illustrate some of the issues encountered in integrating interdisciplinary findings for a broader reconstruction of the past—focussing on linguistics and genetics in the context of Pama-Nyungan—and how these may best be addressed.