Carvings on Australia’s boab trees reveal a generation’s lost history

Archaeologists and an Aboriginal family are working together to rediscover lost ties to the land

A photo of a large boab tree in the center with several smaller trees spread out around it

This boab engraved with the image of a snake is one of 12 rediscovered during a 2021 expedition into the Tanami Desert in Australia. The carvings have cultural ties to the Jaru, an Aboriginal group from the Kimberley region in western Australia.

D. Lewis

Brenda Garstone is on the hunt for her heritage.