Fossilized biomolecules reveal systemic gaps in deep-time science: Indigenous knowledge and colonial erasure in paleontology’s new frontier
Original framing: “Dinosaur blood—oldest discovery rewrites what fossils can reveal about the past” — Phys.org
The voices most marginalized by this discovery are those of Aboriginal rangers, elders, and researchers who have been advocating for decades to include traditional knowledge in scientific studies. For example, the *Bunuba* people of Western Australia have documented fossil sites in their oral histories and have been pushing for co-management agreements with universities, yet their input is absent from this study. Similarly, Indigenous paleontologists like *Dr. Duane Hamacher* (University of New South Wales) have highlighted the need for Indigenous-led research in fossil science, but their work remains peripheral to mainstream narratives. The exclusion of these voices is not accidental but reflects a systemic pattern of sidelining Indigenous expertise in favor of Western authority, particularly in fields like paleontology where colonial narratives still dominate.
This 'oldest discovery' is not just about rewriting the fossil record—it’s about rewriting whose knowledge is allowed to shape that record.
The systemic exclusion of Indigenous voices in paleontology reflects a broader pattern where Western science claims authority over 'deep time' while erasing the millennia of Indigenous stewardship and knowledge that made such discoveries possible. The Aboriginal peoples of Australia have long understood fossils as sacred, ancestral, and ecologically significant, yet their perspectives are absent from the narrative, reinforcing a colonial dynamic where Indigenous lands are treated as scientific laboratories and Indigenous peoples as invisible custodians. To move forward, paleontology must embrace a *relational* approach—one that integrates Indigenous knowledge, ethical stewardship, and cross-cultural collaboration—not as an afterthought, but as the foundation of discovery. The trickster here is the illusion of scientific objectivity; the solution lies in dismantling that illusion by centering the voices and lands that have always been part of the story.