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Before Cook: Contact, Negotiation and the Archaeology of the Tiwi Islands. The narrative of culture contact in Australia is dominated by British colonisation, yet Indigenous Australians in Northern Australia had a much earlier connection with global explorers and traders. We aim to conduct the first systematic maritime and terrestrial archaeological investigations of the Tiwi Islands, alongside the study of material culture, oral history and archival materials associated with early Dutch explore ....Before Cook: Contact, Negotiation and the Archaeology of the Tiwi Islands. The narrative of culture contact in Australia is dominated by British colonisation, yet Indigenous Australians in Northern Australia had a much earlier connection with global explorers and traders. We aim to conduct the first systematic maritime and terrestrial archaeological investigations of the Tiwi Islands, alongside the study of material culture, oral history and archival materials associated with early Dutch explorers, British colonists, and Macassans. This multi-disciplinary approach will broaden our understanding of long-term race relations in Australia, the past presence of foreign visitors to Northern Australia, develop cultural heritage public policy and consolidate Tiwi cultural identity and history into the historical record.Read moreRead less
Megalithic Connections: Imperilled Cultural Heritage in Laos and India. This interdisciplinary project aims to document and explore the cultural connections between the geographically disparate megalithic cultures of Laos and India and create an enduring digital record of these threatened cultural assets. Integrating archaeological science and pioneering data capture technologies, the project will create globally significant new knowledge; advance heritage management processes including transfer ....Megalithic Connections: Imperilled Cultural Heritage in Laos and India. This interdisciplinary project aims to document and explore the cultural connections between the geographically disparate megalithic cultures of Laos and India and create an enduring digital record of these threatened cultural assets. Integrating archaeological science and pioneering data capture technologies, the project will create globally significant new knowledge; advance heritage management processes including transferrable exploratory technologies; and help underpin economic, social and cultural benefit in these regions. With an increasing awareness of the need to conserve global cultural assets, Australia will take the lead in developing breakthrough technological solutions and new cross-country research and practitioner capability.Read moreRead less
Landscape archaeology at Lake Mungo. The southern tip of the Mungo lunette is an icon of Australia's Indigenous past. Despite its international significance, the archaeological traces have disintegrated as the lunette has eroded over the past 30 years. In this interdisciplinary project, collaboration with Elders from the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area is expected to reconstruct the history of environmental changes and the life-ways of the first humans to settle this region. The focus ....Landscape archaeology at Lake Mungo. The southern tip of the Mungo lunette is an icon of Australia's Indigenous past. Despite its international significance, the archaeological traces have disintegrated as the lunette has eroded over the past 30 years. In this interdisciplinary project, collaboration with Elders from the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area is expected to reconstruct the history of environmental changes and the life-ways of the first humans to settle this region. The focus will be on stitching together the archaeological traces scattered through space and time, and on measuring processes of modern sediment erosion and deposition so as to develop management strategies for the future protection of this unique archive of Australia's past.Read moreRead less
The coming of the dingo and its interaction with Indigenous Australians. This project will identify more precisely the time of the entry of dingoes into Australia and will investigate their impact on the lives of Indigenous Australians. Archaeological and anthropological evidence suggests that Indigenous people rapidly incorporated dingoes into their lives. Dingoes were used for a variety of purposes and were particularly valued as hunters by women, effectively increasing their access to meat. ....The coming of the dingo and its interaction with Indigenous Australians. This project will identify more precisely the time of the entry of dingoes into Australia and will investigate their impact on the lives of Indigenous Australians. Archaeological and anthropological evidence suggests that Indigenous people rapidly incorporated dingoes into their lives. Dingoes were used for a variety of purposes and were particularly valued as hunters by women, effectively increasing their access to meat. Impact would include a re-organisation of gender roles and an associated improvement in women's fecundity. By examining evidence for such changes, this project will significantly contribute to knowledge about implications of the arrival of a living technology in Australia and, more generally, the human/dog relationship.Read moreRead less
History Places: Wellington Range rock art in a global context. The project aims to investigate one of Australia’s most extraordinary bodies of rock art, spread across Arnhem Land’s Wellington Range, in order to answer important archaeological research questions, provide Traditional Owners with a comprehensive digital record of their rock art heritage and develop a long term management plan. Field research will include survey, 2-D and 3-D rock art recording, limited excavation and sampling for da ....History Places: Wellington Range rock art in a global context. The project aims to investigate one of Australia’s most extraordinary bodies of rock art, spread across Arnhem Land’s Wellington Range, in order to answer important archaeological research questions, provide Traditional Owners with a comprehensive digital record of their rock art heritage and develop a long term management plan. Field research will include survey, 2-D and 3-D rock art recording, limited excavation and sampling for dating. The project is designed to situate Wellington Range rock art in regional and global contexts in order to better understand long-term north Australian Aboriginal experience and its expression in relation to other hunter-gatherer groups and to gain new insight into human cultural and cognitive development.Read moreRead less
Unraveling the mystery of the Plain of Jars, Laos. Since their discovery in the 1930s, the mysterious collections of giant stone jars scattered throughout central Laos have remained one of the great prehistoric puzzles of south-east (SE) Asia. It is thought that the jars represent the mortuary remains of an extensive and powerful Iron Age culture. This project seeks to determine the true nature of these sites, which date to a dynamic period of increasing complexity in SE Asia (c.500BCE-500CE). T ....Unraveling the mystery of the Plain of Jars, Laos. Since their discovery in the 1930s, the mysterious collections of giant stone jars scattered throughout central Laos have remained one of the great prehistoric puzzles of south-east (SE) Asia. It is thought that the jars represent the mortuary remains of an extensive and powerful Iron Age culture. This project seeks to determine the true nature of these sites, which date to a dynamic period of increasing complexity in SE Asia (c.500BCE-500CE). The project entails extensive reconnaissance, precision mapping, archaeological excavation and analysis of associated burial material. Using a suite of cutting-edge archaeological technologies, it is expected to have far-reaching benefits for archaeology, science, Laos and World Heritage.Read moreRead less
Rivers of Gold: The Legacy of Historical Gold Mining for Victoria's Rivers. By considering rivers as cultural artefacts, this project aims to evaluate how historical gold mining has shaped river systems in Victoria. Victoria’s historic mining industry led to extensive and long-lasting change to waterways across the state. The project plans to integrate approaches from landscape archaeology, physical geography, geomorphology and environmental chemistry to identify and map the extent of changes, i ....Rivers of Gold: The Legacy of Historical Gold Mining for Victoria's Rivers. By considering rivers as cultural artefacts, this project aims to evaluate how historical gold mining has shaped river systems in Victoria. Victoria’s historic mining industry led to extensive and long-lasting change to waterways across the state. The project plans to integrate approaches from landscape archaeology, physical geography, geomorphology and environmental chemistry to identify and map the extent of changes, including increased sedimentation, erosion, and chemical contamination. The project plans to demonstrate how historical mining continues to influence chemical and physical processes in Victorian streams and to develop understanding of the landscapes experienced by Victorians at the height of the mining boom. Project outcomes may provide improved context for catchment and reservoir management and counter prevailing impressions about causes of observed damage to rivers.Read moreRead less