Excavating MacGregor: re-connecting a colonial museum collection. Sensing the impacts of colonisation, the first Administrator of British New Guinea William MacGregor made a significant collection of objects specifically for its future citizens. This comprehensive legacy of 13 000 objects did not remain in the country but was dispersed to three Australian and six overseas museums. Our aim is to re-assemble and re-connect this material by 'excavating' its private and official components. This res ....Excavating MacGregor: re-connecting a colonial museum collection. Sensing the impacts of colonisation, the first Administrator of British New Guinea William MacGregor made a significant collection of objects specifically for its future citizens. This comprehensive legacy of 13 000 objects did not remain in the country but was dispersed to three Australian and six overseas museums. Our aim is to re-assemble and re-connect this material by 'excavating' its private and official components. This research aims to focus on the makers and traders to disentangle the social relationships embedded in the objects. Using material-centred, assemblage-based archaeological approaches, we aim to investigate how indigenous groups used objects to negotiate with the new colonial government.Read moreRead less
Archaeological investigations at ancient sites in Kakadu National Park. This project aims to re-examine two well-known sites (Malangangerr and Ngarradj) in Kakadu, an iconic World Heritage area and home to some of the oldest and richest archaeology in Australia. Little excavation has been carried out there in recent decades, and almost none using modern high resolution recovery techniques. This project will re-excavate Malangangerr and Ngarradj to determine whether other sites have a similar ant ....Archaeological investigations at ancient sites in Kakadu National Park. This project aims to re-examine two well-known sites (Malangangerr and Ngarradj) in Kakadu, an iconic World Heritage area and home to some of the oldest and richest archaeology in Australia. Little excavation has been carried out there in recent decades, and almost none using modern high resolution recovery techniques. This project will re-excavate Malangangerr and Ngarradj to determine whether other sites have a similar antiquity and record of early complex behaviour. This project could enhance understanding of Aboriginal culture in Kakadu, Australia's unique cultural heritage, the nature and timing of modern human dispersal, and how early Indigenous peoples responded to social and environmental change.Read moreRead less
Warfare and the Archaic State in Oceania. The project aim is to investigate warfare in the ancient Tongan state through a study of earthwork fortifications. The conflict record for an Archaic state in Oceania that survived for 650 years contributes a new perspective to global research on warfare in complex societies. The effect of conflict is a prominent issue for Australia and long-term records of warfare in our region will improve our understanding of it. Intra-state conflict is the most press ....Warfare and the Archaic State in Oceania. The project aim is to investigate warfare in the ancient Tongan state through a study of earthwork fortifications. The conflict record for an Archaic state in Oceania that survived for 650 years contributes a new perspective to global research on warfare in complex societies. The effect of conflict is a prominent issue for Australia and long-term records of warfare in our region will improve our understanding of it. Intra-state conflict is the most pressing threat to political stability in South-East Asia and the Pacific and the project would benefit Australia by showing how changes to political systems are associated with phases of conflict and peace.Read moreRead less
Indigenous foodways in colonial Cape York Peninsula. This project aims to trace historical Indigenous foodways in colonial Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, through a program of collaborative community-based archaeological and anthropological research. Food was a key medium for cultural exchanges between Indigenous peoples and settler-colonists. The analysis of foodways is known to provide unparalleled insights on daily life, as well as the development of both cultural values and social relations ....Indigenous foodways in colonial Cape York Peninsula. This project aims to trace historical Indigenous foodways in colonial Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, through a program of collaborative community-based archaeological and anthropological research. Food was a key medium for cultural exchanges between Indigenous peoples and settler-colonists. The analysis of foodways is known to provide unparalleled insights on daily life, as well as the development of both cultural values and social relationships. This has received limited attention in archaeological investigations in Australia. Results will provide greater insight into the history behind our current society.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101383
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$432,953.00
Summary
Hidden histories in teeth: The key to unlocking secrets in ancient Myanmar. The aim of this project is to examine isotopes in the teeth of individuals from three sites in prehistoric central Myanmar to examine diet, the movement and migration of people, and potential patterns in post-marital residence, which are all intricately linked. Built on a strong conceptual framework this project seeks to generate new information in the field of archaeological science. The research outcomes of this projec ....Hidden histories in teeth: The key to unlocking secrets in ancient Myanmar. The aim of this project is to examine isotopes in the teeth of individuals from three sites in prehistoric central Myanmar to examine diet, the movement and migration of people, and potential patterns in post-marital residence, which are all intricately linked. Built on a strong conceptual framework this project seeks to generate new information in the field of archaeological science. The research outcomes of this project will expand our current archaeological knowledge of this focal but under-researched area, which will be of particular benefit in understanding Myanmar in relation to surrounding regions and the wider Southeast Asian context, and in fostering continued collegiality and collaboration with Myanmar scholars and communities.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101087
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$444,281.00
Summary
10,000 years of Indigenous fisheries informs future Great Barrier Reef. This project aims to document the role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in shaping the fish resources of the Great Barrier Reef over millennia. Using novel analyses of archaeological faunal remains, this project expects to generate new knowledge on how people’s actions transformed marine systems and modified fish communities. Expected outcomes include establishing pre-European baseline data essential for manag ....10,000 years of Indigenous fisheries informs future Great Barrier Reef. This project aims to document the role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in shaping the fish resources of the Great Barrier Reef over millennia. Using novel analyses of archaeological faunal remains, this project expects to generate new knowledge on how people’s actions transformed marine systems and modified fish communities. Expected outcomes include establishing pre-European baseline data essential for managing contemporary fish populations, and a long-term perspective on human exploitation of a dynamic Great Barrier Reef. Benefits include a framework for integrating Indigenous fisheries management into conservation agendas and foregrounding the deep human history of the Reef to support future social-ecological resilience.Read moreRead less
Archaeology, collections and Australian South Sea Islander. This project aims to integrate archaeology, museology, and cultural landscape research to weave together histories of Australian South Sea Islanders’ (ASSIs) lives and communities. ASSIs are not indigenous to Australia, nonetheless they have a distinctive and vibrant indigenous culture. With little written about ASSIs, most of their stories are in the places that they have inhabited, and in the objects they have left behind. In partners ....Archaeology, collections and Australian South Sea Islander. This project aims to integrate archaeology, museology, and cultural landscape research to weave together histories of Australian South Sea Islanders’ (ASSIs) lives and communities. ASSIs are not indigenous to Australia, nonetheless they have a distinctive and vibrant indigenous culture. With little written about ASSIs, most of their stories are in the places that they have inhabited, and in the objects they have left behind. In partnership with living ASSI communities, this project will raise awareness about their past in Queensland society and contribute to their sense of identity in the present and future.Read moreRead less
Reuniting cargoes: Underwater Cultural Heritage of the Maritime Silk Route. Beginning in the mid 1400s the Maritime Silk Route witnessed the largest known expansion of global trade. But the legacy of artefacts retrieved from this time has not been appropriately understood because the objects were mostly salvaged and dispersed without recording the archaeological details of their find-spots. Our multilateral consortium aims to discover the cultural value of the largest Southeast Asian ceramic col ....Reuniting cargoes: Underwater Cultural Heritage of the Maritime Silk Route. Beginning in the mid 1400s the Maritime Silk Route witnessed the largest known expansion of global trade. But the legacy of artefacts retrieved from this time has not been appropriately understood because the objects were mostly salvaged and dispersed without recording the archaeological details of their find-spots. Our multilateral consortium aims to discover the cultural value of the largest Southeast Asian ceramic collections in Indonesia and Australia with archaeological science. By employing and enhancing international conventions, the project will generate new knowledge about this decisive epoch in world history and build capacity to preserve the underwater cultural heritage of our region for future generations.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage. The ARC Centre of Excellence of Australian Biodiversity and Heritage will create a world-class interdisciplinary research programme to understand Australia’s unique biodiversity and heritage. The Centre will track the changes to Australia’s environment to examine the processes responsible for the changes and the lessons that can be used to continue to adapt to Australia’s changing environment. The Centre will support connection ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage. The ARC Centre of Excellence of Australian Biodiversity and Heritage will create a world-class interdisciplinary research programme to understand Australia’s unique biodiversity and heritage. The Centre will track the changes to Australia’s environment to examine the processes responsible for the changes and the lessons that can be used to continue to adapt to Australia’s changing environment. The Centre will support connections between the sciences and humanities and train future generations of researchers to deal with future global challenges and inform policy in an interdisciplinary context. Read moreRead less
Archaeology and natural history. This project aims to provide critical new information on the archaeology and natural history of one of the world’s largest unregulated desert river systems. Mithaka country incorporates the highly significant Channel Country on the eastern edge of Australia's arid centre. Preliminary research has identified more than 70 large site complexes that provide critical insights on how the Mithaka people adapted to this unique environment and took part in Australia's mos ....Archaeology and natural history. This project aims to provide critical new information on the archaeology and natural history of one of the world’s largest unregulated desert river systems. Mithaka country incorporates the highly significant Channel Country on the eastern edge of Australia's arid centre. Preliminary research has identified more than 70 large site complexes that provide critical insights on how the Mithaka people adapted to this unique environment and took part in Australia's most extensive long distance trade systems. The project will study the archaeological landscape, artefacts and an extensive in-situ skeletal record in the context of a detailed palaeoenvironmental study. It will provide a new cultural-environmental history of this landscape and provide the Mithaka with multiple strands of connection to their ancestral land and culture and support their aspirations to create employment through rangers programs, education and cultural tourism.Read moreRead less