Establishing the provenance of Torres Strait Islander remains: genetics, craniometrics and isotopes. The repatriation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander remains has been a focus of Commonwealth and State Governments for over two decades. It remains as a significant social and cultural issue for many Indigenous Australians. One of the main hurdles to repatriation is the fact that hundreds, and possibly thousands of human remains have very little contextual detail associated with them. A num ....Establishing the provenance of Torres Strait Islander remains: genetics, craniometrics and isotopes. The repatriation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander remains has been a focus of Commonwealth and State Governments for over two decades. It remains as a significant social and cultural issue for many Indigenous Australians. One of the main hurdles to repatriation is the fact that hundreds, and possibly thousands of human remains have very little contextual detail associated with them. A number of techniques have been developed in the field of biological anthropology to reconstruct the history of individual skeletal remains. This innovative project aims to use advances in the fields of ancient DNA, isotope analysis and craniometrics to resolve the provenance of 113 trophy skulls from the Torres Strait Islands.Read moreRead less
The contribution of South Asia to the peopling of Australasia. This project focuses on the human fossil record from three regions critical to understanding the origins of our species, Homo sapiens. Australia is crucial in view of its diverse array of "gracile" and "robust" human remains of Late Pleistocene/early Holocene age. Equally important are South and Southeast Asia as they lined the tropical route between Africa, our species' Late Pleistocene homeland according to the Out of Africa theory ....The contribution of South Asia to the peopling of Australasia. This project focuses on the human fossil record from three regions critical to understanding the origins of our species, Homo sapiens. Australia is crucial in view of its diverse array of "gracile" and "robust" human remains of Late Pleistocene/early Holocene age. Equally important are South and Southeast Asia as they lined the tropical route between Africa, our species' Late Pleistocene homeland according to the Out of Africa theory, and Australia. Osteological and archaeological evidence of the selection pressures that operated on earlier hunter-gatherers will be employed to explain the observed patterns of morphological evolution throughout the study region.Read moreRead less
New bioarchaeological perspectives on pre-contact lifeways in Sahul . This project aims to establish a new bioarchaeology research program to study socio-economic changes in the Australia-New Guinea continent Sahul and provide new insights into the complexity of societies from diverse environments. Bioarchaeology provides a unique lens for interpreting the past, however research of this nature has largely been inactive due to the sensitivity of studying ancestral remains of Indigenous people. H ....New bioarchaeological perspectives on pre-contact lifeways in Sahul . This project aims to establish a new bioarchaeology research program to study socio-economic changes in the Australia-New Guinea continent Sahul and provide new insights into the complexity of societies from diverse environments. Bioarchaeology provides a unique lens for interpreting the past, however research of this nature has largely been inactive due to the sensitivity of studying ancestral remains of Indigenous people. However, there is growing interest from Aboriginal groups in the narratives that can be reconstructed from their ancestors, and many Aboriginal communities now support research on skeletal remains. In collaboration with Aboriginal communities, the project will apply new developments in bioarchaeology to sensitively assess patterns of mobility and sedentism in three separate populations. This project is expected to initiate a new era of bioarchaeological research and redefine our understanding of the complexity of past Aboriginal and Papuan narratives.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100068
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$381,268.00
Summary
Bone metabolism change with lifestyle in ancient Asia-Pacific populations. This project aims to address a significant gap in our current knowledge of global change in skeletal health throughout recent human history. By contributing the first bone microstructural data for archaeological humans from across Asia-Pacific, this project aims to map the ways in which these ancient humans grew and adapted to different lifestyles. The project expects to identify new ways of predicting human bone health r ....Bone metabolism change with lifestyle in ancient Asia-Pacific populations. This project aims to address a significant gap in our current knowledge of global change in skeletal health throughout recent human history. By contributing the first bone microstructural data for archaeological humans from across Asia-Pacific, this project aims to map the ways in which these ancient humans grew and adapted to different lifestyles. The project expects to identify new ways of predicting human bone health response to environmental and cultural change, contributing models for the wellbeing of past, living, and future human generations.Read moreRead less
Novel approaches to the forensic identification of human remains: integration of studies of bone form and chemistry. In a global era of terrorism, crime and even natural disasters, new approaches to identify victims, and prosecute offenders, are greatly required and long overdue. The combination of new computer and chemical methods will help identify unknowns, reconstruct missing parts and separate commingled remains. Its affect on understanding bones may be like that of DNA on soft tissues. The ....Novel approaches to the forensic identification of human remains: integration of studies of bone form and chemistry. In a global era of terrorism, crime and even natural disasters, new approaches to identify victims, and prosecute offenders, are greatly required and long overdue. The combination of new computer and chemical methods will help identify unknowns, reconstruct missing parts and separate commingled remains. Its affect on understanding bones may be like that of DNA on soft tissues. The results will update our ability as forensic scientists to strengthen Australian security systems by improving our ability to manage accidents, disasters, terrorism and crime. This project will start international collaborations and train a new generation of Australian forensic experts.Read moreRead less
Establishing the provenance of Torres Strait Islander remains: genetics, craniometrics and isotopes. The repatriation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander remains has been a focus of Commonwealth and State Governments for over two decades. It remains as a significant social and cultural issue for many Indigenous Australians. One of the main hurdles to repatriation is the fact that hundreds, and possibly thousands of human remains have very little contextual detail associated with them. A num ....Establishing the provenance of Torres Strait Islander remains: genetics, craniometrics and isotopes. The repatriation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander remains has been a focus of Commonwealth and State Governments for over two decades. It remains as a significant social and cultural issue for many Indigenous Australians. One of the main hurdles to repatriation is the fact that hundreds, and possibly thousands of human remains have very little contextual detail associated with them. A number of techniques have been developed in the field of biological anthropology to reconstruct the history of individual skeletal remains. This innovative project aims to use advances in the fields of ancient DNA, isotope analysis and craniometrics to resolve the provenance of 113 trophy skulls from the Torres Strait Islands.Read moreRead less
The African origins of Asian and Australian lithic technologies: Exploring modern human origins and dispersals using new techniques of core analysis. This project will demonstrate that Australia is committed to understanding the origins of modern humans and solving research problems within and beyond our geographic region. The history of modern human evolution in Africa has significant implications for the origins of the first Australians, Indians and Asians and will contribute to an understandi ....The African origins of Asian and Australian lithic technologies: Exploring modern human origins and dispersals using new techniques of core analysis. This project will demonstrate that Australia is committed to understanding the origins of modern humans and solving research problems within and beyond our geographic region. The history of modern human evolution in Africa has significant implications for the origins of the first Australians, Indians and Asians and will contribute to an understanding of our shared and recent common ancestry and the emergence of human diversity. Australian archaeological innovations, especially when applied to global issues such as human evolution, will continue to showcase Australian scientific expertise and achievements. The study of problem-solving and technological innovation will help understand the sophisticated nature of early Australian peoples.Read moreRead less
The Flores hobbit - Homo floresiensis or microcephalic eastern Indonesian? The hobbit is so controversial as it implies that a tiny hominin with a miniature brain coexisted for 30,000 years with modern humans in our region. This would have immense, fundamental implications for understanding the human colonisation of our region and the role of brain size in human evolution. Our research will determine whether the alternative explanation of microcephalic pathology is viable. If so the hobbit would ....The Flores hobbit - Homo floresiensis or microcephalic eastern Indonesian? The hobbit is so controversial as it implies that a tiny hominin with a miniature brain coexisted for 30,000 years with modern humans in our region. This would have immense, fundamental implications for understanding the human colonisation of our region and the role of brain size in human evolution. Our research will determine whether the alternative explanation of microcephalic pathology is viable. If so the hobbit would still be of unique signficance as the only known microcephalic hunter-gatherer who had survived to adulthood. The role of Australian scientists in spearheading the hobbit discovery places a high priority on resolving the debate objectively.Read moreRead less
Nomadic or sedentary? Determining lifestyle and subsistence of past populations in Central Asia using osteological, bone chemical and genetic techniques. The aim of the research is to apply a range of osteological analytical techniques to investigatge subsistence patterns of past populations from the heart of Central Asia. Morphological, bone chemical and genetic analyses will be undertaken on previously unstudied collections of archaeological human skeletal remains recovered from burial grounds ....Nomadic or sedentary? Determining lifestyle and subsistence of past populations in Central Asia using osteological, bone chemical and genetic techniques. The aim of the research is to apply a range of osteological analytical techniques to investigatge subsistence patterns of past populations from the heart of Central Asia. Morphological, bone chemical and genetic analyses will be undertaken on previously unstudied collections of archaeological human skeletal remains recovered from burial grounds located on the Ustiurt Plateau and the banks of the Amu Dariya, Uzbekistan. In conjunction with the existing archaeological record, these anlyses will reveal the nature of subsistence patterns, economy and inter-relationships of ancient Central Asian peoples, with the ultimate aim of differentiating nomadic and sedentary lifestyles.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: De170100578
Funder
Australian Research Council
Summary
The effect of environmental disasters on primate behaviour and distribution. This project aims to study how natural disasters affect animal distribution and behaviour and to predict effects of future disasters. Despite recent increases in environmental disasters, no research has considered their effect on wildlife behaviour and distribution using quantitative methods. This project will create quantitative, multilayered models of climate tolerances and in relation to the effects of natural disast ....The effect of environmental disasters on primate behaviour and distribution. This project aims to study how natural disasters affect animal distribution and behaviour and to predict effects of future disasters. Despite recent increases in environmental disasters, no research has considered their effect on wildlife behaviour and distribution using quantitative methods. This project will create quantitative, multilayered models of climate tolerances and in relation to the effects of natural disasters and behavioural adaptations of affected animals. Anticipated outcomes include improved conservation programmes that reduce the effect of severe weather on wildlife when formulating conservation policy in the face of increasing environmental disasters.Read moreRead less