Palaeoenvironmental change, resource exploitation and land use relating to a 72,000 year cultural sequence at Liang Bua, Flores, Indonesia. This project, involving international collaborative links between Australian universities and Indonesian universities and institutions, is at the cutting edge of palaeoenvironmental research and will provide valuable training as well as information which will be of great benefit to other researchers in the region. Being focused on prehistoric patterns of res ....Palaeoenvironmental change, resource exploitation and land use relating to a 72,000 year cultural sequence at Liang Bua, Flores, Indonesia. This project, involving international collaborative links between Australian universities and Indonesian universities and institutions, is at the cutting edge of palaeoenvironmental research and will provide valuable training as well as information which will be of great benefit to other researchers in the region. Being focused on prehistoric patterns of resource exploitation, land use and management issues, it is relevant to current important issues about the environment, human impact and sustainability, and will help promote awareness of these issues in the Australian and Indonesian communities.Read moreRead less
What is 'natural'?: Locating and deciphering pre-human records of vegetation from northern Australian savannahs. The nature and magnitude of the environmental impact of human colonisation of Australia are fundamental issues in Australian prehistory and ecology. The project will locate and develop archives of environmental change from sinkholes in the Northern Territory that date back to the Last interglacial - a period which had a similar climate to the present day, but was before humans arrived ....What is 'natural'?: Locating and deciphering pre-human records of vegetation from northern Australian savannahs. The nature and magnitude of the environmental impact of human colonisation of Australia are fundamental issues in Australian prehistory and ecology. The project will locate and develop archives of environmental change from sinkholes in the Northern Territory that date back to the Last interglacial - a period which had a similar climate to the present day, but was before humans arrived.Read moreRead less
The Impact of Water Stress on Early Humans in the Kalahari Desert. This project aims to understand the impacts of water stressed environments for early modern human behaviour through state-of-the-art excavation techniques and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction at two new archaeological sites in the Kalahari. How humans mitigated water stress during a major technological transition is significant because adaptability to arid environments was crucial for humans expanding beyond Africa and into Aus ....The Impact of Water Stress on Early Humans in the Kalahari Desert. This project aims to understand the impacts of water stressed environments for early modern human behaviour through state-of-the-art excavation techniques and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction at two new archaeological sites in the Kalahari. How humans mitigated water stress during a major technological transition is significant because adaptability to arid environments was crucial for humans expanding beyond Africa and into Australia. The expected outcome of this project is creation of new knowledge on the origins of human resilience to water stress. The benefit lies in the potential to gain insights into meeting future climate challenges by exploring the adaptive strategies developed by early modern humans in the southern Kalahari.Read moreRead less
Palaeo-vegetation, biodiversity and early human dispersal though island Southeast Asia. This study will use newly developed and fully validated isotope techniques to obtain robustly dated proxy records of vegetation change from the thick deposits of cave guano that occur extensively throughout island Southeast Asia (Sundaland). This project will test the hypothesis that during the Last Glacial Period, there was a substantial contraction of the rainforest towards the equator into refugia. This le ....Palaeo-vegetation, biodiversity and early human dispersal though island Southeast Asia. This study will use newly developed and fully validated isotope techniques to obtain robustly dated proxy records of vegetation change from the thick deposits of cave guano that occur extensively throughout island Southeast Asia (Sundaland). This project will test the hypothesis that during the Last Glacial Period, there was a substantial contraction of the rainforest towards the equator into refugia. This led to the development of an open ‘savannah corridor’ connecting savanna north and south of the equator. The project will shed new light on the palaeoclimatology of the region and provide a major contribution to explaining modern biogeographic patterns across Sundaland, as well as the trajectories of early human dispersal through the region.Read moreRead less
Waiet: Archaeology of a Torres Strait Islander ritual pathway. The project aims to provide a high-resolution archaeological record of ritual mobility by examining a Torres Strait Islander initiation pathway. The project is expected to generate new knowledge about human movement and improve public understanding of Indigenous peoples connection with country. Anticipated outcomes of the multi-disciplinary and community-led research include the first detailed record of ancient ritual mobility in nor ....Waiet: Archaeology of a Torres Strait Islander ritual pathway. The project aims to provide a high-resolution archaeological record of ritual mobility by examining a Torres Strait Islander initiation pathway. The project is expected to generate new knowledge about human movement and improve public understanding of Indigenous peoples connection with country. Anticipated outcomes of the multi-disciplinary and community-led research include the first detailed record of ancient ritual mobility in northern Australia and development of a web-based system to transfer archival information between cultural institutions and remote communities. This should provide significant benefits and assist Meriam people to engage with their cultural heritage and expand public knowledge about Indigenous forms of mobility.Read moreRead less
The archaeology of the Great Papuan Plateau. This project aims to investigate the peopling of the Great Papuan Plateau (GPP), a large karst system situated between Australia and Southeast Asia. Recent discoveries suggest that humans arrived in northern Australia by 65,000 years ago and were in southeast Asia by at least 80,000 years ago. Dating the timing and movement of the human colonisation of the GPP has the potential to reveal evidence of the earliest eastward movement of peoples into Sahul ....The archaeology of the Great Papuan Plateau. This project aims to investigate the peopling of the Great Papuan Plateau (GPP), a large karst system situated between Australia and Southeast Asia. Recent discoveries suggest that humans arrived in northern Australia by 65,000 years ago and were in southeast Asia by at least 80,000 years ago. Dating the timing and movement of the human colonisation of the GPP has the potential to reveal evidence of the earliest eastward movement of peoples into Sahul (now Australia and New Guinea). Through archaeological excavations of limestone caves with rock art and deep cultural floor deposit recorded across the plateau, this project will provide answers to fundamental questions about the early occupation of Sahul by early modern humans.Read moreRead less
Early art, culture and occupation along the northern route to Australia. This project aims to uncover archaeological evidence for early humans in Indonesia's northern island chain (from Borneo to West Papua). This poorly known region harbours the world's earliest known figurative cave art (>45,500 years old), and it is also the most likely maritime route used by modern humans during the initial peopling of Australia ~65,000 years ago. The project aims to use cave excavations and rock art dating ....Early art, culture and occupation along the northern route to Australia. This project aims to uncover archaeological evidence for early humans in Indonesia's northern island chain (from Borneo to West Papua). This poorly known region harbours the world's earliest known figurative cave art (>45,500 years old), and it is also the most likely maritime route used by modern humans during the initial peopling of Australia ~65,000 years ago. The project aims to use cave excavations and rock art dating to fill the 20,000 year gap between the earliest known archaeological evidence from these islands and the oldest human site in Australia. Expected outcomes include new insight into the ancient past of Indonesia and a greatly improved understanding of the art and cultural lifeways of the ancestors of the First Australians.Read moreRead less
Testing the Dark Emu hypothesis. How we define traditional Aboriginal food production and settlement systems is a key challenge to Australian archaeology in light of the far reaching success of Bruce Pascoe's popular book Dark Emu. This project aims to undertake a new trans-disciplinary investigation, the first incorporating archaeological science, plant genetics and palynology through the lens of Niche Construction Theory to generate new empirical data in order to determine how we best define A ....Testing the Dark Emu hypothesis. How we define traditional Aboriginal food production and settlement systems is a key challenge to Australian archaeology in light of the far reaching success of Bruce Pascoe's popular book Dark Emu. This project aims to undertake a new trans-disciplinary investigation, the first incorporating archaeological science, plant genetics and palynology through the lens of Niche Construction Theory to generate new empirical data in order to determine how we best define Aboriginal socio-economic systems. Investigating the intricacies of Mithaka economy and possible 'village sites' with a focus on the idea of plant domestication, the project will identify how we best define these sophisticated cultural and economic systems. Read moreRead less
History in their bones: A diachronic, bioarchaeological study of diet, mobility and social organisation from Cambodian skeletal assemblages. Australia will further enhance its role as an innovator in the archaeology of SE Asia through this cross-disciplinary, international collaboration on the mobility, health, age and diet in ancient Cambodia. Local collaborations will be expanded and academic and cultural relations with Cambodia will be reinforced and strengthened. This research will expand ....History in their bones: A diachronic, bioarchaeological study of diet, mobility and social organisation from Cambodian skeletal assemblages. Australia will further enhance its role as an innovator in the archaeology of SE Asia through this cross-disciplinary, international collaboration on the mobility, health, age and diet in ancient Cambodia. Local collaborations will be expanded and academic and cultural relations with Cambodia will be reinforced and strengthened. This research will expand understanding of Cambodian history and underscore its pivotal role in mainland SE Asian archaeology. Australia's advancement of knowledge about Cambodia's rich cultural antiquity will be recognized worldwide by a global community acutely mindful of the losses to culture and heritage endured by Cambodia in the recent past.Read moreRead less
The emergence of early modern human behaviour and technology in Central Africa. This multidisciplinary project will build a detailed archaeological sequence in northern Malawi that is uniquely suited for testing hypotheses about the linkages between environment, demography, technology, and human behaviour in central Africa. This will provide a rare understanding of the processes that drove the emergence of our species.