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
Plant use at the dawn of agriculture in central Anatolia. The project will increase collaboration with researchers in the UK, and Turkish archaeological authorities. It will refine our understanding of the process, rate and direction of agricultural origins in Western Asia and improve Australia's profile in origins of agriculture research. It will increase Australia's knowledge base about other regions and help to consolidate and promote archaeobotany/archaeological science in Australia's resear ....Plant use at the dawn of agriculture in central Anatolia. The project will increase collaboration with researchers in the UK, and Turkish archaeological authorities. It will refine our understanding of the process, rate and direction of agricultural origins in Western Asia and improve Australia's profile in origins of agriculture research. It will increase Australia's knowledge base about other regions and help to consolidate and promote archaeobotany/archaeological science in Australia's research community.Read moreRead less
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
Warratyi: Cultural Innovation in the Indigenous Settlement of Australia. This project aims to determine the role of cultural innovation in the Indigenous settlement of Australia's arid zone 50,000 years ago. Using innovative methods, it will produce new data on key technologies, symbolic behaviours and human interactions with animals and environment to identify the cultural innovations needed to overcome the challenges of Australia's deserts. Expected outcomes include new understandings of the s ....Warratyi: Cultural Innovation in the Indigenous Settlement of Australia. This project aims to determine the role of cultural innovation in the Indigenous settlement of Australia's arid zone 50,000 years ago. Using innovative methods, it will produce new data on key technologies, symbolic behaviours and human interactions with animals and environment to identify the cultural innovations needed to overcome the challenges of Australia's deserts. Expected outcomes include new understandings of the settlement of the arid zone to inform global debates relating to the dispersal, settlement and lifestyles of early humans in marginal environments. Expected benefits include new information for cultural tourism and education and to support South Australia’s World Heritage nomination for the Flinders Ranges.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
Agriculture and the Late Bronze Age collapse of the Hittite Empire. National benefit will be accrued through the major scholarly contribution the project makes to a key debate in world archaeology, namely the extent to which environmental change affected ancient complex societies, especially climate change. As such it fosters an awareness of world cultures and the interrelation between political stability and environmental change. The project also will encourage international collaboration betwe ....Agriculture and the Late Bronze Age collapse of the Hittite Empire. National benefit will be accrued through the major scholarly contribution the project makes to a key debate in world archaeology, namely the extent to which environmental change affected ancient complex societies, especially climate change. As such it fosters an awareness of world cultures and the interrelation between political stability and environmental change. The project also will encourage international collaboration between Australian, Turkish and Japanese scholars and will provide training for several research scholars in an area of archaeology in which Australia has a recognised major deficit, namely archaeobotany.Read moreRead less
Precisely Dating the Evolution of Complex Societies in Polynesia: The Hawaiian Example. It is of enormous national benefit to develop intellectual innovations that set Australia apart from its neighbours and establish its position as a regional leader in science. Because the Australasian region relies heavily on primary resource exploitation, intellectual developments are crucial for sustainable economic growth. Understanding how societies meet the challenges of resource depletion, landscape de ....Precisely Dating the Evolution of Complex Societies in Polynesia: The Hawaiian Example. It is of enormous national benefit to develop intellectual innovations that set Australia apart from its neighbours and establish its position as a regional leader in science. Because the Australasian region relies heavily on primary resource exploitation, intellectual developments are crucial for sustainable economic growth. Understanding how societies meet the challenges of resource depletion, landscape degradation, drought and population increase can be monitored with archaeological data over hundreds of years. Our research seeks to use an innovative technique for precisely dating major changes in Oceanic societies over the past 500 years, which will provide insights into how modern communities can cope with these problems today. Read moreRead less
Modern human origins and early behavioural complexity in Australia and Southeast Asia. This project tackles a fundamental issue in world prehistory: how and when did humans first cross from Southeast Asia into Australia. Three new archaeological excavations using novel methods of analysis will assess the nature of behavioural complexity and human evolution at the time when Australia was first colonised over 45,000 years ago.
Loyalty Islands Archaeological Project: Phase I (Tiga Island). The project is explicitly intended to help safeguard Australia by strengthening our understanding of our region and the world. The study will substantially enhance international research cooperation between Australia, France and the French Pacific territories and will contribute to South Pacific development through its direct and indirect spin-offs for cultural heritage management and tourism. These outcomes will directly benefit the ....Loyalty Islands Archaeological Project: Phase I (Tiga Island). The project is explicitly intended to help safeguard Australia by strengthening our understanding of our region and the world. The study will substantially enhance international research cooperation between Australia, France and the French Pacific territories and will contribute to South Pacific development through its direct and indirect spin-offs for cultural heritage management and tourism. These outcomes will directly benefit the nation/community at a time when social, cultural and historical issues of the sort addressed by the project are assuming an ever-greater importance in an uncertain global security environment.Read moreRead less
Voyaging, Trade and the Development of Ancient Complex Societies in East Polynesia: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Developing a knowledge-based economy has long-term benefits to Australia and is independent of fluctuations in the resource sector on which our nation heavily relies. Intellectual innovations are crucial for sustainable growth and help establish Australia as a regional and world leader in science. We use innovative methods to 'fingerprint' prehistoric stone tools and raw material so ....Voyaging, Trade and the Development of Ancient Complex Societies in East Polynesia: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Developing a knowledge-based economy has long-term benefits to Australia and is independent of fluctuations in the resource sector on which our nation heavily relies. Intellectual innovations are crucial for sustainable growth and help establish Australia as a regional and world leader in science. We use innovative methods to 'fingerprint' prehistoric stone tools and raw material sources for determining the geographic extent of travel between island groups and ascertaining how inter-connected Pacific island communities were about 800 to 200 years ago. Documenting this long-term prehistory will provide insights into our modern neighbours and promote regional understanding, and enhance international collaboration and research training.Read moreRead less