Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100703
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$346,536.00
Summary
The Drumbeat of Human Evolution: Climate Proxies from Rockshelter Sediments. This project aims to trial new techniques for extracting environmental information from the sediments contained within archaeological rock shelters. Homo sapiens evolved during a period of dramatic climate variation, which almost certainly influenced human development and global dispersal. High-resolution climate records are rarely available for Pleistocene archaeological sites and so it is challenging to quantify the d ....The Drumbeat of Human Evolution: Climate Proxies from Rockshelter Sediments. This project aims to trial new techniques for extracting environmental information from the sediments contained within archaeological rock shelters. Homo sapiens evolved during a period of dramatic climate variation, which almost certainly influenced human development and global dispersal. High-resolution climate records are rarely available for Pleistocene archaeological sites and so it is challenging to quantify the degree of behavioural response to environmental change. This project aims to apply novel geophysical and geochemical techniques to provide new climate records for Indonesia and South Africa, facilitate correlation with other climate archives and thus create a means of directly evaluating the degree of environmental influence on human behavioural evolution.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL130100116
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,182,338.00
Summary
Out of Asia: unique insights into human evolution and interactions using frontier technologies in archaeological science. The evolution of our early ancestors and their interaction with archaic humans is the story of our species — an epic tale of universal appeal. This project will use scientific techniques to shed new light on the activities of archaic and early modern humans in Asia, and enrich our understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal cultural heritage.
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
Early human dispersal: identifying the key environmental drivers. This project aims to investigate if environmental or human evolutionary processes drove the dispersal of early humans eastwards from Africa into Southeast Asia—and beyond into Australia. The project will examine archaeological sediments using an Earth-science approach, providing direct links between cultural and environmental records. The project will reveal the types of environment that were favored by early humans and provide a ....Early human dispersal: identifying the key environmental drivers. This project aims to investigate if environmental or human evolutionary processes drove the dispersal of early humans eastwards from Africa into Southeast Asia—and beyond into Australia. The project will examine archaeological sediments using an Earth-science approach, providing direct links between cultural and environmental records. The project will reveal the types of environment that were favored by early humans and provide a greater understanding of the role of environmental change on the colonisation of new environments. Read moreRead less
Investigating the archaeology of human settlement in the highlands of PNG. Around 50 000 years ago, people crossed the Wallace Line and set foot on Sahul (Pleistocene Australia-New Guinea) for the first time. Rapid dispersal across the Sahul continent followed during a period of climatic deterioration. Subsequent human impacts on the landscape are well preserved in the fossil record, particularly plants. This project aims to implement an archaeological and palaeobotanical approach to investigate ....Investigating the archaeology of human settlement in the highlands of PNG. Around 50 000 years ago, people crossed the Wallace Line and set foot on Sahul (Pleistocene Australia-New Guinea) for the first time. Rapid dispersal across the Sahul continent followed during a period of climatic deterioration. Subsequent human impacts on the landscape are well preserved in the fossil record, particularly plants. This project aims to implement an archaeological and palaeobotanical approach to investigate the temporal and spatial patterning of landscape use through a period of climatic change in the Late Quaternary. The results are expected to provide a fuller understanding of the subsistence strategies and dynamics of human responses to climate change over long time periods.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
Environmental and cultural change along the Central Murray River. The aim of this project is to understand how past people in the riverine landscapes of the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) were influenced by and adapted to environmental change. This will be achieved using a novel cross-disciplinary approach combining state-of-the-art palaeoenvironmental and archaeological methods. Indigenous people of the MDB have always been closely linked to rivers, however, over the period of human habitation flow ....Environmental and cultural change along the Central Murray River. The aim of this project is to understand how past people in the riverine landscapes of the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) were influenced by and adapted to environmental change. This will be achieved using a novel cross-disciplinary approach combining state-of-the-art palaeoenvironmental and archaeological methods. Indigenous people of the MDB have always been closely linked to rivers, however, over the period of human habitation flows on these rivers were likely subject to changes that exceeded present-day variability. Understanding how these changes have impacted humans, offers clues on adaption to environmental change and aids in developing strategies for living with the inherently variable and vulnerable rivers in drylands.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100890
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$427,082.00
Summary
Rapid climate change, early modern human dispersal, and Neanderthal demise. Why are we the only surviving human species? This project aims to investigate whether seasonal environmental changes associated with rapid climate change events played a role in the expansion of our own species and the demise of Neanderthals between 60,000-30,000 years ago. The project will generate quantitative, sub-seasonal records of past climate variability using novel multi-proxy analyses from key archaeological sit ....Rapid climate change, early modern human dispersal, and Neanderthal demise. Why are we the only surviving human species? This project aims to investigate whether seasonal environmental changes associated with rapid climate change events played a role in the expansion of our own species and the demise of Neanderthals between 60,000-30,000 years ago. The project will generate quantitative, sub-seasonal records of past climate variability using novel multi-proxy analyses from key archaeological sites, offering a framework for understanding early human responses to extreme climate fluctuations. This may inform our strategies for coping with future extreme scenarios. These unparalleled records will also provide data to test and refine climate models, enabling a better understanding of Earth’s climate system. Read moreRead less
Kiacatoo Man: biology, archaeology and environment at the Last Glacial Maximum. What were the origins of the first Australians, and how have they changed through time? This project will focus on the riverine environment, archaeology and human biology of 'Kiacatoo Man', ancient remains that were excavated last year from glacial-age sands of the southern Murray-Darling Basin.
From prehistory to history: landscape and cultural change on the South Alligator River, Kakadu National Park. This project explores the archaeology, history and palaeoecology of the Kakadu floodplains to better understand social and environmental changes that have taken place in this landscape from the mid-Holocene to historical times. The outcome will be a contextualised understanding of potential climate change impacts against a history of past change.