A 140,000 year insight into the imprint of climate and humans on Australia. Before the arrival of Europeans, two events shaped Australia's current landscapes and biota more than any others: climate change during the glacial cycle and the arrival of humans on the continent. However, the full scale of these events is not well understood. High resolution analyses of two continuous 140 000 year old sediment deposits will be used in this project to fill this void and answer fundamental questions abou ....A 140,000 year insight into the imprint of climate and humans on Australia. Before the arrival of Europeans, two events shaped Australia's current landscapes and biota more than any others: climate change during the glacial cycle and the arrival of humans on the continent. However, the full scale of these events is not well understood. High resolution analyses of two continuous 140 000 year old sediment deposits will be used in this project to fill this void and answer fundamental questions about how current Australian environments came to be.Read moreRead less
Fire and rain: Drivers of deep-time ecosystem assembly in Australia. This project aims to investigate the influence of bushfires and shifting rainfall patterns on the development of Australia’s dominant ecosystems. By combining a range of novel geochemical, isotopic and palaeontological techniques, this research seeks to reveal the causes and consequences of Australia’s transformation from a forested to mainly open landscape of grassland, shrubland and savannah. The expected outcome is detailed ....Fire and rain: Drivers of deep-time ecosystem assembly in Australia. This project aims to investigate the influence of bushfires and shifting rainfall patterns on the development of Australia’s dominant ecosystems. By combining a range of novel geochemical, isotopic and palaeontological techniques, this research seeks to reveal the causes and consequences of Australia’s transformation from a forested to mainly open landscape of grassland, shrubland and savannah. The expected outcome is detailed knowledge of how changes in fire and rain shaped the ecology and evolution of plants and animals. This knowledge is key to understanding how Australian ecosystems function and to protecting their cultural, economic and environmental values, especially as climate and fire regimes continue to change into the future.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200200563
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$194,500.00
Summary
Following the Trade Routes: exchange and innovations in cultural economy. This project aims to create new understanding of cultural economies and trade routes that shaped Aboriginal societies across Australia, and to explore how such knowledge informs society today. It expects to generate national research capacity through innovative networks of early-mid career scholars, Indigenous researchers and cultural custodians, and new understandings of connections between living and archival knowledge o ....Following the Trade Routes: exchange and innovations in cultural economy. This project aims to create new understanding of cultural economies and trade routes that shaped Aboriginal societies across Australia, and to explore how such knowledge informs society today. It expects to generate national research capacity through innovative networks of early-mid career scholars, Indigenous researchers and cultural custodians, and new understandings of connections between living and archival knowledge of Indigenous trade in the Kimberley and Desert Regions. This should provide significant outcomes and benefits including revitalised Indigenous cultural exchange and trade practices; strengthened Indigenous networks and cultural authority; and greater awareness of this part of Australia’s history, economy and society.Read moreRead less
Rockshelters and Rock Art in the River Murray Gorge: New Data and Syntheses. This project, undertaken in partnership with the River Murray and Mallee Aboriginal Corporation, aims to explore Aboriginal rock art and rockshelter occupation deposits in the Upper Murray River Gorge, South Australia. The project will conduct the first archaeological excavations of stratified rockshelter sites in this region in more than 50 years and record a threatened and rapidly diminishing corpus of rock art. The c ....Rockshelters and Rock Art in the River Murray Gorge: New Data and Syntheses. This project, undertaken in partnership with the River Murray and Mallee Aboriginal Corporation, aims to explore Aboriginal rock art and rockshelter occupation deposits in the Upper Murray River Gorge, South Australia. The project will conduct the first archaeological excavations of stratified rockshelter sites in this region in more than 50 years and record a threatened and rapidly diminishing corpus of rock art. The cultural importance of the located sites will be considered in conjunction with their archaeological significance to produce meaningful narratives. New understandings about Holocene societal and environmental changes will be generated. Traditional owners will benefit from a range of socio-economic capacity-building measures.Read moreRead less
Aboriginal rock art and cultural heritage management in Cape York Peninsula. The Laura Sandstone Basin of Cape York Peninsula hosts one of the richest bodies of rock art in Australia and the world. It documents the life-ways of generations of Aboriginal Australians from their original settlement, through major environmental changes, to European invasion. This vast area, much of which is now jointly managed as National Parks by Traditional Owners, remains virtually unexplored archaeologically. Th ....Aboriginal rock art and cultural heritage management in Cape York Peninsula. The Laura Sandstone Basin of Cape York Peninsula hosts one of the richest bodies of rock art in Australia and the world. It documents the life-ways of generations of Aboriginal Australians from their original settlement, through major environmental changes, to European invasion. This vast area, much of which is now jointly managed as National Parks by Traditional Owners, remains virtually unexplored archaeologically. This project aims to record this unique rock art so that its testimony remains for future generations. This will provide a framework for its sustainable management and findings will have profound implications for our understandings of the cultural behaviour and dispersal of the earliest modern humans to colonise Australia.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE170100177
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$290,000.00
Summary
A regional optical dating facility in Australia. This project aims to establish an open access, end-user friendly optical dating facility in Australia. This will address shortcomings in the capacity and geographical coverage of the existing national geochronology infrastructure and enable Australian researchers to reconstruct past records of climate change, human evolution, ecological vulnerabilities, natural and man-made hazards and environmental disturbance over historical to near-million-year ....A regional optical dating facility in Australia. This project aims to establish an open access, end-user friendly optical dating facility in Australia. This will address shortcomings in the capacity and geographical coverage of the existing national geochronology infrastructure and enable Australian researchers to reconstruct past records of climate change, human evolution, ecological vulnerabilities, natural and man-made hazards and environmental disturbance over historical to near-million-year timeframes. This project is expected to increase commercial demand for geoscience services and lead to better understanding of Australia’s natural heritage and its long-term vulnerabilities.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100115
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$180,000.00
Summary
Confocal microscope for high-resolution microtopographic analysis of surfaces in historical, forensic and polymer sciences. High-resolution analyses of microscopic patterns on surfaces using confocal microscopy can provide vital clues into the nature of ancient diets and environments, adaptive evolution, weapons used in crimes, and properties of polymers. This instrument will heighten Australia’s capacity for world-leading research in areas of major national importance.
Enhancing cultural heritage management for mining operations: a multi-disciplinary approach. This project will apply a multi-disciplinary, research-based focus to cultural heritage management on mining leases in the Cape York region. It will improve relations between the mine operators and Indigenous Traditional Owners and allow them to strengthen connections with the past, while at the same time providing an enduring legacy for future generations.
Engaging the global legacy and impact of the Aboriginal Artists Agency. The Aboriginal Artists Agency (AAA) was a driving force for change in the Australian arts industry. Founded in 1976, it was the first national body to administer copyrights for indigenous artists, create international demand for Australian culture and pioneer ways for Indigenous artists to reach audiences and markets worldwide. This project aims to investigate the seminal work of the AAA, secure and analyse its exclusive pri ....Engaging the global legacy and impact of the Aboriginal Artists Agency. The Aboriginal Artists Agency (AAA) was a driving force for change in the Australian arts industry. Founded in 1976, it was the first national body to administer copyrights for indigenous artists, create international demand for Australian culture and pioneer ways for Indigenous artists to reach audiences and markets worldwide. This project aims to investigate the seminal work of the AAA, secure and analyse its exclusive primary collection and assess the vast corporate knowledge of its personnel through new interviews. New frameworks for assessing Indigenous arts initiatives, it is hoped, will be generated through this unprecedented analysis of the AAA's role in reshaping attitudes towards Australian identities.Read moreRead less
Rediscovering Aboriginal dispersal pathways. This project aims to use cutting-edge and transdisciplinary tools in partnership with Aboriginal people to rediscover deliberate prehistoric plant dispersal pathways along the Australian east coast. By working on three unrelated species with similar disjunct distributions, expected outcomes include detecting significant ‘cultural’ vegetation patterns that will challenge current assumptions about 'natural' plant distributions. New associations between ....Rediscovering Aboriginal dispersal pathways. This project aims to use cutting-edge and transdisciplinary tools in partnership with Aboriginal people to rediscover deliberate prehistoric plant dispersal pathways along the Australian east coast. By working on three unrelated species with similar disjunct distributions, expected outcomes include detecting significant ‘cultural’ vegetation patterns that will challenge current assumptions about 'natural' plant distributions. New associations between plant biogeography and deliberate Aboriginal manipulation of Australian environments will benefit cultural heritage, land management and restoration initiatives.Read moreRead less