Unraveling the mystery of the Plain of Jars, Laos. Since their discovery in the 1930s, the mysterious collections of giant stone jars scattered throughout central Laos have remained one of the great prehistoric puzzles of south-east (SE) Asia. It is thought that the jars represent the mortuary remains of an extensive and powerful Iron Age culture. This project seeks to determine the true nature of these sites, which date to a dynamic period of increasing complexity in SE Asia (c.500BCE-500CE). T ....Unraveling the mystery of the Plain of Jars, Laos. Since their discovery in the 1930s, the mysterious collections of giant stone jars scattered throughout central Laos have remained one of the great prehistoric puzzles of south-east (SE) Asia. It is thought that the jars represent the mortuary remains of an extensive and powerful Iron Age culture. This project seeks to determine the true nature of these sites, which date to a dynamic period of increasing complexity in SE Asia (c.500BCE-500CE). The project entails extensive reconnaissance, precision mapping, archaeological excavation and analysis of associated burial material. Using a suite of cutting-edge archaeological technologies, it is expected to have far-reaching benefits for archaeology, science, Laos and World Heritage.Read moreRead less
Reconstructing Eastern Himalayan Histories: languages, plants, and people. This project combines linguistic and ethnographic fieldwork to produce documentations of Bhutan's East-Bodish (Tibeto-Burman) speaking peoples, with an ultimate aim to reconstruct the social history of this group. The linguistic fieldwork will focus on different semantic domains, including religion, agriculture, and ethnobotany and grammatical features as different lenses into the past. The anthropological research will b ....Reconstructing Eastern Himalayan Histories: languages, plants, and people. This project combines linguistic and ethnographic fieldwork to produce documentations of Bhutan's East-Bodish (Tibeto-Burman) speaking peoples, with an ultimate aim to reconstruct the social history of this group. The linguistic fieldwork will focus on different semantic domains, including religion, agriculture, and ethnobotany and grammatical features as different lenses into the past. The anthropological research will bring new ethnographic light in to supplement the linguistic picture of the past, including religious practices and social organisation. Situated squarely within the eastern Himalayas, this project will provide new and crucial insights into the prehistory of Asia.Read moreRead less
Collecting institutions: cultural diversity and the making of citizenship in Australia since the 1970s. This project will develop the first comprehensive history of the engagement of the Australian collecting sector with cultural diversity. It aims to understand the role of the sector in the management and promotion of culturally diverse societies, including the formation of citizens and to identify Australian innovation in this regard.
Drying and dying in Australia: extraordinary creatures and climate change 15 million years ago. Australia's globally distinctive mammals were confronted 15 million years ago by a climate plunge from lush greenhouse to dry icehouse conditions. In northern Queensland, in the World Heritage-listed cave known as AL90, fossil-rich deposits span this interval of change. Entombed are dozens of extraordinarily well-preserved skulls and articulated skeletons including a growth series from pouch-young to ....Drying and dying in Australia: extraordinary creatures and climate change 15 million years ago. Australia's globally distinctive mammals were confronted 15 million years ago by a climate plunge from lush greenhouse to dry icehouse conditions. In northern Queensland, in the World Heritage-listed cave known as AL90, fossil-rich deposits span this interval of change. Entombed are dozens of extraordinarily well-preserved skulls and articulated skeletons including a growth series from pouch-young to adults of a rare, possibly sloth-like marsupial as well as more familiar kangaroos, thylacines and bats. Our fossil research will help align Australian records of biotic change with global palaeoclimatic events and provide a benchmark for measuring the nature and rate of environmental and biotic change that continues to transform our nation.Read moreRead less
Conciliation Narratives and the Historical Imagination in British Pacific Rim Settler Societies. This project deepens Australian understandings of the negotiated forms of conciliation that occurred between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in the colonial period to present. By comparing these with conciliation events in New Zealand and British Columbia, the Australian experience is positioned within the global context of the Pacific Rim. The project's innovative approach unites historical an ....Conciliation Narratives and the Historical Imagination in British Pacific Rim Settler Societies. This project deepens Australian understandings of the negotiated forms of conciliation that occurred between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in the colonial period to present. By comparing these with conciliation events in New Zealand and British Columbia, the Australian experience is positioned within the global context of the Pacific Rim. The project's innovative approach unites historical and legal research with material culture of extraordinary heritage significance held by three major national collecting institutions (partner organisations) and others. Among the outcomes are scholarly publications, international symposia, publicly assessable web-based and educational materials, a travelling exhibition, and professional training. Read moreRead less
Building Difference: Architectural Strategies in Colonial Museums. Natural history and ethnology museums built in the 19th century in British imperial territories in Australia, New Zealand, India, and Canada were driven by specific colonising intent. Their architecture reflects the cultural complexities of empire. Using archival sources, the project researches the deployment of metropolitan architectural theory in colonial museum design from the foundation of these institutions to decolonisatio ....Building Difference: Architectural Strategies in Colonial Museums. Natural history and ethnology museums built in the 19th century in British imperial territories in Australia, New Zealand, India, and Canada were driven by specific colonising intent. Their architecture reflects the cultural complexities of empire. Using archival sources, the project researches the deployment of metropolitan architectural theory in colonial museum design from the foundation of these institutions to decolonisation and institutional modernisation in the mid-20th century. It examines how architectural strategies were exploited and inflected by different local conditions, to produce a sophisticated investigation of the architecture of empire.Read moreRead less
New words for new things: Formal and substantive aspects in the development of the Pitkern-Norf'k language. This project will help consolidate Australia's reputation as a leader in contact language research. It will strengthen Australia's social and economic fabric by involving a small remote community in research on their endangered language, thereby sustaining community cohesion and a sense of identity. The publications arising from the research will have direct applications to language reviva ....New words for new things: Formal and substantive aspects in the development of the Pitkern-Norf'k language. This project will help consolidate Australia's reputation as a leader in contact language research. It will strengthen Australia's social and economic fabric by involving a small remote community in research on their endangered language, thereby sustaining community cohesion and a sense of identity. The publications arising from the research will have direct applications to language revival, teaching, and cultural tourism as currently promoted by the Norfolk Island Assembly.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0237723
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$200,000.00
Summary
Argus On-Line: A Nineteenth Century Australian Newspaper Digital Index. This project seeks to develop a searchable digital index to the original texts of the Argus print run for the ten years 1870-1879, and make it accessible through the world wide web in 2002. The digital index will, for the first time, make the contents of a late nineteenth century Australian newspaper widely available to researchers of Australia, thus creating a resource of national significance. The digital index will suppor ....Argus On-Line: A Nineteenth Century Australian Newspaper Digital Index. This project seeks to develop a searchable digital index to the original texts of the Argus print run for the ten years 1870-1879, and make it accessible through the world wide web in 2002. The digital index will, for the first time, make the contents of a late nineteenth century Australian newspaper widely available to researchers of Australia, thus creating a resource of national significance. The digital index will support major national research projects. It will serve as a foundation for the development of a complete digital index to the newspaper over the years 2003-2005.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0453714
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$205,800.00
Summary
Argus On-Line: A Nineteenth Century Australian Newspaper Digital Index. This project is developing a searchable digital index to the Argus newspaper for the period 1870-1909, and to make it accessible through the world-wide web. The digital index will, for the first time,make the contents of a late nineteenth century Australian newspaper widely available to researchers of Australia, thus creating a resource of national significance. The digital index will support major national research projects ....Argus On-Line: A Nineteenth Century Australian Newspaper Digital Index. This project is developing a searchable digital index to the Argus newspaper for the period 1870-1909, and to make it accessible through the world-wide web. The digital index will, for the first time,make the contents of a late nineteenth century Australian newspaper widely available to researchers of Australia, thus creating a resource of national significance. The digital index will support major national research projects in many fields. A complete digital index will be subsequently created by placing existing printed indexes (1846-69, 1909-49) on line.Read moreRead less
Asia's first people: the role of East Asia in human evolution during the past half million years. A new statement about the importance of East Asia in our evolution is long overdue. The evolutionary development of humans between 500,000 and 20,000 years ago will be examined from archaeological, biological, faunal, ecological, environmental and migrational perspectives. We will synthesise the scattered East Asian literature, examine unpublished material in situ and conduct new fieldwork. Excava ....Asia's first people: the role of East Asia in human evolution during the past half million years. A new statement about the importance of East Asia in our evolution is long overdue. The evolutionary development of humans between 500,000 and 20,000 years ago will be examined from archaeological, biological, faunal, ecological, environmental and migrational perspectives. We will synthesise the scattered East Asian literature, examine unpublished material in situ and conduct new fieldwork. Excavations will take place at two locations in Myanmar, the first in 50 years. Permission has already been granted by the national government and local authorities for our team to have access and to begin work.Read moreRead less