Hydraulic Systems and State Development in Early Cambodia: Mapping the Engineered Landscapes of the Khmer Using Remote Sensing. Due to recent discoveries, Australian research at Angkor, in Cambodia, has gained increasing visibility worldwide. The ARC-funded Greater Angkor Project (Discovery) and Living With Heritage project (Linkage) have produced results of international significance, developed strong long-term partnerships with Cambodian agencies and UNESCO, and have pioneered the large-scale ....Hydraulic Systems and State Development in Early Cambodia: Mapping the Engineered Landscapes of the Khmer Using Remote Sensing. Due to recent discoveries, Australian research at Angkor, in Cambodia, has gained increasing visibility worldwide. The ARC-funded Greater Angkor Project (Discovery) and Living With Heritage project (Linkage) have produced results of international significance, developed strong long-term partnerships with Cambodian agencies and UNESCO, and have pioneered the large-scale mapping of World Heritage-listed sites using airborne imaging radar systems in collaboration with NASA. This project will extend these partnerships, consolidate Australia's leading position in radar analysis methods, and continue to produce results with global implications for the understanding and management of World Heritage sites.Read moreRead less
A study of the archaeology of Caucasian Iberia with implications for grazing management in Australia. This multi-disciplinary project will promote a younger generation of talented postgraduate and undergraduate students in a wide variety of fields, including archaeology, geomatic engineering, conservation of material culture, environmental and other natural sciences. The highlands of the Caucasus, located in a bioclimatic zone with a long history of alpine grazing, can also provide answers to qu ....A study of the archaeology of Caucasian Iberia with implications for grazing management in Australia. This multi-disciplinary project will promote a younger generation of talented postgraduate and undergraduate students in a wide variety of fields, including archaeology, geomatic engineering, conservation of material culture, environmental and other natural sciences. The highlands of the Caucasus, located in a bioclimatic zone with a long history of alpine grazing, can also provide answers to questions such as the effect of grazing on biodiversity and the rehabilitation of fragile ecosystems, which may inform management and conservation activities in analogous highland country in Australia. The project will also ensure that exhibitions illustrating the rich heritage of Caucasus will reach Australian shores.Read moreRead less
Shipwrecks of the Roaring Forties: a maritime archaeological reassessment of some of Australia's earliest shipwrecks. This project will evaluate new ways of investigating the history of Europeans in the Indian Ocean by using the latest technology to evaluate seven Western Australian shipwrecks excavated over 40 years ago. The project will work with emerging technologies to study these significant sites and collections.
Investigating Holocene India - Australia Connections using Ancient Genomics. A number of studies of human migration suggest that after initial colonisation of Australia around 45,000 years ago, these people remained largely isolated until the arrival of Europeans. In contrast recent studies have suggested that a wave of migration from India into Australia occurred approximately 4,230 years ago. However, a major drawback of these recent studies is that sequence data used was from modern indigenou ....Investigating Holocene India - Australia Connections using Ancient Genomics. A number of studies of human migration suggest that after initial colonisation of Australia around 45,000 years ago, these people remained largely isolated until the arrival of Europeans. In contrast recent studies have suggested that a wave of migration from India into Australia occurred approximately 4,230 years ago. However, a major drawback of these recent studies is that sequence data used was from modern indigenous Australians who were potentially admixed with Europeans. To address this issue we will sequence complete genomes from sub-fossil bones of ancient Indian and Indigenous Australian people and directly investigate this possible India-Australia connection.Read moreRead less
Divergent pathways to tropical agriculture in Australasia and Wallacea. The project aims to address a major question in world archaeology: why did some people develop agriculture, while others did not? It plans to establish plant macrofossil and microfossil reference collections for three wet tropical regions: highland Papua New Guinea, Moluccas in eastern Indonesia, and western Arnhem Land in Australia. It then plans to use previously excavated archaeobotanical assemblages to establish robust p ....Divergent pathways to tropical agriculture in Australasia and Wallacea. The project aims to address a major question in world archaeology: why did some people develop agriculture, while others did not? It plans to establish plant macrofossil and microfossil reference collections for three wet tropical regions: highland Papua New Guinea, Moluccas in eastern Indonesia, and western Arnhem Land in Australia. It then plans to use previously excavated archaeobotanical assemblages to establish robust plant-use chronologies for these regions. In this way, the project seeks to develop capacity for tropical archaeobotany within Australia and to revolutionise concepts of plant exploitation, domestication and cultivation in tropical Australasia and Wallacea during the Holocene (last c.11 500 years).Read moreRead less
Resolving fundamental problems in the dating of marine shell in the tropics. This project will model variability in the way carbon is distributed in marine environments and animals in tropical Australasia. Results will provide key enabling tools for accurate dating of marine materials, realising the potential of previous research and forming the basis for accurate reconstructions of cultural, sea-level and climate changed.
Before, during and after Lapita: 5000 years of cultural continuity and transformation at Caution Bay, southern Papua New Guinea. Australia's closest Indigenous neighbours in southern Papua New Guinea have long been thought to have been in contact with long-distance seafarers only in the last 2000 years. This project will document recent archaeological findings that are causing a radical rethink of ancestral connections between Australia and southern Papua New Guinea.
Technology and behavioural evolution in late Pleistocene Africa, Europe and Australia. Many of the behaviours which distinguish Homo sapiens from other species first appeared in the late Pleistocene, raising the issue of whether our cognitive capacity changed significantly in this period. This project will use recent advances developed by Australian researchers to help resolve this cornerstone issue in human behavioural evolution. The project will also emphasise the importance of Australian arch ....Technology and behavioural evolution in late Pleistocene Africa, Europe and Australia. Many of the behaviours which distinguish Homo sapiens from other species first appeared in the late Pleistocene, raising the issue of whether our cognitive capacity changed significantly in this period. This project will use recent advances developed by Australian researchers to help resolve this cornerstone issue in human behavioural evolution. The project will also emphasise the importance of Australian archaeology to models of human evolution, redressing the peripheral role that the Pleistocene archaeology of the country is often accorded. In addressing these issues, the project will highlight Australia's commitment to core issues in human evolution, and deepen Australia's scientific ties with South Africa.Read moreRead less
Drawing the line: the archaeology of Roman provincial borders in Late Antique Palaestina and Arabia (AD250 - 650). This project, using archaeological evidence from Jordan, will for the first time accurately establish the boundaries of provinces in the Roman Empire. By linking Australia and the Middle East in international scholarly research dealing with our common cultural heritage, it will increase our mutual understanding. The examination of very long-term trends in an ancient system which dea ....Drawing the line: the archaeology of Roman provincial borders in Late Antique Palaestina and Arabia (AD250 - 650). This project, using archaeological evidence from Jordan, will for the first time accurately establish the boundaries of provinces in the Roman Empire. By linking Australia and the Middle East in international scholarly research dealing with our common cultural heritage, it will increase our mutual understanding. The examination of very long-term trends in an ancient system which dealt with a complex, multi-cultural population will provide much needed comparative illustrations for the current national debate on the nature and security of Australian borders. It will also provide evidence of long-term economic change and its political consequences.Read moreRead less
Archaeology in the central Caucasus: investigations at Samatvro and Tchkantiskedi. This archaeological project is the strongest Australian cultural link with the Republic of Georgia, a developing country of considerable strategic importance that borders Russia. A study of Georgia's past heritage will provide a deeper understanding of its contemporary social diversity and complex geographical situation.