Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100530
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$456,802.00
Summary
Neanderthal hunting ability and the extinction of archaic humans. This project aims to investigate a critical factor in explaining Neanderthals extinction: their hunting abilities. The research expects to generate new knowledge of archaic humans behaviour using an innovative approach combining traditional archaeological analytical methods with ground-breaking biomolecular techniques. Expected outcomes of this project include the development of new knowledge in human evolutionary history and impr ....Neanderthal hunting ability and the extinction of archaic humans. This project aims to investigate a critical factor in explaining Neanderthals extinction: their hunting abilities. The research expects to generate new knowledge of archaic humans behaviour using an innovative approach combining traditional archaeological analytical methods with ground-breaking biomolecular techniques. Expected outcomes of this project include the development of new knowledge in human evolutionary history and improved techniques to understand past human extinction events. This should provide significant benefits for Australia to become a primary power in studying human past and deep history, while enhancing capacity by becoming the first country in the Southern Hemisphere to implement ancient protein studies in archaeology.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
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100597
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$399,551.00
Summary
Pacific Matildas: finding the women in the history of Pacific archaeology. This project aims to investigate the scientific lives and contributions of women in the development of a particular discipline; using Pacific archaeology as a case study. The history of science has traditionally produced gender biased narratives, so an innovative interdisciplinary approach will be developed to document the hidden role of women in the history of archaeology. New knowledge will be generated in the history o ....Pacific Matildas: finding the women in the history of Pacific archaeology. This project aims to investigate the scientific lives and contributions of women in the development of a particular discipline; using Pacific archaeology as a case study. The history of science has traditionally produced gender biased narratives, so an innovative interdisciplinary approach will be developed to document the hidden role of women in the history of archaeology. New knowledge will be generated in the history of science, archaeology and gender studies. Anticipated outcomes include (i) a more inclusive history that provides diverse role models of women in science from our region, (ii) the identification of socio-cultural patterns limiting women's careers and successful strategies historically developed to overcome these.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100550
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$443,608.00
Summary
Prospecting for Australia's Submerged Landscapes through Machine Learning. This project aims to apply machine learning to image-based seabed surveys to prospect for submerged Aboriginal archaeological sites, beginning with both of Australia’s only known sites. This will be the first attempt globally to develop a technique to pinpoint potential archaeological material within large area surveys, tagging features which can then be tested through scientific diving. Expected outcomes are workflows th ....Prospecting for Australia's Submerged Landscapes through Machine Learning. This project aims to apply machine learning to image-based seabed surveys to prospect for submerged Aboriginal archaeological sites, beginning with both of Australia’s only known sites. This will be the first attempt globally to develop a technique to pinpoint potential archaeological material within large area surveys, tagging features which can then be tested through scientific diving. Expected outcomes are workflows that pair machine learning algorithms, marine robotics and scientific diving to greatly enhance prospecting efficiency. This will enhance knowledge and benefit management of these resources on Australia’s continental shelf and beyond, reducing the impacts of offshore industry on cultural heritage.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100046
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$374,575.00
Summary
Foundations of Island Southeast Asian maritime interaction: unravelling cause and consequence for the transformation of past societies. The successful spread of Neolithic innovations across the world was one of the most important transformations in human history. This project combines the geochemical and technological analysis of stone tools to track the evolution of maritime colonisation in Island Southeast Asia, the foundation for the success of agriculture in this region.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101383
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$432,953.00
Summary
Hidden histories in teeth: The key to unlocking secrets in ancient Myanmar. The aim of this project is to examine isotopes in the teeth of individuals from three sites in prehistoric central Myanmar to examine diet, the movement and migration of people, and potential patterns in post-marital residence, which are all intricately linked. Built on a strong conceptual framework this project seeks to generate new information in the field of archaeological science. The research outcomes of this projec ....Hidden histories in teeth: The key to unlocking secrets in ancient Myanmar. The aim of this project is to examine isotopes in the teeth of individuals from three sites in prehistoric central Myanmar to examine diet, the movement and migration of people, and potential patterns in post-marital residence, which are all intricately linked. Built on a strong conceptual framework this project seeks to generate new information in the field of archaeological science. The research outcomes of this project will expand our current archaeological knowledge of this focal but under-researched area, which will be of particular benefit in understanding Myanmar in relation to surrounding regions and the wider Southeast Asian context, and in fostering continued collegiality and collaboration with Myanmar scholars and communities.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101087
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$444,281.00
Summary
10,000 years of Indigenous fisheries informs future Great Barrier Reef. This project aims to document the role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in shaping the fish resources of the Great Barrier Reef over millennia. Using novel analyses of archaeological faunal remains, this project expects to generate new knowledge on how people’s actions transformed marine systems and modified fish communities. Expected outcomes include establishing pre-European baseline data essential for manag ....10,000 years of Indigenous fisheries informs future Great Barrier Reef. This project aims to document the role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in shaping the fish resources of the Great Barrier Reef over millennia. Using novel analyses of archaeological faunal remains, this project expects to generate new knowledge on how people’s actions transformed marine systems and modified fish communities. Expected outcomes include establishing pre-European baseline data essential for managing contemporary fish populations, and a long-term perspective on human exploitation of a dynamic Great Barrier Reef. Benefits include a framework for integrating Indigenous fisheries management into conservation agendas and foregrounding the deep human history of the Reef to support future social-ecological resilience.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100464
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,724.00
Summary
Conservatism as a dynamic response to the diffusion of innovations. This project aims to investigate how resistance to new and foreign practices and technologies can be a dynamic response to rapid cultural change, rather than a failure to innovate. The project will examine the underlying factors that influence innovation adoption and rejection. It will examine settlement structure and ritual activities in later prehistoric Cornwall, which was simultaneously a key node in the prehistoric economy ....Conservatism as a dynamic response to the diffusion of innovations. This project aims to investigate how resistance to new and foreign practices and technologies can be a dynamic response to rapid cultural change, rather than a failure to innovate. The project will examine the underlying factors that influence innovation adoption and rejection. It will examine settlement structure and ritual activities in later prehistoric Cornwall, which was simultaneously a key node in the prehistoric economy and a periphery, with a distinctly local material culture and way of life. The intended outcome is a model of innovation and conservatism, linking the uptake of new ideas and technologies to participation in local and more widespread networks of contact and exchange. This project will increase the profile of Australian research in archaeology and technology on the world stage.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130101816
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$348,088.00
Summary
Palaeoenvironments and human adaptation in the late quaternary of the semi-arid Murray River Valley, northwestern Victoria. This project involves a multidisciplinary approach to investigating Indigenous settlement and subsistence strategies along the Murray River in northweast Victoria during the last Ice Age. It will examine the palaeoecology and palaeoenvironment of the region, with particular focus on how people and animals responded to climatic varibility.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100756
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$371,034.00
Summary
New light on Cambodia’s Dark Age (1350 - 1750). This project aims to conduct the first systematic archaeological investigations of Cambodian Middle Period capitals on the banks of the Mekong and Tonle Sap arterial rivers between 1350 and 1750. Whilst the decline of Angkor is one of the most significant events in the history of Southeast Asia, we do not have a precise date for the event that involved the relocation of many hundreds of thousands of people. By determining when the Kings of Angkor m ....New light on Cambodia’s Dark Age (1350 - 1750). This project aims to conduct the first systematic archaeological investigations of Cambodian Middle Period capitals on the banks of the Mekong and Tonle Sap arterial rivers between 1350 and 1750. Whilst the decline of Angkor is one of the most significant events in the history of Southeast Asia, we do not have a precise date for the event that involved the relocation of many hundreds of thousands of people. By determining when the Kings of Angkor moved to the southern capitals we will clarify the end of Angkor, retrieve Cambodian history from a perceived Dark Age, and reveal critical linkages between the celebrated Angkorian past and modern and contemporary Cambodia.Read moreRead less