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
Reuniting cargoes: Underwater Cultural Heritage of the Maritime Silk Route. Beginning in the mid 1400s the Maritime Silk Route witnessed the largest known expansion of global trade. But the legacy of artefacts retrieved from this time has not been appropriately understood because the objects were mostly salvaged and dispersed without recording the archaeological details of their find-spots. Our multilateral consortium aims to discover the cultural value of the largest Southeast Asian ceramic col ....Reuniting cargoes: Underwater Cultural Heritage of the Maritime Silk Route. Beginning in the mid 1400s the Maritime Silk Route witnessed the largest known expansion of global trade. But the legacy of artefacts retrieved from this time has not been appropriately understood because the objects were mostly salvaged and dispersed without recording the archaeological details of their find-spots. Our multilateral consortium aims to discover the cultural value of the largest Southeast Asian ceramic collections in Indonesia and Australia with archaeological science. By employing and enhancing international conventions, the project will generate new knowledge about this decisive epoch in world history and build capacity to preserve the underwater cultural heritage of our region for future generations.Read moreRead less
Urbanism after Angkor (14th-18th century). This project aims to understand changes after the breakdown of low-density urbanism in Cambodia. Recognising the emergence of urban forms after the demise of Angkor challenges the global “Collapse of Civilisation” trope, and redefines the Middle Period of Cambodian history (15th-19th century). This project proposes that continuity, renewal, variety and adaptation are as apparent in Cambodia’s middle period as loss and failure. Applying landscape archaeo ....Urbanism after Angkor (14th-18th century). This project aims to understand changes after the breakdown of low-density urbanism in Cambodia. Recognising the emergence of urban forms after the demise of Angkor challenges the global “Collapse of Civilisation” trope, and redefines the Middle Period of Cambodian history (15th-19th century). This project proposes that continuity, renewal, variety and adaptation are as apparent in Cambodia’s middle period as loss and failure. Applying landscape archaeology to this ‘dark age’ of Southeast Asian history embeds the demise of low-density urbanism and the development of towns in an environmental context. Identifying adaptive pathways after ‘collapse’ could have implications for urbanism in the tropics.Read moreRead less
Prosperity along the sea in the Asia Pacific at 5000-3000 BC. This project aims to address how complex hunter-gatherers sustained large villages along the South China Coast for 2 millennia. About 7000 years ago, the people and landscape of this region began a long journey of transformation when affluent village systems appeared. Combining archaeology with archaeo-botany, palaeo-landscape reconstruction, and bio-archaeology, this project seeks to learn how these early coastal societies contribute ....Prosperity along the sea in the Asia Pacific at 5000-3000 BC. This project aims to address how complex hunter-gatherers sustained large villages along the South China Coast for 2 millennia. About 7000 years ago, the people and landscape of this region began a long journey of transformation when affluent village systems appeared. Combining archaeology with archaeo-botany, palaeo-landscape reconstruction, and bio-archaeology, this project seeks to learn how these early coastal societies contributed to regional social-economic developments, in a time long prior to written chronicles. The project expects to support new comprehension of these unique coastal communities and their relationship with others in the broader Asia-Pacific region.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180101288
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$384,983.00
Summary
Strategic resources and human cooperation in the rise of social complexity in Arabian archaeology. This project will conduct the first systematic archaeological analysis of the behavioural strategies humans adapted following metal resource depletion and trade in southeastern Arabia. It will examine how social complexity in metal production records of several sites within Oman compares with other regions in Cyprus and Turkey. This will provide greater knowledge of how people settled this region a ....Strategic resources and human cooperation in the rise of social complexity in Arabian archaeology. This project will conduct the first systematic archaeological analysis of the behavioural strategies humans adapted following metal resource depletion and trade in southeastern Arabia. It will examine how social complexity in metal production records of several sites within Oman compares with other regions in Cyprus and Turkey. This will provide greater knowledge of how people settled this region and subsequently responded to dynamic environmental changes over the past 5,000 years.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100133
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$409,297.00
Summary
Early animal husbandry and socio-political complexity in the Asia-Pacific. This project will investigate the origins of animal husbandry and its link to the creation of wealth, the development of socio-political prestige systems, the rise of inequality, and the coevolutionary effects of the domestication process on pigs. It focuses on 15 stratified Neolithic archaeological sites in the tropical island region of Island Southeast Asia and the Pacific dating between 4000-500 years ago. An expected ....Early animal husbandry and socio-political complexity in the Asia-Pacific. This project will investigate the origins of animal husbandry and its link to the creation of wealth, the development of socio-political prestige systems, the rise of inequality, and the coevolutionary effects of the domestication process on pigs. It focuses on 15 stratified Neolithic archaeological sites in the tropical island region of Island Southeast Asia and the Pacific dating between 4000-500 years ago. An expected outcome will be the establishment of an integrated evolutionary theoretical model that could be applied to analyzing agricultural transitions globally. Such a model predicts socio-political and rational economic strategies in pig management systems and can be tested using zooarchaeological analyses.Read moreRead less
The other democracy: Medes in the Iron Age. This project aims to use evidence from archaeology and historical texts to develop a new
understanding of the consensus-based political system of the Medes of the Zagros Mountains in the first
millennium BCE. In spite of the enduring presence of the Medes in the historical texts of Ancient Greece and the
Near East, this research project would be the first major piece of scholarship to address the nature of Median
communities. This research seeks to cre ....The other democracy: Medes in the Iron Age. This project aims to use evidence from archaeology and historical texts to develop a new
understanding of the consensus-based political system of the Medes of the Zagros Mountains in the first
millennium BCE. In spite of the enduring presence of the Medes in the historical texts of Ancient Greece and the
Near East, this research project would be the first major piece of scholarship to address the nature of Median
communities. This research seeks to create a new model for how these agro-pastoral groups may have
responded to imperial incursions by the Assyrian Empire. Its goal is to benefit scholarship by developing a better
understanding of how democratic systems can develop as a flexible response to external pressures.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100202
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$468,027.00
Summary
Colour change: Artistic/ritual responses to climate flux in Australasia . Art and ritual connect people socially and help them manage stress. Throughout human history, evidence for this is preserved by the collection and use of ochres (coloured earth minerals). Characterising ancient ochre records across Sunda, Wallacea and Sahul, this project aims to understand people’s use of art and ritual in the most climatically dynamic region on Earth. Furthering Australia's reputation for innovative archa ....Colour change: Artistic/ritual responses to climate flux in Australasia . Art and ritual connect people socially and help them manage stress. Throughout human history, evidence for this is preserved by the collection and use of ochres (coloured earth minerals). Characterising ancient ochre records across Sunda, Wallacea and Sahul, this project aims to understand people’s use of art and ritual in the most climatically dynamic region on Earth. Furthering Australia's reputation for innovative archaeological science, expected outcomes will include the first large-scale interdisciplinary investigations into how art and ritual were used to help mediate climate flux, generating significant new narratives of past cultural resilience to benefit people currently grappling with climate vulnerabilities.Read moreRead less
Bronzes of Xinjiang: technology, society and power on the road to China. This project aims to reveal the backstory to the remarkable development of bronze working in ancient China by studying complex pathways by which metallurgical knowledge spread there from Eurasia through the crossroads region of Xinjiang. It will generate new knowledge through the innovative use of mass elemental analysis of ancient metals from Xinjiang, providing important evidence for early metallurgical techniques. Expec ....Bronzes of Xinjiang: technology, society and power on the road to China. This project aims to reveal the backstory to the remarkable development of bronze working in ancient China by studying complex pathways by which metallurgical knowledge spread there from Eurasia through the crossroads region of Xinjiang. It will generate new knowledge through the innovative use of mass elemental analysis of ancient metals from Xinjiang, providing important evidence for early metallurgical techniques. Expected outcomes include enhanced understanding of the role of developing technology in the consolidation of regional power and its impact on social inequality. Partnerships between Australian, Chinese and UK institutions are expected to expand Australia’s research capability in archaeology, ancient mining and metallurgy. Read moreRead less
Early art, culture and occupation along the northern route to Australia. This project aims to uncover archaeological evidence for early humans in Indonesia's northern island chain (from Borneo to West Papua). This poorly known region harbours the world's earliest known figurative cave art (>45,500 years old), and it is also the most likely maritime route used by modern humans during the initial peopling of Australia ~65,000 years ago. The project aims to use cave excavations and rock art dating ....Early art, culture and occupation along the northern route to Australia. This project aims to uncover archaeological evidence for early humans in Indonesia's northern island chain (from Borneo to West Papua). This poorly known region harbours the world's earliest known figurative cave art (>45,500 years old), and it is also the most likely maritime route used by modern humans during the initial peopling of Australia ~65,000 years ago. The project aims to use cave excavations and rock art dating to fill the 20,000 year gap between the earliest known archaeological evidence from these islands and the oldest human site in Australia. Expected outcomes include new insight into the ancient past of Indonesia and a greatly improved understanding of the art and cultural lifeways of the ancestors of the First Australians.Read moreRead less