Archaeology in the Long Grass:
Understanding Contact Through the Analysis of Urban Aboriginal Fringe Camps. This research will contribute to the priority goal of Strengthening Australia’s Social and Economic Fabric through: 1) conceptual and methodological advances in archaeology; 2) making a substantive contribution to Native Title debates; 3) contributing to Closing the Gap of Indigenous disadvantage; 4) developing Indigenous research capacity; and 5) increasing public understandings of Abor ....Archaeology in the Long Grass:
Understanding Contact Through the Analysis of Urban Aboriginal Fringe Camps. This research will contribute to the priority goal of Strengthening Australia’s Social and Economic Fabric through: 1) conceptual and methodological advances in archaeology; 2) making a substantive contribution to Native Title debates; 3) contributing to Closing the Gap of Indigenous disadvantage; 4) developing Indigenous research capacity; and 5) increasing public understandings of Aboriginal culture. The Larrakia Nation Aboriginal Corporation will benefit from new data to inform policy decisions and recommendations, interpretive materials for planned tourism ventures and enhanced research capacity through the quality training of Aboriginal research associates.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200200062
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$273,828.00
Summary
Art at a crossroads: Aboriginal responses to contact in northern Australia. This project aims to investigate historical Aboriginal responses to ‘contact’ with newcomers to their land. It will generate new knowledge using systematic recordings of rock art and bark paintings created during the last 400 years in western Arnhem Land. The analysis of these key visual first-hand records of Australia’s history, together with documentation from digital archives and other media, will lead to new ways of ....Art at a crossroads: Aboriginal responses to contact in northern Australia. This project aims to investigate historical Aboriginal responses to ‘contact’ with newcomers to their land. It will generate new knowledge using systematic recordings of rock art and bark paintings created during the last 400 years in western Arnhem Land. The analysis of these key visual first-hand records of Australia’s history, together with documentation from digital archives and other media, will lead to new ways of understanding Aboriginal history. Drawing on multiple forms of media, we will examine how Aboriginal people used graphic systems to navigate threats and opportunities in northern Australia, with the main benefit to Australia being a more comprehensive and inclusive written history.Read moreRead less
Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development - Grant ID: DI100100297
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$158,000.00
Summary
Archaeology in the long grass: A study of Aboriginal fringe camp sites in the urban hinterland around Darwin, Australia. This research will contribute to the priority goal of strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric by: 1) advancing the government priority policy commitment to close the gap of Indigenous disadvantage by contributing to social and economic improvements for Indigenous people living in the long grass around Darwin, and other urban centres; 2) contributing to native titl ....Archaeology in the long grass: A study of Aboriginal fringe camp sites in the urban hinterland around Darwin, Australia. This research will contribute to the priority goal of strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric by: 1) advancing the government priority policy commitment to close the gap of Indigenous disadvantage by contributing to social and economic improvements for Indigenous people living in the long grass around Darwin, and other urban centres; 2) contributing to native title debates; 3) developing the research capacity of Indigenous Australians; and 4) increasing public understandings of Aboriginal culture. The Larrakia Nation Aboriginal Corporation will benefit from enhanced research capacity through the quality training of research associates and new data to inform policy decisions and recommendations.Read moreRead less
Before Cook: Contact, Negotiation and the Archaeology of the Tiwi Islands. The narrative of culture contact in Australia is dominated by British colonisation, yet Indigenous Australians in Northern Australia had a much earlier connection with global explorers and traders. We aim to conduct the first systematic maritime and terrestrial archaeological investigations of the Tiwi Islands, alongside the study of material culture, oral history and archival materials associated with early Dutch explore ....Before Cook: Contact, Negotiation and the Archaeology of the Tiwi Islands. The narrative of culture contact in Australia is dominated by British colonisation, yet Indigenous Australians in Northern Australia had a much earlier connection with global explorers and traders. We aim to conduct the first systematic maritime and terrestrial archaeological investigations of the Tiwi Islands, alongside the study of material culture, oral history and archival materials associated with early Dutch explorers, British colonists, and Macassans. This multi-disciplinary approach will broaden our understanding of long-term race relations in Australia, the past presence of foreign visitors to Northern Australia, develop cultural heritage public policy and consolidate Tiwi cultural identity and history into the historical record.Read moreRead less
Indigenist Archaeology: New Ways of Knowing the Past and Present. This project aims to explore how Indigenous Australian worldviews can transform archaeological practice and understandings of the past. Archaeological research practice has typically relied on Western science, theories and interpretive frameworks. As an alternative approach, we will develop a new epistemological conceptualisation for how archaeology can be practiced. Based on surveys and interviews with six Aboriginal communities ....Indigenist Archaeology: New Ways of Knowing the Past and Present. This project aims to explore how Indigenous Australian worldviews can transform archaeological practice and understandings of the past. Archaeological research practice has typically relied on Western science, theories and interpretive frameworks. As an alternative approach, we will develop a new epistemological conceptualisation for how archaeology can be practiced. Based on surveys and interviews with six Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory and South Australia, and using Indigenous theories and concepts, the project will identify and explore how Aboriginal ways of knowing (epistemology), being (ontology) and doing (axiology) can be integrated into a new model for archaeological research that we call “Indigenist Archaeology”.Read moreRead less
Dating the aboriginal rock art sequence of the Kimberley in north west Australia. This project aims to develop a robust time scale for the known aboriginal rock art sequence in the Kimberley, Western Australia (WA). The project will use new knowledge of complex processes on sandstone surfaces across the north Kimberley, and an innovative combination of four scientific dating methods developed through our earlier work. The project expects to provide a well-dated sequence for Kimberley rock art ba ....Dating the aboriginal rock art sequence of the Kimberley in north west Australia. This project aims to develop a robust time scale for the known aboriginal rock art sequence in the Kimberley, Western Australia (WA). The project will use new knowledge of complex processes on sandstone surfaces across the north Kimberley, and an innovative combination of four scientific dating methods developed through our earlier work. The project expects to provide a well-dated sequence for Kimberley rock art based on replication of results, confirmation across different methods, and a large interdisciplinary data set. The project will allow rigorous analysis of the relationship between dating results and rock art styles that has not previously been possible, and give new insights into Australia’s deep indigenous heritage. This will have a significant impact for future efforts in rock art conservation, and lay a foundation for cultural tourism, with important benefits for the local economy and health of regional indigenous communities.Read moreRead less
ARC Research Network for Understanding and Managing Australian Biodiversity. Biodiversity research is strong in Australia but is highly uncoordinated and, along with recent major breakthroughs in both theory and techniques, has highlighted the need for a Network to properly integrate research and focus it on the most appropriate scale. This Network aims to bring together a diverse spectrum of highly experienced and early career researchers to pool their ideas and expertise to allow them to deter ....ARC Research Network for Understanding and Managing Australian Biodiversity. Biodiversity research is strong in Australia but is highly uncoordinated and, along with recent major breakthroughs in both theory and techniques, has highlighted the need for a Network to properly integrate research and focus it on the most appropriate scale. This Network aims to bring together a diverse spectrum of highly experienced and early career researchers to pool their ideas and expertise to allow them to determine how best to describe Australia's current biodiversity and the biological and environmental history leading up to the present. A major outcome will be the ability to predict the impacts of environmental change on biodiversity to assist management decisions across Australia, with lessons of global importance.Read moreRead less
Establishing the provenance of Torres Strait Islander remains: genetics, craniometrics and isotopes. The repatriation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander remains has been a focus of Commonwealth and State Governments for over two decades. It remains as a significant social and cultural issue for many Indigenous Australians. One of the main hurdles to repatriation is the fact that hundreds, and possibly thousands of human remains have very little contextual detail associated with them. A num ....Establishing the provenance of Torres Strait Islander remains: genetics, craniometrics and isotopes. The repatriation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander remains has been a focus of Commonwealth and State Governments for over two decades. It remains as a significant social and cultural issue for many Indigenous Australians. One of the main hurdles to repatriation is the fact that hundreds, and possibly thousands of human remains have very little contextual detail associated with them. A number of techniques have been developed in the field of biological anthropology to reconstruct the history of individual skeletal remains. This innovative project aims to use advances in the fields of ancient DNA, isotope analysis and craniometrics to resolve the provenance of 113 trophy skulls from the Torres Strait Islands.Read moreRead less
Developing an Integrative Approach to Sustaining Indigenous Tourism and Cultural Heritage Management in the Top End of Australia. This project aims to assess economic, ecological and socio-cultural impacts and sustainability of Indigenous tourism, compared with other Top End land uses. The Darwin region will be used as a case study to provide the traditional owners, the Larrakia, with information on the feasibility of incorporating cultural heritage management with Indigenous tourism, by assessi ....Developing an Integrative Approach to Sustaining Indigenous Tourism and Cultural Heritage Management in the Top End of Australia. This project aims to assess economic, ecological and socio-cultural impacts and sustainability of Indigenous tourism, compared with other Top End land uses. The Darwin region will be used as a case study to provide the traditional owners, the Larrakia, with information on the feasibility of incorporating cultural heritage management with Indigenous tourism, by assessing the scientific and cultural significance, conservation needs and likely tourism interest of cultural heritage sites around Darwin. The international literature and history of Indigenous Tourism will be reviewed to identify markets, and examine policy and practice of government strategies in terms of Indigenous participation and links between mainstream Cultural Tourism, Indigenous Tourism and Indigenous rural industry. A case study database will be built to identify factors that contribute to success of Indigenous tourism projects in the Top End.Read moreRead less
Investigating the archaeological values of Marra cultural heritage sites. This project aims to investigate the archaeological landscape of Limmen National Park, the traditional Country of the Marra people, and to inform the creation of a cultural heritage management plan. It builds on a long-standing relationship with the Marra and the urgency to preserve their cultural knowledge associated with the Park. The project will use a two-way thinking methodology, combining contemporary Aboriginal know ....Investigating the archaeological values of Marra cultural heritage sites. This project aims to investigate the archaeological landscape of Limmen National Park, the traditional Country of the Marra people, and to inform the creation of a cultural heritage management plan. It builds on a long-standing relationship with the Marra and the urgency to preserve their cultural knowledge associated with the Park. The project will use a two-way thinking methodology, combining contemporary Aboriginal knowledge with archaeological and anthropological data to understand the meaning of the archaeological record for Aboriginal people today. Key outcomes include data for continent-wide archaeological narratives, a holistic blueprint to help manage the Park’s cultural heritage, and an archive for Traditional Owner research.Read moreRead less