Agriculture and the Late Bronze Age collapse of the Hittite Empire. National benefit will be accrued through the major scholarly contribution the project makes to a key debate in world archaeology, namely the extent to which environmental change affected ancient complex societies, especially climate change. As such it fosters an awareness of world cultures and the interrelation between political stability and environmental change. The project also will encourage international collaboration betwe ....Agriculture and the Late Bronze Age collapse of the Hittite Empire. National benefit will be accrued through the major scholarly contribution the project makes to a key debate in world archaeology, namely the extent to which environmental change affected ancient complex societies, especially climate change. As such it fosters an awareness of world cultures and the interrelation between political stability and environmental change. The project also will encourage international collaboration between Australian, Turkish and Japanese scholars and will provide training for several research scholars in an area of archaeology in which Australia has a recognised major deficit, namely archaeobotany.Read moreRead less
Precisely Dating the Evolution of Complex Societies in Polynesia: The Hawaiian Example. It is of enormous national benefit to develop intellectual innovations that set Australia apart from its neighbours and establish its position as a regional leader in science. Because the Australasian region relies heavily on primary resource exploitation, intellectual developments are crucial for sustainable economic growth. Understanding how societies meet the challenges of resource depletion, landscape de ....Precisely Dating the Evolution of Complex Societies in Polynesia: The Hawaiian Example. It is of enormous national benefit to develop intellectual innovations that set Australia apart from its neighbours and establish its position as a regional leader in science. Because the Australasian region relies heavily on primary resource exploitation, intellectual developments are crucial for sustainable economic growth. Understanding how societies meet the challenges of resource depletion, landscape degradation, drought and population increase can be monitored with archaeological data over hundreds of years. Our research seeks to use an innovative technique for precisely dating major changes in Oceanic societies over the past 500 years, which will provide insights into how modern communities can cope with these problems today. Read moreRead less
Unearthing the roots of agriculture: multi-disciplinary investigations of Pleistocene and Holocene plant exploitation in Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea. The Project will foster greater communication, public understanding and research links between Australia and Papua New Guinea. The Project will also provide archaeological training for students at Australian universities and students and practitioners in Papua New Guinea. The research seeks to understand the development of societie ....Unearthing the roots of agriculture: multi-disciplinary investigations of Pleistocene and Holocene plant exploitation in Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea. The Project will foster greater communication, public understanding and research links between Australia and Papua New Guinea. The Project will also provide archaeological training for students at Australian universities and students and practitioners in Papua New Guinea. The research seeks to understand the development of societies and subsistence practices, particularly plant exploitation and agriculture, in New Guinea from the Pleistocene to the present. The research will chart long-term human-environment relations in New Guinea, which are central to understanding the sustainability of food production and the maintenance of biodiversity in the Australasian region.Read moreRead less
Pyramids, power and the dynamics of states in crisis. This project aims to transform existing narratives about the impact of Egypt in the Pyramid Age (c. 2670–2200 BC). It will demonstrate the influence of large state entities as drivers of societal change in the ancient world. This interdisciplinary project transcends academic disciplines and modern borders by networking scientific analysis with archaeological and historical evidence, from across the eastern Mediterranean. The expected outcom ....Pyramids, power and the dynamics of states in crisis. This project aims to transform existing narratives about the impact of Egypt in the Pyramid Age (c. 2670–2200 BC). It will demonstrate the influence of large state entities as drivers of societal change in the ancient world. This interdisciplinary project transcends academic disciplines and modern borders by networking scientific analysis with archaeological and historical evidence, from across the eastern Mediterranean. The expected outcome of the project is an expansive vision of international relations in the third millennium BC, which elevates Egypt as a driver of economic, social and political change. In a region currently troubled by much turmoil, the shared nature of global issues across time and space, and the human response, will be evident.Read moreRead less
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
Using fossil insects and plants to recognise past human impacts on Pacific island biodiversity. This project will enhance our ability to characterise human impact on island biodiversity. It will develop novel research methods that can be applied in the Australian context to understand changes in biodiversity that come with human impact. The contemporary emphasis on biosecurity in the protection of Australia's unique environment against human-introduced exotic pests and diseases can be better und ....Using fossil insects and plants to recognise past human impacts on Pacific island biodiversity. This project will enhance our ability to characterise human impact on island biodiversity. It will develop novel research methods that can be applied in the Australian context to understand changes in biodiversity that come with human impact. The contemporary emphasis on biosecurity in the protection of Australia's unique environment against human-introduced exotic pests and diseases can be better understood in the context of past introductions. Our project will demonstrate the role Australian archaeologists and natural scientists can play in understanding the spread of humans across the Pacific and the environmental consequences of colonisation. It will increase collaboration between research institutions in the Australia/Pacific region.Read moreRead less
Forgotten Empire: the Art and Culture of the Elamite Civilization (ca. 4000-525 BCE). The Elamite civilisation (circa. 4000 to 525 BCE) formed a remarkably rich but almost unexplored background to later Persian imperialism. This ancient Iranian culture, whose importance has never been recognised, is characterised by a remarkable longevity and an outstanding combination of highland and lowland artistic and cultural traditions. The aim of this project is to articulate the history of the art and cu ....Forgotten Empire: the Art and Culture of the Elamite Civilization (ca. 4000-525 BCE). The Elamite civilisation (circa. 4000 to 525 BCE) formed a remarkably rich but almost unexplored background to later Persian imperialism. This ancient Iranian culture, whose importance has never been recognised, is characterised by a remarkable longevity and an outstanding combination of highland and lowland artistic and cultural traditions. The aim of this project is to articulate the history of the art and culture of the Elamite civilisation for the first time based on analysis, interpretation and publication of its archaeological and artistic record.Read moreRead less
Palaeoenvironmental change, resource exploitation and land use relating to a 72,000 year cultural sequence at Liang Bua, Flores, Indonesia. This project, involving international collaborative links between Australian universities and Indonesian universities and institutions, is at the cutting edge of palaeoenvironmental research and will provide valuable training as well as information which will be of great benefit to other researchers in the region. Being focused on prehistoric patterns of res ....Palaeoenvironmental change, resource exploitation and land use relating to a 72,000 year cultural sequence at Liang Bua, Flores, Indonesia. This project, involving international collaborative links between Australian universities and Indonesian universities and institutions, is at the cutting edge of palaeoenvironmental research and will provide valuable training as well as information which will be of great benefit to other researchers in the region. Being focused on prehistoric patterns of resource exploitation, land use and management issues, it is relevant to current important issues about the environment, human impact and sustainability, and will help promote awareness of these issues in the Australian and Indonesian communities.Read moreRead less
Early African woodworking and tool use at the transition to modern humans. Our archaeological excavations and preliminary dating of Amanzi Springs (South Africa) to between 515,000 and 163,000 years ago shows that the site covers a critical time period that led to the origins of our species, Homo sapiens. Amanzi documents, in never before seen resolution, the technological leaps that our ancestors made during this transition. At ~400,000 years ago this includes the oldest evidence for woodworkin ....Early African woodworking and tool use at the transition to modern humans. Our archaeological excavations and preliminary dating of Amanzi Springs (South Africa) to between 515,000 and 163,000 years ago shows that the site covers a critical time period that led to the origins of our species, Homo sapiens. Amanzi documents, in never before seen resolution, the technological leaps that our ancestors made during this transition. At ~400,000 years ago this includes the oldest evidence for woodworking and tool use and >163,000 years ago the oldest heat treatment of rock to make stone tools. The organic preservation at the site means that we can reconstruct changing environment, linked to sea level changes and spring activity, for this period in the evolution of our ancestors at a level of detail not previously possibleRead moreRead less
Voyaging, Trade and the Development of Ancient Complex Societies in East Polynesia: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Developing a knowledge-based economy has long-term benefits to Australia and is independent of fluctuations in the resource sector on which our nation heavily relies. Intellectual innovations are crucial for sustainable growth and help establish Australia as a regional and world leader in science. We use innovative methods to 'fingerprint' prehistoric stone tools and raw material so ....Voyaging, Trade and the Development of Ancient Complex Societies in East Polynesia: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Developing a knowledge-based economy has long-term benefits to Australia and is independent of fluctuations in the resource sector on which our nation heavily relies. Intellectual innovations are crucial for sustainable growth and help establish Australia as a regional and world leader in science. We use innovative methods to 'fingerprint' prehistoric stone tools and raw material sources for determining the geographic extent of travel between island groups and ascertaining how inter-connected Pacific island communities were about 800 to 200 years ago. Documenting this long-term prehistory will provide insights into our modern neighbours and promote regional understanding, and enhance international collaboration and research training.Read moreRead less