Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130101560
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,600.00
Summary
A world of its own: earliest human occupation of the Maros karsts in Southwest Sulawesi, Indonesia. Excavations at Leang Burung 2, a rockshelter on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, yielded evidence for the initial arrival of modern humans and underlying deposits containing primitive stone tools from earlier inhabitants. This project aims to recover further evidence of early modern humans at the site and the identity of the earlier tool-makers.
Riversleigh and Cuddie Springs: Unravelling Key Factors in the Extinction of the Late Pleistocene Megafauna. The project will construct a clear picture of faunal change during the Late Pleistocene, a period of well documented extinctions of giant animals (megafauna). Archaeological excavation at Riversleigh, in north-west Queensland and palaeontological excavation at Cuddie Springs, in northern N.S.W. will complete a picture of the animals, people and environment of the prehistoric period at ea ....Riversleigh and Cuddie Springs: Unravelling Key Factors in the Extinction of the Late Pleistocene Megafauna. The project will construct a clear picture of faunal change during the Late Pleistocene, a period of well documented extinctions of giant animals (megafauna). Archaeological excavation at Riversleigh, in north-west Queensland and palaeontological excavation at Cuddie Springs, in northern N.S.W. will complete a picture of the animals, people and environment of the prehistoric period at each site. With this information, the roles of climate and people in the extinction process can be assessed. This study will complement the current research direction and public education programs of the Australian Museum and the EPA's management plans for the World Heritage Riversleigh site.Read moreRead less
From Paddy to Pura: the origins of Angkor. This project explores the origin and rise of the state in ancient Southeast Asia. Through the investigation of sites in Cambodia and Thailand and using an array of innovative technologies, the research will contribute to the global investigation of humankind's trajectory toward ever-increasing complexity.
History in their bones: A diachronic, bioarchaeological study of diet, mobility and social organisation from Cambodian skeletal assemblages. Australia will further enhance its role as an innovator in the archaeology of SE Asia through this cross-disciplinary, international collaboration on the mobility, health, age and diet in ancient Cambodia. Local collaborations will be expanded and academic and cultural relations with Cambodia will be reinforced and strengthened. This research will expand ....History in their bones: A diachronic, bioarchaeological study of diet, mobility and social organisation from Cambodian skeletal assemblages. Australia will further enhance its role as an innovator in the archaeology of SE Asia through this cross-disciplinary, international collaboration on the mobility, health, age and diet in ancient Cambodia. Local collaborations will be expanded and academic and cultural relations with Cambodia will be reinforced and strengthened. This research will expand understanding of Cambodian history and underscore its pivotal role in mainland SE Asian archaeology. Australia's advancement of knowledge about Cambodia's rich cultural antiquity will be recognized worldwide by a global community acutely mindful of the losses to culture and heritage endured by Cambodia in the recent past.Read moreRead less
Aboriginal rock art and cultural heritage management in Cape York Peninsula. The Laura Sandstone Basin of Cape York Peninsula hosts one of the richest bodies of rock art in Australia and the world. It documents the life-ways of generations of Aboriginal Australians from their original settlement, through major environmental changes, to European invasion. This vast area, much of which is now jointly managed as National Parks by Traditional Owners, remains virtually unexplored archaeologically. Th ....Aboriginal rock art and cultural heritage management in Cape York Peninsula. The Laura Sandstone Basin of Cape York Peninsula hosts one of the richest bodies of rock art in Australia and the world. It documents the life-ways of generations of Aboriginal Australians from their original settlement, through major environmental changes, to European invasion. This vast area, much of which is now jointly managed as National Parks by Traditional Owners, remains virtually unexplored archaeologically. This project aims to record this unique rock art so that its testimony remains for future generations. This will provide a framework for its sustainable management and findings will have profound implications for our understandings of the cultural behaviour and dispersal of the earliest modern humans to colonise Australia.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
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140100254
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$395,205.00
Summary
The oldest rock art in Asia and the early human occupation of island Southeast Asia. Recent research revealed that humans were producing rock paintings on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi at least 39 thousand years ago (and possibly up to 46 thousand years ago). The rock art, therefore, is essentially contemporaneous with the earliest cave art in Europe and may be the world's oldest, given the arrival of Homo sapiens in Australia at least 50 thousand years ago. This project will further investi ....The oldest rock art in Asia and the early human occupation of island Southeast Asia. Recent research revealed that humans were producing rock paintings on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi at least 39 thousand years ago (and possibly up to 46 thousand years ago). The rock art, therefore, is essentially contemporaneous with the earliest cave art in Europe and may be the world's oldest, given the arrival of Homo sapiens in Australia at least 50 thousand years ago. This project will further investigate the early rock art of Sulawesi as well as other key Indonesian islands located along likely migration routes from Borneo to New Guinea. The results will have major implications for our understanding of the cultural behaviour and dispersal of the earliest modern humans to colonise Southeast Asia and Australia.Read moreRead less
Unraveling the mystery of the Plain of Jars, Laos. Since their discovery in the 1930s, the mysterious collections of giant stone jars scattered throughout central Laos have remained one of the great prehistoric puzzles of south-east (SE) Asia. It is thought that the jars represent the mortuary remains of an extensive and powerful Iron Age culture. This project seeks to determine the true nature of these sites, which date to a dynamic period of increasing complexity in SE Asia (c.500BCE-500CE). T ....Unraveling the mystery of the Plain of Jars, Laos. Since their discovery in the 1930s, the mysterious collections of giant stone jars scattered throughout central Laos have remained one of the great prehistoric puzzles of south-east (SE) Asia. It is thought that the jars represent the mortuary remains of an extensive and powerful Iron Age culture. This project seeks to determine the true nature of these sites, which date to a dynamic period of increasing complexity in SE Asia (c.500BCE-500CE). The project entails extensive reconnaissance, precision mapping, archaeological excavation and analysis of associated burial material. Using a suite of cutting-edge archaeological technologies, it is expected to have far-reaching benefits for archaeology, science, Laos and World Heritage.Read moreRead less
Testing the Dark Emu hypothesis. How we define traditional Aboriginal food production and settlement systems is a key challenge to Australian archaeology in light of the far reaching success of Bruce Pascoe's popular book Dark Emu. This project aims to undertake a new trans-disciplinary investigation, the first incorporating archaeological science, plant genetics and palynology through the lens of Niche Construction Theory to generate new empirical data in order to determine how we best define A ....Testing the Dark Emu hypothesis. How we define traditional Aboriginal food production and settlement systems is a key challenge to Australian archaeology in light of the far reaching success of Bruce Pascoe's popular book Dark Emu. This project aims to undertake a new trans-disciplinary investigation, the first incorporating archaeological science, plant genetics and palynology through the lens of Niche Construction Theory to generate new empirical data in order to determine how we best define Aboriginal socio-economic systems. Investigating the intricacies of Mithaka economy and possible 'village sites' with a focus on the idea of plant domestication, the project will identify how we best define these sophisticated cultural and economic systems. Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE140100151
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$400,000.00
Summary
Federated Archaeological Information Management Systems project: Transforming archaeological research through digital technologies. Federated archaeological information management systems project: transforming archaeological research through digital technologies: This project will embed the federated archaeological information management systems infrastructure within six leading archaeology departments across Australia. It will develop and expand the mobile field recording system, the national d ....Federated Archaeological Information Management Systems project: Transforming archaeological research through digital technologies. Federated archaeological information management systems project: transforming archaeological research through digital technologies: This project will embed the federated archaeological information management systems infrastructure within six leading archaeology departments across Australia. It will develop and expand the mobile field recording system, the national data repository and a suite of online editing and visualisation tools to support archaeologists conducting research projects of national significance. By working closely with research projects and integrating the mobile platform and digital infrastructure within their workflow, this project will ensure that Australian archaeological research data is created in digital, structured, and reusable form, benefiting the preservation of Australian cultural heritage and promoting new research for decades to come.Read moreRead less