Archaeological investigations at ancient sites in Kakadu National Park. This project aims to re-examine two well-known sites (Malangangerr and Ngarradj) in Kakadu, an iconic World Heritage area and home to some of the oldest and richest archaeology in Australia. Little excavation has been carried out there in recent decades, and almost none using modern high resolution recovery techniques. This project will re-excavate Malangangerr and Ngarradj to determine whether other sites have a similar ant ....Archaeological investigations at ancient sites in Kakadu National Park. This project aims to re-examine two well-known sites (Malangangerr and Ngarradj) in Kakadu, an iconic World Heritage area and home to some of the oldest and richest archaeology in Australia. Little excavation has been carried out there in recent decades, and almost none using modern high resolution recovery techniques. This project will re-excavate Malangangerr and Ngarradj to determine whether other sites have a similar antiquity and record of early complex behaviour. This project could enhance understanding of Aboriginal culture in Kakadu, Australia's unique cultural heritage, the nature and timing of modern human dispersal, and how early Indigenous peoples responded to social and environmental change.Read moreRead less
A 140,000 year insight into the imprint of climate and humans on Australia. Before the arrival of Europeans, two events shaped Australia's current landscapes and biota more than any others: climate change during the glacial cycle and the arrival of humans on the continent. However, the full scale of these events is not well understood. High resolution analyses of two continuous 140 000 year old sediment deposits will be used in this project to fill this void and answer fundamental questions abou ....A 140,000 year insight into the imprint of climate and humans on Australia. Before the arrival of Europeans, two events shaped Australia's current landscapes and biota more than any others: climate change during the glacial cycle and the arrival of humans on the continent. However, the full scale of these events is not well understood. High resolution analyses of two continuous 140 000 year old sediment deposits will be used in this project to fill this void and answer fundamental questions about how current Australian environments came to be.Read moreRead less
Dispersing myths; Characterising human migration through Asia . The human journey across the globe is one of our greatest achievements, yet the archaeological evidence for the earliest migrations is poorly dated, plagued by uncertainty and often overlooked. This project aims to characterise the nature of early human dispersals across Asia en route to Australasia by going beyond the timing and identification of human evidence to explore their behaviour, health and adaptability. Reconsidering ear ....Dispersing myths; Characterising human migration through Asia . The human journey across the globe is one of our greatest achievements, yet the archaeological evidence for the earliest migrations is poorly dated, plagued by uncertainty and often overlooked. This project aims to characterise the nature of early human dispersals across Asia en route to Australasia by going beyond the timing and identification of human evidence to explore their behaviour, health and adaptability. Reconsidering early migrations within their environmental context will allow an assessment of their feasibility and address the disparity between the genetic and physical evidence. By elucidating the story of the greatest human journey we will develop a new understanding and appreciation of our survival and adaption capabilities.Read moreRead less
Plant use at the dawn of agriculture in central Anatolia. The project will increase collaboration with researchers in the UK, and Turkish archaeological authorities. It will refine our understanding of the process, rate and direction of agricultural origins in Western Asia and improve Australia's profile in origins of agriculture research. It will increase Australia's knowledge base about other regions and help to consolidate and promote archaeobotany/archaeological science in Australia's resear ....Plant use at the dawn of agriculture in central Anatolia. The project will increase collaboration with researchers in the UK, and Turkish archaeological authorities. It will refine our understanding of the process, rate and direction of agricultural origins in Western Asia and improve Australia's profile in origins of agriculture research. It will increase Australia's knowledge base about other regions and help to consolidate and promote archaeobotany/archaeological science in Australia's research community.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
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
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
Modern human origins and early behavioural complexity in Australia and Southeast Asia. This project tackles a fundamental issue in world prehistory: how and when did humans first cross from Southeast Asia into Australia. Three new archaeological excavations using novel methods of analysis will assess the nature of behavioural complexity and human evolution at the time when Australia was first colonised over 45,000 years ago.
Loyalty Islands Archaeological Project: Phase I (Tiga Island). The project is explicitly intended to help safeguard Australia by strengthening our understanding of our region and the world. The study will substantially enhance international research cooperation between Australia, France and the French Pacific territories and will contribute to South Pacific development through its direct and indirect spin-offs for cultural heritage management and tourism. These outcomes will directly benefit the ....Loyalty Islands Archaeological Project: Phase I (Tiga Island). The project is explicitly intended to help safeguard Australia by strengthening our understanding of our region and the world. The study will substantially enhance international research cooperation between Australia, France and the French Pacific territories and will contribute to South Pacific development through its direct and indirect spin-offs for cultural heritage management and tourism. These outcomes will directly benefit the nation/community at a time when social, cultural and historical issues of the sort addressed by the project are assuming an ever-greater importance in an uncertain global security environment.Read moreRead less