ARC DECRA Research Fellow, Griffith University
BA(Hons) 2006; MPhil 2009; PhD (Oxford) 2014
Currently I am working on a ARC DECRA project titled "Australia's Living Technologies: Bone Tools from First Peoples to Contact". This project is the first major study of Indigenous Australian bone and tooth based technologies.
I am also undertaking traceology (reconstructing how tools/ornaments were made and used via observation of microscope marks and residues) of bone, ivory, antler, marine shell, and ochre artefacts from around the globe, collaborating with researchers based both here in Australia and abroad to understand the people who produced these artefacts.
My research centres around understanding the origins and development of human behavioural uniqueness, with particular focus on:
- Hunter-gatherer technologies
- Australian archaeology;
- Neanderthal behavioural complexity and interaction with Modern Humans;
- Palaeolithic Europe; and
- Identifying children in the deep past.
Bringing a shark to a knife fight: 7,000-year-old shark-tooth knives discovered in Indonesia
Oct 27, 2023 14:48 pm UTC| Life
Excavations on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi have uncovered two unique and deadly artefacts dating back some 7,000 years tiger shark teeth that were used as blades. These finds, reported in the journal Antiquity,...
Psst... wanna buy a necklace? Humans have been faking jewellery for thousands of years
May 02, 2019 16:41 pm UTC| Insights & Views Life
Making fake jewels isnt a modern phenomenon its a human behaviour that dates back thousands of years. New research published today suggests that traders 2,000 years ago were producing imitation amber beads, coating...
Aug 21, 2018 17:07 pm UTC| Insights & Views Life
Sparkly jewellery, expensive shoes, designer watches who doesnt love a bit of bling? In 2017 Australians spent A$28.5 billion on ornamenting themselves with clothing, cosmetics, and accessories. But this obsession...
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