Luke Gliganic

Email:   lg527@uowmail.edu.au Supervisors: Bert Roberts, Zenobia Jacobs

Qualifications

• BA (Anthropology and Environmental Studies), Stony Brook University, 2007

• PhD University of Wollongong 2011

Research project

Optically stimulated luminescence investigations of the Middle and Later Stone Age of East Africa

The overarching aim of my thesis is to contribute to resolving when and why various behaviours and technologies emerged in sub-Saharan Africa during the Late Pleistocene. This spatial-temporal region saw at least two migrations of anatomically modern humans out of Africa, the emergence and proliferation of symbolic behaviours, and substantial increases in technological diversification and innovation. To elucidate these issues, the main aim of my research is to construct an improved chronology for the Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Later Stone Age (LSA) deposits from two sites in East Africa: Mumba and Moche Borago rockshelters. Both sites have long archaeological sequences that contain changes in technology from MSA to LSA toolkits. The MSA/LSA transition at Mumba includes the emergence of the backed piece tool type and ornamental ostrich eggshell beads.

I have been using OSL dating of quartz and feldspar grains to provide numerical-age chronologies of the archaeological deposits associated with these transitions in technologies and behaviours. By creating a robust chronology for these sites, sound comparisons can be made between the technologies/behaviours and existing palaeoclimate reconstructions and genetic evidence for early human demographics. This multidisciplinary approach can yield new insights in the timing of, and potential reasons for, the emergence and dispersal of MSA and LSA technologies and symbolic behaviours in sub-Saharan Africa during the Late Pleistocene.

Funding

ARC Discovery Project grant to Bert Roberts and Zenobia Jacobs

 Elspeth "Ebbe" Hayes 

Email:   ehh998@uowmail.edu.au Supervisors:   Zenobia Jacobs,  Richard Fullagar,  Bert Roberts

Qualifications

• BSc (Hons I) (Geosciences), University of Wollongong, 2010

Research project

Dating and identifying traces of modern human behaviour in Australia and South East Asia

Behavioural modernity, however defined, is considered to be the key distinctive feature separating Homo sapiens from earlier hominid lineages. While the African and European archaeological record is rich with evidence regarding  the emergence of ‘modern’ human behaviours, little is known about the  earliest archaeological traces and the timing of modern humans in Australia and South East Asia (SEA). Distinctive archaeological features of the Australia-SEA region are the small size of early sites and assemblages, and the few precise dates that define specific features and phases. What traces we do have, however, indicate rapid movement of Homo sapiens into a range of new environments.

This research, which will contribute as part of a larger ARC project, aims to improve our understanding of the first colonists of the Australia and SEA region. Throughout my research, I will be participating in the re-excavation of three significant sites of early modern human occupation, including i) Malakanunja II in Arnhem Land, Australia; ii) Widgingarri in the Kimberly, Australia; and iii) Jerimalai, East Timor. I will aim to produce reliable age estimates for the crucial cultural phases within these locations using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating techniques and collect artefact samples from these levels in order to obtain a statistically comparable sample size for particular artefact classes. I will analyse a selection of these stone artefacts using standardised analytical protocols to determine tool function. Using these data sets, I will then propose new interpretations of the timing and nature of behavioural development of early modern humans in this region.

 Nathan Jankowski

Email:   nrj934@uowmail.edu.au Supervisors:   Zenobia Jacobs, Paul Goldberg (Boston University), Bert Roberts

Qualifications

• BSc Adv (Hons) (Physical Geography/Geology), University of Wollongong, 2009

Research project

Chronologies in context: in situ single-grain OSL dating of Pech de L’Azé IV, a Neanderthal occupation site in southwestern France

Neanderthals have had a bad rap since they were first discovered more than 150 years ago. Pitted as brutish, knuckle dragging, ape-men by early scholars, the enduring image of the thick-witted Neanderthal has slowly morphed into a clever, symbolic and resourceful species, thanks to a number of recent discoveries in western Europe. However, the timing of the emergence of ‘modern’ behaviour in Neanderthals is still under investigation.

This project, as part of a large investigation into Neanderthal behaviour, is focused on providing the chronology for Pech de L’Azé IV, a Neandertal occupation site in southwestern France, using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. A common feature of OSL dating at archaeological sites is the amount of spread observed in the measurement of the dose absorbed by individual grains from within the same sample. This is known as dose overdispersion and, in archaeological deposits, its presence is generally attributed to one or a combination of factors, including: post-depositional disturbance of sediments, partial resetting of the OSL signal, in situ weathering of rock, and spatial variations in the radiation flux received by individual sand grains. By employing novel sampling techniques and analytical methods, I aim to: 1) describe and quantify micromorphological features in the sediment affecting overdispersion, using thin sections, 2) determine the external radiation dose received by individual grains, 3) measure the absorbed radiation dose of in situ grains within undisturbed, resin-impregnated blocks, and 4) provide a robust chronology for this Neanderthal site.

Funding

ARC Discovery grant to  Zenobia Jacobs.

Publications

Prideaux, G. J., Gully, G. A., Couzens, A. M. C., Ayliffe, L. K., Jankowski, N. R., Jacobs, Z., Roberts, R. G., Hellstrom, J. C., Gagan, M. K. & Hatcher, L. M. (2010). Timing and dynamics of Late Pleistocene mammal extinctions in southwestern Australia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 107: 22157-22162.

 Brent Koppel

Email:   brentkoppel@gmail.com Supervisor: Kat Szabó

Qualifications

• BSc (Hons), University of Wollongong, 2010

Research project

Shell use in the prehistoric Kimberley, Western Australia

Traditional archaeology began in Europe where the lithic artefact is king, and as archaeological study spread, the tendency towards emphasis on lithic analysis followed and using stone artefacts as proxies for gauging cultural development. What is noted is that east of India, sophistication and complexity of stone artefacts plummet and this is seen through China, south-east Asia and into Australia. Naturally, with emphasis traditionally being placed on lithics, one would assume that simple stone artefacts mean simple cultures.

What has been seen recently is a push towards the analysis of other media for artefact production, particularly shell. While the use of shell is a well-documented subject, it has largely been restricted to the ornamental as opposed to the practical. Recent study has shown that shell has remarkable structural properties to the extent of withstanding persistent mortar and pestle assaults and tearing into hematite. This highlights that shell is a misunderstood material and a lot of catching up has to be done to bring it into line with stone in a global archaeological context.

It’s largely accepted that the earliest colonisers of the Australian continent arrived approximately 60,000 years ago, and it is also largely accepted that they arrived from the north, through the islands of south-east Asia entering at northern Australia. This implies that they are accustomed to coastal lifestyles and that they are no stranger to shells. The Kimberley region of northern WA has seen a number of archaeological excavations involving shell, but the true nature and extent of shell use has not been established yet.

Through a number of approaches and methods, the specific aims of this PhD project are:

1) How can cultural modification of shell be detected, described and separated from taphonomic and other modifications in a Kimberley, WA, context?

2) How do the molluscan shell specimens found in midden deposits reflect the climate and environment at the time of deposition?  Can isotopic analysis of archaeological shell material from the Kimberley coast be used to infer details of the paleoclimate in the area and at the time of deposition?

3) Focussing on comparisons between ethnohistorical and archaeological shell-working practices, can a difference be seen in raw material selection, artefact creation and use through time?

4) Through a chrono-technological comparison, can a difference in approach to artefact production by Pleistocene occupants of the Kimberley be established between the media of stone and shell?

5) Do the early shell artefacts found in northern WA in sites such as Mandu Mandu Creek and Riwi Cave represent the foundation of a continuous shell-working tradition in this region, or are they examples of a more isolated spatio-temporal innovation?

Funding

ARC Linkage Project to Mike Morwood.

 Bernard Mwango

Qualifications

Research project

 Christina "Chrissy" M. Neudorf

Email:   cmn821@uowmail.edu.au Supervisors: Bert Roberts, Zenobia Jacobs

Qualifications

• BSc(Hons) (Physical Geography), University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada, 2005
• MSc (Physical Geography), Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, 2008

Research project

Prehistory in ash and alluvium: towards a chronology for early human occupation and environmental change in the Middle Son Valley, India, before and after the Toba super-eruption

My PhD project is part of a larger study conducted by an international team of archaeologists, geologists, volcanologists and palaeobiologists (including Bert Roberts and Allan Chivas, and researchers from Oxford and Allahabad Universities) focused on the chronology of human occupation of the Middle Son Valley in northern India. Of particular interest is the potential impact of the ~74 ka Toba super-eruption on the contemporaneous human populations and environment in India. Archaeological and geological data have been collected from the Son Valley by the team to answer the following questions:

1. What is the chronology of archaic and/or anatomically modern human occupation of the Son Valley?

2. What was the impact of the ~74 ka Toba super-eruption on regional environments and hominid populations?

The aim of my project is to provide new stratigraphic, geomorphic and chronometric data to help constrain the depositional age of Youngest Toba Tuff (YTT) deposits and artefact-bearing stratigraphic formations in the Middle Son Valley. During the course of my research, new infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) and “post-IR IR” ages will be obtained from single aliquots of feldspar, and the IRSL dating potential of single grains of potassium feldspar will be explored.

Funding

ARC Discovery Project to Bert Roberts and Allan Chivas.

Publications

Metin I. Eren, Adam Durant, Christina Neudorf, Michael Haslam, Ceri Shipton, Janardhana Bora, Ravi Korisettar, Michael Petraglia (2010). Experimental examination of animal trampling effects on artifact movement in dry and water saturated substrates: a test case from South India. Journal of Archaeological Science, 37, 3010-3021.

 Ruly Setiawan  

Email:   rs309@uow.edu.au Supervisors: Mike Morwood, Allan Chivas, Gert van den Bergh

Qualifications

• BSc,(Geological Engineering), Gadjah Mada University, 2004

Research project

The chronology and palaeoenvironment of the Soa Basin, Indonesia

There are many fundamental research questions concerning faunal evolution and hominin dispersal in South and Southeast Asia over the past 2 million years. The entry time of pre-modern hominins in Southeast Asia, when they became extinct, and when modern humans arrived are still unknown. There are many fossil fauna sites already known in the region, but most are not well dated. Further questions that need to be answered are concerned with the palaeoenvironments at times when hominins and fauna were living. What kinds of environments were preferred by hominins and fauna is not clearly understood yet.

The Soa Basin is a key site to address those questions. The basin is situated in the isolated island of Flores and contains abundant assemblages of stone artifacts. In this project I will use a multidisciplinary approach to understand the chronostratigraphic framework of the basin and to reconstruct the temporal and spatial development of fluvio-lacustrine conditions within the basin during the Early and Middle Pleistocene.

Funding

UPA, IPTA and ARC Discovery Project grants to Mike Morwood and Adam Brumm. 

 Dida Yurnaldi  

Email:   dy657@uow.edu.au Supervisor: Mike Morwood

Qualifications

• BSc (Geology), Padjajaran University, Indonesia, 2002

Research project

A Palaeo-Magnetic Study of the Soa Basin, Flores, Indonesia

Sediments can not only preserve archaeological and palaeontological evidence, but also “fingerprints” of past changes in magnetic orientation - including short-term fluctuations (secular variation), polarity transitions and magnetic reversal sequences (Tarling 1983; Turner,1987; Butler 1998). In addition, magnetic minerals, and the inferred processes by which they have been deposited, can be used as proxy evidence for past environments (Thompson, et al 1986; Dearing, 1999).

While there has been a long history of palaeomagnetic research, predominantly for dating, its potential as a source of palaeoenvironmental evidence has only been recognised recently, and there is still considerable scope for further developments in the method and its application in a range of research fields, including geology, archaeology and  palaeontology (Herries, 2009).  

My thesis research will investigate the value of palaeomagnetism for both dating and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in two Indonesian sedimentary basins that have yielded evidence for early hominin occupation and associated faunas – the Soa Basin in central Flores and the Walanae Basin in southwest Sulawesi. In cases my work will be undertaken in the context of, and will complement, a range of other dating and palaeoenvironmental evidence.

Funding

ARC Discovery Project grant to Mike Morwood.