Archaeology

The systematic study of the human past through the recovery and analysis of material remains.

Welcome to the Archaeology Section

Archaeology is the study of the human past from the material remains left to us by earlier peoples. It is a diverse discipline that bridges the humanities and sciences, drawing on elements of history, anthropology, geosciences and host of other fields, and involves both primary field research and an array of laboratory-based analyses.

Archaeology is about understanding what people did in the past; the things they made, kept, and discarded; how human behaviour generates traces (artefacts, structures, bones etc) that persist over time; the processes that led to the persistence of these traces; and the insights they provide into the story of our past.

The archaeological timescale begins ~3.3 million years ago with the oldest tools made by African hominins and continues into the 20th century. Geographically, archaeology covers any part of the planet where humans have been. And it expands to orbital debris and other traces of human activity beyond Earth’s atmosphere.

From the evolution of early hominins to the emergence of farming and the rise and fall of empires that changed the course of world history, archaeological narratives offer a unique perspective on human experience that spans millions of years.

As Professor Heather Burke FAHA points out:

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Archaeology is as much the story of today (the present) as it is a story of the past. It helps us to understand so many critical things about humanity, from the earliest peoples to the archaeology of space, but also shows us who we are as a society. Without it we wouldn’t understand ourselves.

But archaeology does not exist in a social vacuum: the question of who owns the past has long been debated – especially in Australia. The Archaeology Fellows are pioneers in working with Indigenous peoples and local communities here and overseas to uncover new information about their Ancestors using approaches that are collaborative, ethical, and genuinely guided by traditional knowledge and community interests.

Some 70 Fellows comprise the Archaeology section. From ‘dirt’ archaeologists who meticulously unearth artefacts to scholars who synthesise these finds into grand narratives, and some who do both, all are leading figures in their field whose research is changing how we think about the past. I invite you to get to know their work below.

Professor
Ian Lilley FAHA FSA

Head of Section,
Archaeology

Professor
Adam Brumm FAHA FSA

Deputy Head of Section, Archaeology

Archaeology Section

Fellows may be a member of multiple Sections, representing their multidisciplinary expertise. Each Section is lead by a Head of Section.

The work of the Fellowship

Australian archaeology has made fundamental contributions to understanding the deep time history of human life on this continent, and how people interacted with changing environments over tens of thousands of years. As we face a volatile climate-changed future, the combination of archaeological research and Indigenous knowledge provides cultural resources to imagine diverse alternative lifeways. The public-facing work of the Fellows is vital.

Emeritus Professor Lesley Head FAHA FASSA

Australia has at least a 65,000 year history that underpins who we are as a people and nation. Understanding that dynamic history requires the research of archaeologists working in close collaboration with First Nations communities. Promoting this collaborative, co-designed, shared knowledge research process in an ethical manner requires constant vigilance and support, and the advocacy of AAH Archaeology Fellows.

Professor Ian McNiven FAHA

In all of our work in the field the Fellows have worked with local collaborators or they have invited us. This is the way forward for Archaeology. Sometimes we all write things that our colleagues (Indigenous or non-Indigenous) would not want to be part of, but always our work needs to engage with Indigenous people.

Professor Iain Davidson FAHA