Paul Taçon

Biography

Distinguished Professor Paul S.C. Taçon FAHA FSA FQA is an archaeologist and anthropologist, ARC Australian Laureate Fellow (2016-2022) and Chair in Rock Art Research at Griffith University, Queensland, Australia. He directs Griffith University’s Place, Evolution and Rock Art Heritage Unit (PERAHU) and has conducted archaeological and ethnographic fieldwork since 1980. He has over 98 months field experience in remote parts of Australia, Canada, China, India, Southeast Asia and southern Africa. He co-edited The Archaeology of Rock-art with Dr Christopher Chippindale (1998) and published over 320 academic and popular papers on rock art, material culture, colour, human evolution and identity. Since 2015, he has co-authored or co-edited seven major books on rock art. In 2016, he was awarded the top award at the annual Australian Archaeological Association conference, the Rhys Jones Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Australian Archaeology. He also received the 2016 Griffith University Vice-Chancellor’s Research Excellence Award for Research Leadership.