Ian McNiven

Biography

Ian J. McNiven is Professor of Indigenous Archaeology in Monash Indigenous Centre, Monash University. He undertook his archaeological training at the University of Queensland where he was awarded a PhD in 1991. He has held teaching and research positions at the University of Queensland, La Trobe University and the University of Melbourne. In 2011 he was awarded a research fellowship at Cambridge University. Ian worked in private industry for many years as a cultural heritage consultant. He has contributed to numerous Native Title cases, including as an expert witness for the successful Torres Strait sea claim. He has undertaken archaeological fieldwork in Australia, Papua New Guinea and Turkey. In 2007-09, he was President of the Australian Archaeological Association Inc. and in 2007 was elected as a Fellow of both the Society of Antiquaries London. His research specialisation is the archaeology of Australian Indigenous coastal societies and seascapes, in particular the Queensland coast and the islands of Torres Strait. Other research projects include the archaeology of the south coast of New Guinea, the development of Aboriginal eel aquaculture facilities in western Victoria, and the colonial history of archaeology. Ian has co-authored/co-edited 11 volumes on Indigenous archaeology and colonial history.