Research Achievements
For more detail on these projects click on current 1st stage or current 2nd stage projects.
KFA has approved funding for four projects in the first quarter of 2012: Palaeolinguistics, Palaeoecology, Honours Scholarship and Lifeways project researcher. A travel grant has also been awarded to Jillian Huntley (Messages in Paint) to attend the international rock art conference in Brazil 2012.
Project Updates
100 Years of Climate Change - The late quaternary climate record of the Kimberley region of north western Australia
Publication links
− http://www.agu.org/news/press/jhighlight_archives/2011/2011-06-23.shtml − http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/06/did-australian-aborigines-change.html
Life ways of the first Australians: Ancient cave dwellings & rock art, Oscar Napier Ranges project
− The first 4-week field season commenced in 2011 with strong support from the Bunuba Gooniyandi people.
− A two month filed season is planned for July/Aug 2012 involving 4 PhD students and 4 undergraduates.
− The program will incorporate excavations at five sites (including Riwi and Carpenter Gap) with three being major excavations. Permits are in place and the project has recruited two new overseas PhD students (France and Mexico).
Change & Continuity: Chronology, archaeology and art in the North Kimberley, northwest Australia – North Kimberley Rock Art & Artefacts Project
− The 2011 team included 4 PhD students, 3 MA students, 3 undergraduates & 3 Traditional Owners
− Rock art recording analysis (81 new sites)
− Uranium series dating of skins and crusts
− In situ geochemical analysis of pigment using PXRF (Portable X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy
− Procurement of raw material for stone tools
− Remote sensing/mapping of the physical environment
− 3 film crews for documentaries on the ABC, French and German TV
− The final season of field work will be undertaken in 2012
− Findings will be reported at KFA’s annual public lecture, Perth on 15 November
Palaeoecology Project - Developing palaeoecological science in the Kimberley
− Stage 1 project initiated with the first online pollen atlas for Kimberley flora compiled
− The discovery of pollen bearing sediment deposits that are at least 24,000 years old in the Mitchell Plateau region
− Field work on internal drainage sites commenced in proximity to lower Mitchell Falls to provide data for integration with the Change and Continuity project
Paleolinguistic Project: Linguistic prehistory of the Kimberley region
− How linguistic reconstruction can be used to understand cultural history has been reported at the Australian Archaeological Association, at Monash University, on Kimberley flora-fauna, and at the Australian Linguistics Society meeting at ANU.
− Invited and funded presentations were given at Language in Space workshop on geographical approaches to language in Boulder, Colorado in July and Methodology in Linguistic Prehistory in Berlin, the latter to be part of a collected volume.
