News

The Kimberley Foundation has approved funding for four projects in the first quarter of 2012.

Extension to the existing Palaeolinguistic project led by Patrick McConvell with an increased emphasis on the flora and fauna representation in the rock art. The extension provides opportunities for Patrick’s work to be closely integrated into rock art recording in both the Change and Continuity and Lifeways projects.

Extension to the existing Palaeoecology project let by Simon Haberle to enable deeper coring from the Mitchell Plateau site. Simon is planning to use the Itrax high resolution analytical system at ANSTO on the new core to provide detailed geochemical information on the sediments.

Honours Scholarship has been awarded to Dean Fleming who will investigate the morphology of excavated ochre pieces. These will be compared to surface ochre finds and associated rock art assemblages in order to develop an understanding of past ochre curation and use. His dataset will comprise the ochres recovered from the ten excavations already completed on the Change and Continuity archaeological dig. It will also complement Jillian Huntley’s chemical characterisation of ochres and add another facet to the findings of the Change and Continuity project.

$5,000 to PhD candidate and Lifeways project researcher, Jane Fyfe to enable much more widespread recording and documentation of rock art in the Oscar and Napier ranges during the forthcoming two month field season.

A travel grant was awarded to scientist Jillian Huntley (UNE) (Messages in Paint) to attend the International Rock Art conference in Brazil, 2012.