Our Research
CRAR+M researchers have excavated some of Australia’s oldest archaeological sites, undertaken programmes to directly date paintings, analysed the role of symbolic behaviour in human evolution, explored the nature of contact era rock art, investigated rock art as a social information in arid and coastal Australia, collected baseline data on rock art and Tjukurrpa from the Canning Stock Route, prepared of management plans for rock art regions (e.g. Sydney, Port Hedland) and specific sites (Whale Cave), and undertaken the scientific assessments for National Heritage Listing and World Heritage nominations.
UWA archaeologists are also involved in early Upper Palaeolithic art research in central Europe, as well as comparative studies in North America, South Africa and China. They are leaders in the development, refinement, and application of digital recording and enhancement techniques of heavily deteriorated rock-paintings and engravings.
Current Projects
Collecting the West
ARC FUTURE FELLOWSHIP
What do the collections from Western Australia tell us about who we were, who we are and who we can be?
Kimberley Visions
ARC LINKAGE PROJECT
Aims to combine high resolution rock art and excavation data from the NE Kimberley, providing a critical link in the Kimberley-Arnhem Land nexus.
Pilbara Rock Art Research Project
CAT2 FUNDED PROJECT
Research, education and training for undergraduate and postgraduate students in Pilbara Indigenous communities and Indigenous ranger groups.
Recently Completed Projects
Rock Art of the Western Desert & Great Basin
ARC FUTURE FELLOWSHIP
This project explores the nature of graphic and stylistic responses to changing environment over time in the Western Desert of Australia.
Lifeways of the first Australians
ARC LINKAGE PROJECT
Investigated the archaeology of the limestone ranges in the south central Kimberley to understand the complexity of the life ways of the Indigenous people of this region.
Murujuga: Dynamics of the Dreaming
ARC LINKAGE PROJECT
Investigated the world’s largest rock art galleries of Murujuga (the Burrup Peninsula) and the Dampier Archipelago.