Popular culture has often presented a mythologised version of archaeology that at times misinforms the general public about broader academic intentions. The fantastic and bizarre continue to capture the public imagination, so that while archaeological teams excavate, survey and record, they occupy the same geographic locations as ghost tour operators and seekers of the supernatural. Not only does archaeology operate within the same geography as modern mythology, but widespread access to technology, from satellite imagery to GPS data, means that enthusiastic amateurs can partake in their own investigations. With limited landscape identification training, an enthusiasm for discovery and strange cultural biases, fringe operators have utilised new technologies to justify old fallacies through variant forms of amateur archaeology. This collection draws on the wealth of work currently being undertaken by contemporary archaeologists in Australia, from rock art observations to art/archaeology experiments and even space archaeology. It explores archaeology on the edge, contextualising the fringe dwellers that operate on the periphery of accepted academia. It also looks at contemporary archaeological theory and practice in relation to these fringe operators, developing approaches toward interaction, in contrast to the more common reaction of repudiation. The relationship between the accepted centre and the outer edge in contemporary archaeological practice and theory unveils much about popular misconceptions and how archaeological spaces can be overlaid with variant mythological and cultural interpretations.

Throughout the world, consultant archaeologists are at work on heritage assessments covering a broad range of fields, subjects, techniques, locations and connections. Due to government legislations to protect heritage, an industry has developed where archaeology is inextricably linked to business. The result is the production of a vast amount of material not widely seen, with the result of the heritage work often remaining unpublished. This collection of papers examines how heritage is undertaken as a business, and what this means for the ongoing protection of the past and development of archaeological knowledge. The international connections of a global business structure present an opportunity to approach heritage and archaeological studies with a global ‘one world’ view, parallel with the corporate approach practiced by an international company. This volume collects papers by archaeologists and heritage specialists from around the globe, providing insights into the intentions, processes and outcomes of an international heritage consultancy in operation. From managing heritage structures associated with space exploration at the NASA Ames Research Center, to protecting Roman archaeology in North Yorkshire, and from an industrial landscape in Cornwall to a palimpsest of Aboriginal artefacts in Australia, this book contextualises international consultancy within a broader milieu of archaeological study and documents the way in which an international business contributes to the development of academic knowledge on a world scale.

This field manual provides essential background information for those interested in undertaking archaeology in Australia. Professional archaeologists provide their personal tips for working in each state and territory, dealing with a living heritage, working with Aboriginal peoples, and coping with Australian conditions. Grounded in the social, political and ethical issues that inform Australian archaeology today, this book is also packed with practical advice.

This book asks the question: How can archaeologists work closely together with Aboriginal people and in a way that can mutually benefit both parties involved, concerning the research outcome for the scientist and giving Aborigines a proven base for the prehistory they are aiming to identify with, but are not willing to explore in detail themselves? The author seeks answers to this and related questions through a two-pronged research approach, via interviews with and actively evolving questionnaires completed by contemporary Aboriginal participants, and through archaeological research into stone technology. These investigational tools and their interaction exemplify the dilemma modern science has to face when working in a field where not only the exchange of knowledge between two diverse cultures is being questioned, but also cultural assimilation in both directions.

Throughout the world, consultant archaeologists are at work on heritage assessments covering a broad range of fields, subjects, techniques, locations and connections. Due to government legislations to protect heritage, an industry has developed where archaeology is inextricably linked to business. The result is the production of a vast amount of material not widely seen, with the result of the heritage work often remaining unpublished. This collection of papers examines how heritage is undertaken as a business, and what this means for the ongoing protection of the past and development of archaeological knowledge. The international connections of a global business structure present an opportunity to approach heritage and archaeological studies with a global â ~one worldâ (TM) view, parallel with the corporate approach practiced by an international company. This volume collects papers by archaeologists and heritage specialists from around the globe, providing insights into the intentions, processes and outcomes of an international heritage consultancy in operation. From managing heritage structures associated with space exploration at the NASA Ames Research Center, to protecting Roman archaeology in North Yorkshire, and from an industrial landscape in Cornwall to a palimpsest of Aboriginal artefacts in Australia, this book contextualises international consultancy within a broader milieu of archaeological study and documents the way in which an international business contributes to the development of academic knowledge on a world scale.

Includes contribution by W. Mumford, catalogued separately; for further annotation see earlier edition.

Australia has one of the largest inventories of rock art in the world with pictographs and petroglyphs found almost anywhere that has suitable rock surfaces – in rock shelters and caves, on boulders and rock platforms. First Nations people have been marking these places with figurative imagery, abstract designs, stencils and prints for tens of thousands of years, often engaging with earlier rock markings. The art reflects and expresses changing experiences within landscapes over time, spirituality, history, law and lore, as well as relationships between individuals and groups of people, plants, animals, land and Ancestral Beings that are said to have created the world, including some rock art. Since the late 1700s, people arriving in Australia have been fascinated with the rock art they encountered, with detailed studies commencing in the late 1800s. Through the 1900s an impressive body of research on Australian rock art was undertaken, with dedicated academic study using archaeological methods employed since the late 1940s. Since then, Australian rock art has been researched from various perspectives, including that of Traditional Owners, custodians and other community members. Through the 1900s, there was also growing interest in Australian rock art from researchers across the globe, leading many to visit or migrate to Australia to undertake rock art research. In this volume, the varied histories of Australian rock art research from different parts of the country are explored not only in terms of key researchers, developments and changes over time, but also the crucial role of First Nations people themselves in investigations of this key component of their living heritage.