Australian archaeologists to lead new era of human origins research

Cave where the remains of Homo floresiensis were discovered in 2003, Lian Bua, Flores, Indonesia, 2007. Source: Wikipedia.

Announced by the ARC yesterday, the Australian Academy of the Humanities congratulates researchers involved in the new Centre of Excellence for Transforming Human Origins Research, with Chief Investigators including AAH Fellows Distinguished Professor Sue O’Connor FAHA FBA, Professor Christopher Clarkson FAHA, Professor Adam Brumm FAHA, and Principal Investigator Emeritus Professor Paul Turnbull FAHA.

The Centre will transform our understanding of why and how our species, Homo sapiens, is the only surviving human on our planet by mobilising Indigenous, Global South and Western expertise to examine under-researched regions in Africa, Asia, and Australia. Professor Michael Petraglia, who is currently the Director of the Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution at Griffith University, will serve as Centre Director.

ARC Centres of Excellence are focal points of expertise through which high-quality researchers maintain and develop Australia’s international standing in research areas of national priority.

Reshaping understanding of our past

Professor Christopher Clarkson FAHA.

The establishment of this Centre of Excellence marks a significant advancement for research capability for Australian archaeologists.

“The Centre intends to overturn the old, Eurocentric story of human evolution by placing Africa, Asia, and Australia at the centre of inquiry rather than on its periphery. We plan to reshape what we know about our species by highlighting the deep histories of regions long overlooked,” says Christopher Clarkson FAHA, who is Professor of Archaeology at Griffith University. His expertise is in Indigenous Australian archaeology, Pleistocene southeast Asia, the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa and the role of stone tools in the evolution of human economy and cognition.

“For the first time, human evolution research will be co-designed with Indigenous and Global South communities on a large scale. We hope not just to produce better science, but also a more ethical, inclusive, and globally relevant understanding of what it means to be human.”

“By integrating genetics, archaeology, climate science, and Indigenous knowledges, the Centre will generate new evolutionary models that help us understand how humans survived past crises and how we can meet the challenges of the Anthropocene today.”

Researchers will explore how humans evolved into a species that could thrive almost anywhere on Earth, surviving dramatic climate shifts and environmental changes over the past 300,000 years.

The research will lead to new scientific understandings and updates to curriculum in Australian schools about human history—including how different groups of people are biologically and culturally connected, and how humans have changed natural environments around the world. 

Significant recognition of world-leading Australian archaeologists

The establishment of the Centre further cements Australian archaeological expertise as world leading and will offer opportunities for significant research across global partnerships. It will also support the next generation of Australian archaeologists, developing their skills and experience.

“I’m a Queensland-born archaeologist, I’m proud to say Australian researchers (and overseas researchers based in our country) have been at the forefront of some of the biggest discoveries in our understanding of human evolutionary history,” said Professor Adam Brumm FAHA, Chief Investigator.

In 2003, Professor Brumm and a team of Australian and Indonesian researchers discovered the remains of Homo floresiensis, an extinct species of humans who measured approximately one metre high, on the island of Flores, Indonesia. The fossils were dated between 60,000 and 100,000 years old.

In 2017, Professor Brumm was again among researchers who discovered “ice-age” cave art in Sulawesi, changing what we know about how early humans used stone tools, and how they lived during the ice age.

“For over a century, Australians have punched well above our weight in this globally important field. This serious investment by the Australian Research Council will take human origins research in our country to a new level”.

“The Centre will work together with scholars from across the Global South to advance our knowledge of how humans evolved from ape-like ancestors to the extraordinary creatures we are today, how our species came to spread across the globe, and why we ultimately became the last surviving humans on the planet.”

The Centre of Excellence for Transforming Human Origins Research was one of eight Centres of Excellence announced by the Australian Research Council yesterday and will receive $35m in funding over seven years with 50 investigators, 37 partner organisations (including 8 Australian universities) and the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC). International partner organisations include the National Museums of Kenya, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia, the Banaras Hindu University, India, the Chinese Academy of the Sciences, the Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia, Microsoft Australia, and the British Museum, to name a few.

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