Associate Professor Duncan Wright
Areas of expertise
- Archaeology 2101
- Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Archaeology 210101
- Archaeology Of New Guinea And Pacific Islands (Excl. New Zealand) 210106
- Archaeology Of Australia (Excl. Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander) 210104
- Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Culture, Language And History 4501
Research interests
- Archaeology of ritual and religion
- The intersections between oral, archaeological and written histories
- Deep history of Torres Strait Islanders
- Australian (cultural, First Nation led) archaeology
Biography
I am an Associate Professor and head of archaeology at the Australian National University’s School of Archaeology and Anthropology. My research adopts a partnership approach, collaborating with First Nation communities who seek present-day cultural and economic benefits that can be obtained using archaeological methods.
Currently I have four active projects. ARC funded research traces the wandering pathways of Culture Heroes across Torres Strait. At the request of Goemulgal and Dauareb, we assess initiation grounds in the Mabuiag and Murray islands. An additional collaborative project examines the extent to which important sites in the Blue Mountains were damaged during the 2020 bushfires. Our team of Traditional Custodians and academics seek to map and conserve threatened fire hit heritage. A further project assists Elders near Barcaldine establish a new cultural tourism enterprise. Finally, in Czech Republic and Slovakia, a long term project explores the arrival of Homo Sapiens in Europe and subsequent replacement of resident Neanderthal communities. Cave excavations provide clues into the hidden histories behind some of these European ancestors.
Previously I held research positions at Griffith and Monash Universities and completed a PhD at Monash University in 2010. My thesis explored the potential for using archaeology to historicise ethnographically-signficant "villages" in western Torres Strait. Since beginning my studies at Lampeter University (Wales) in 1998, I have participated in a wide variety of projects including excavations of rock shelters and open sites in Western Australia (Hope Downs) and Arnhem Land (Northern Territory), highland Papua New Guinea (Simbai), Palau (Ulong, Angaur), Torres Strait (Mabuyag) and most recently Czech Republic (Blansko).
Researcher's projects
Current collaborative research includes excavations at a ceremonial site complex in Torres Strait, a Mid-Upper Palaeolithic site in Czech Republic and public archaeology projects in Canberra and on the South Coast. Projects follow a public (community) archaeology paradigm whereby Indigneous and non-Indigenous custodians are brought to the heart of the debate.
|
Year |
Project |
|
2020-ongoing |
Mapping fire hit heritage in the Blue Mountains (contract with the Australian Museum, Sydney) Collaborators: Amy Way and Wayne Brennan |
|
2016-ongoing |
Waiet: Archaeology of a Torres Strait Islander ritual pathway (DP210102739) Collaborators: Geoff Clark, Jillian Huntley, Nick Piper |
|
2011–ongoing |
The Human Origins Project in Central Europe (Marilyn Jessop fund) Collaborators: Ladislav Nejman, Amy Way, Marjorie Sullivan, Phil Hughes, Noemi Beljak Pazinova, Petr Skrdla, Mirek Kralik, Nick Skopal |
Available student projects
Please contact me if you are interested in HDR research in Australian archaeology. Feel free to approach me about research related to my interests (above). Alternatively, specific projects are:
1) Any Torres Strait related archaeology/ history project. Specific examples might be:
- Study of dugong bone from an initiation site in Western Torres Strait
- Fish bone and sediment studies relating to the same initiation site
- Geochemical/ residue testing of artefacts used during the Waiet initiation.
2) Any project relating to the archaeology of ritual and religion e.g.
- A review of anthropology/ archaeology liteterature relating to ritual pathways and procession in the Australia/ Pacific.
- Site specific studies based on your own connections with landowners/ Aboriginal communities
3) Partnership projects (as requested by Traditional Custodians) e.g.
- Survey/ excavation of a newly discovered stone axe quary with Ngunnuwal and Ngambri.
- Cultural tourism initiatives that require assistance - chronologies etc - that archaeologists can provide
4) Environmental change over 70,000 years in the Moravian karst: Microfauna from Pod Hradem Cave, Czech Republic.
Past student projects
Too many to list! I am very proud of my students. They have done amazing research all over the world and many of them are now employment in the cultural heritage industry.
Publications
- Wright, D, Ricardi, P & Pearson, M 2022, 'A historical artefact assemblage from Saints Peter and Paul's Old Cathedral in Goulburn.', Australasian Historical Archaeology, vol. 39, pp. 17-26.
- Wright, D, Samper Carro, S, Nejman, L et al. 2021, 'Archaeology of the Waiat mysteries on Woeydhul Island in Western Torres Strait', Antiquity, vol. 95, no. 381, pp. 791-811.
- Wright, D, Tapim, A & Zaro, J 2021, 'Consecrated Journeys: A Torres Strait Islander Space, Time Odyssey', in David W. Kim (ed.), Sacred Sites and Sacred Stories Across Cultures: Transmission of Oral Tradition, Myth, and Religiosity, Palgrave Macmillan, UK, pp. 67-98.
- Wright, D, Repu, C & Passi, F 2021, 'The 'Waiat Archaeology Project' in Torres Strait, northern Australia', Antiquity, vol. 95, no. 379, pp. 1-9.
- Wright, D, Hughes, P, Skopal, N et al. 2021, 'The archaeology of overburden: Method within the madness at Sveduv Stul, Czech Republic', Journal of Archaeological Science, vol. 132, pp. 1-10.
- Nejman, L, Hughes, P, Sullivan, M et al. 2020, 'Preliminary report of the 2019 excavation at Sveduv Stul Cave in the Moravian Karst', Survey of the Field Excavations, vol. 61, no. 1, pp. 11-19.
- Tacon, P, May, S, Lamilami, R et al. 2020, 'Maliwawa figures - A previously undescribed Arnhem Land rock art style', Australian Archaeology, vol. 86, no. 3, pp. 208-225.
- May, S, Wright, D, Domingo Sanz, I et al. 2020, 'The Buffaroo: A 'first sight' depiction of introduced buffalo in the rock art of Western Arnhem Land, Australia', Rock Art Research, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 204-216.
- Williams, R, Wright, D, Crowther, A, Denham, T.P. 2020, 'Multidisciplinary evidence for early banana (Musa cvs.) cultivation on Mabuyag Island, Torres Strait', Nature Ecology & Evolution, vol. 4, pp. 1342-1350.
- Skitmore, S, Wright, D & House, M 2019, 'Reclaiming space at Red Hill Camp: Community archaeology with urban indigenous groups', Journal of Community Archaeology & Heritage, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 98-109.
- Langley, M, Litster, M, Wright, D et al., eds, 2018, The Archaeology of Portable Art: Southeast Asian, Pacific, and Australian Perspectives, Routledge, Oxford and New York.
- Wright, D, Langley, M, Litster, M et al. 2018, 'In search of the archaeology of portable art from Southeast Asia, the Pacific, and Australia', in M Langley, M Litster, D Wright & S May (ed.), The Archaeology of Portable Art: Southeast Asian, Pacific, and Australian Perspectives, Routledge, Oxford and New York, pp. 1 - 11.
- Nejman, L, Kucera, L, Skrdla, P et al 2018, '2016 excavation of basal layers at Pod Hradem Cave and the finding of shell and amber', Prehled vyzkumu, vol. 59, no. 1, pp. 9 - 16.
- Nejman, L, Lisa, L, Dolakova, N et al 2018, 'Cave deposits as a sedimentary trap for the Marine Isotope Stage 3 environmental record: The case study of Pod Hradem, Czech Republic', Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, vol. 497, no. 2018, pp. 201 - 217.
- Wright, D, Van der Kolk, G and the Dauareb Community. 2018, 'Ritual pathways and public memory: Archaeology of Waiet zogo in Eastern Torres Strait, far north Australia', Journal of Social Archaelology, vol. 0, no. 0, pp. 1 - 23.
- Nejman, L, Wood, R, Wright, D et al 2017, 'Hominid visitation of the Moravian Karst during the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition: New results from Pod Hradem Cave (Czech Republic)', Journal of Human Evolution, vol. 108, pp. 131-146.
- May, S, Tacon, P, Wright, D et al 2017, 'The rock art of Madjedbebe (Malakunanja II)', in Bruno David, Paul S.C. Taçon, Jean-Jacques Delannoy and Jean-Michel Geneste (ed.), terra australis 47, ANU Press, Canberra, pp. 87 - 107.
- Disspain, M, Wallis, L, Fallon, S et al 2017, 'Direct Radiocarbon Dating Of Fish Otoliths From Mulloway (Argyrosomus Japonicus) And Black Bream (Acanthopagrus Butcheri) From Long Point, Coorong, South Australia', Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia, vol. 41, pp. 3-17pp.
- May, S, Shine, D, Wright, D et al 2017, 'The rock art of Ingaanjalwurr, western Arnhem Land, Australia', in Bruno David, Paul S.C. Taçon, Jean-Jacques Delannoy and Jean-Michel Geneste (ed.), Terra Australis 47, ANU Press, Canberra, pp. 51 - 69.
- Wright, D, Langley, M, May, S et al 2016, 'Painted shark vertebrae beads from the Djawumbu-Madjawarrnja complex, western Arnhem Land', Australian Archaeology, vol. 82, no. 1, pp. 43-54.
- Wright, D, Stephenson, B, Tacon, P et al 2016, 'Exploring Ceremony: The Archaeology of a Men's Meeting House ('Kod') on Mabuyag, Western Torres Strait', Cambridge Archaeological Journal, vol. 26, no. 4, pp. 718-737.
- Wright, D & Veness, D 2016, 'An Authentic Learning Approach to Assessment in Australian Archaeology', Archaeologies: Journal of the World Archaeological Congress, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 264-280.
- Ricardi, P, Wright, D, Dowling, P et al 2016, 'The Springbank Island Archaeological Project', Canberra Historical Journal, no. September 2016, pp. 33-39.
- Wright, D, Denham, T & Shine, D 2016, 'The Archaeology of Kakadu : Past, Present and Future', Kakadu National Park Symposia Series., ed. S Winderlich, Kakadu National Park, NT 0886, Kakadu, pp. 72-79.
- Wright, D & Jacobsen, G 2015, 'Convergence of ceremonial and secular: The archaeology of Dabangay village on Mabuyag in western Torres Strait', Memoirs of the Queensland Museum: Cultural Heritage Series, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 477-495.
- McNiven, I, Wright, D, Sutton, S et al 2015, 'Midden formation and marine specialisation at Goemu village, Mabuyag, Torres Strait, before and after European contact', Memoirs of the Queensland Museum: Cultural Heritage Series, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 377-495.
- Wright, D & Ricardi, P 2015, 'Both sides of the frontier: The 'contact' archaeology of villages on Mabuyag, western Torres strait', Quaternary International, vol. 385, pp. 102-111.
- Wright, D 2015, The Archaeology of Community Emergence and Development on Mabuyag in the Western Torres Strait, Archaeopress, Oxford.
- Shine, D, Marshall, M, Wright, D et al. 2015, 'The archaeology of Bindjarran rockshelter in Manilikarr Country, Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory', Australian Archaeology, vol. 80, no. 80, pp. 104-111.
- May, S, Tacon, P, Wright, D and M. Marshall. 2015, 'The Rock Art of Kakadu: past, present and future research, conservation and management', Kakadu National Park Symposia Series., ed. S Winderlich, Kakadu National Park, NT 0886, Kakadu, pp. 36-44.
- Wright, D, May, S, Tacon, P et al 2014, 'A Scientific Study of a New cupule Site in Jabiluka, Western Arnhem Land', Rock Art Research, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 92-100.
- Wright, D, Nejman, L, d'Errico, F et al 2014, 'An Early Upper Palaeolithic decorated bone tubular rod from Pod Hradem Cave, Czech Republic', Antiquity, vol. 88, no. 339, pp. 30-46.
- Wright, D & Jacobsen, G 2013, 'Further radiocarbon dates from Dabangay, a mid- to late Holocene settlement site in western Torres Strait', Australian Archaeology, vol. 76, no. 76, pp. 79-83.
- Nejman, L., D. Wright, L. Lisá, , N. Doláková, I. Horácek, J. Novák, R. Wood, M. Pacher, S. Sázelová, M. Holub, A. Prichystal, M. Nývltová-Fišáková, A. Bajer. 2013. Hominids and Palaeoenvironments in the Moravian Karst during Marine Isotope Stage 3: New Excavations at Pod Hradem Cave, Czech Republic. Antiquity 87(337). http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/nejman337/
- Shine, D., D. Wright, T. Denham, K. Aplin, P. Hiscock, K. Parker and R. Walton. 2013. Birriwilk, a mid-Holocene site in Manikilarr Country, Western Arnhem Land, NT. Australian Archaeology Association 76: 69-78.
- Wright, D, Denham, T, Shine, D and Donohue, M 2013, 'An Archaeological Review of Western New Guinea', Journal of World Prehistory, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 25-73.
- Wright, D., P. Hiscock and K. Aplin. 2013. Re-excavation of a mid-Holocene settlement site on Mabuyag in western Torres Strait. In Morrison, M.J. and S. Ulm (Eds.) North of 20 Degrees: recent archaeological research in north Queensland. Special Issue of the Journal of Queensland Archaeological Research.
- Wright, D 2011, 'The archaeology of community on Mabuyag (Mabuiag) in the Western Torres Strait, Northeastern Australia', Australian Archaeology, vol. 73, no. 73, pp. 49-57.
- Wright, D 2011, 'Mid Holocene maritime economy in the western Torres Strait', Archaeology in Oceania, vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 23-27.
- Wright, D 2011, 'Is a village a village if no one lives there? Negotiated histories on Mabuyag in the Western Torres Strait', in J. Liston, G. Clark, D. Alexander (ed.), Pacific Island Heritage: Archaeology, identity and community (Terra Australis 35), ANU ePress, Canberra, pp. 115-126.
- Wright, D & Dickinson, W 2009, 'Movement of ideas not materials: locally manufactured pottery on Mabuyag Island, Western Torres Strait', Archaeology in Oceania, vol. 44, pp. 38-41.
- McNiven, I & Wright, D 2008, 'Ritualised marine midden formation in western Zenadh Kes (Torres Strait)', in Geoffrey Clark, Foss Leach & Sue O'Connor (ed.), Islands of inquiry: colonisation, seafaring and the archaeology of maritime landscapes (Terra Australis 29), ANU ePress, Canberra, pp. 133-147.
- Clark, G & Wright, D 2007, 'Reading Pacific Pots', in Atholl Anderson, Kaye Green & Foss Leach (ed.), Vastly Ingenious: The Archaeology of Pacific Material Culture in honour of Janet M. Davidson, University of Otago Press, Dunedin, New Zealand, pp. 173-190.
- Wright, D 2007, 'Pilbara petroglyphs', in Aedeen Cremin (ed.), Archaeologica: the world's most significant sites and cultural treasures, Frances Lincoln Ltd, London, pp. 355pp.
- Wright, D 2007, 'Koonalda Caves, Australia', in Aedeen Cremin (ed.), Archaeologica: the world's most significant sites and cultural treasures, Frances Lincoln Ltd, London, pp. 360-361pp.
- Wright, D 2007, 'The Devils Lair', in Aedeen Cremin (ed.), Archaeologica: the world's most significant sites and cultural treasures, Frances Lincoln Ltd, London, pp. 352pp.
- Clark, G, Anderson, A & Wright, D 2006, 'Human Colonization of the Palau Islands, Western Micronesia', Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, vol. 01, pp. 215-232.
- Clark, G & Wright, D 2005, 'On The Periphery? Archaeological investigations At Ngelong, Angaur Island, Palau', Micronesica, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 67-91.
- Clark, G & Wright, D 2003, 'The Colonisation of Palau: preliminary results from Angaur and Ulong', International Conference for the 50th anniversary of the first Lapita excavation (July 1952), ed. Christophe Sand, Le Cahiers de l�Arch�ologie en Nouvelle-Cal�donie, Noumea, pp. 85-95.
Projects and Grants
Grants information is drawn from ARIES. To add or update Projects or Grants information please contact your College Research Office.
- Waiet: Archaeology of a Torres Strait Islander ritual pathway (Primary Investigator)
- Mapping fire hit heritage (Primary Investigator)
- History Places: Wellington Range rock art in a global context (Secondary Investigator)
- Establishing the provenance of Torres Strait Islander remains: genetics, craniometrics and isotopes (Primary Investigator)
