D.phil (Oxon); M.st (Oxon); BA (Yale)

Catherine Frieman is an associate professor in European archaeology in the School of archaeology and anthropology. Previously, she was a post-doctoral research fellow at the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art at the University of Oxford and a lecturer in archaeology at the University of Nottingham. She received a BA in archaeological studies from Yale University and an M.st and D.phil in archaeology from the University of Oxford. Catherine's D.phil examined the adoption of metal objects and metallurgy in 4th-2nd millennium BC northwest Europe through a close study of various lithic objects long thought to be skeuomorphs of metal.

Her research concerns the relationships between people, technology, and material culture. Her particular interests include prehistoric mobility, innovation, and ancient genetics. She is a specialist in ancient technology studies, especially prehistoric Eurasian stone and flint technology; skeuomorphism; the spread of metal and metal technology; flint daggers; and the maintenance of technological traditions. Her research crosses numerous periods and regions, including the archaeology of prehistoric and Roman Europe; Australian historic archaeology, including rock art produced by Indigenous people over the last 200 years; and technological developments in prehistoric Southeast Asia. She currently directs the British-based Southeast Kernow Archaeological Survey, and previously co-directed Triabunna Barracks excavations in Tasmania. Her current publications explore cross-disciplinary approaches to archaeological data and meaning making, including the impact of genetic data on archaeological narratives and models, as well as the methodological and ethical implications of this research. Her most recent monograph Negotiating Migrations: the Archaeology and Politics of Mobility was published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2024.

Catherine is currently the Joint Editor in Chief of Current Anthropology.

• Archaeological theory
• Technology studies
• Innovation
• Migration and mobility
• Kinship studies
• Archaeology and biomolecular methods
• European later prehistory
• Landscapes and social change
• Lithic technology - ground and knapped
• Archaeological pedagogies

I welcome expressions of interest from students interested in developing research theses on

• Topics related to material culture and technology (any period)
• Stone tool technology (just about any region or period, knapped or ground)
• Archaeological theory
• The politics of the past, especially feminist approaches to archaeology
• Archaeologies of technology, migration, mobility, innovation, and kinship
• Bridging archaeology and the natural sciences, especially aDNA and other biomolecular approaches
• Activist and engaged archaeologies, including social justice, community work, anarchist archaeologies, and discussions of how the history of archaeology is politically engaged

I currently have no specific funding for PhD theses, so you must be prepared to seek out funding from ANU's central pool of PhD scholarships or other streams of support.