Research output per year
Research output per year
Associate Professor
Research activity per year
I am an Associate Professor 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 three 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. 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, Waier, Mer) and most recently Czech Republic (Blansko).
Community Archaeologist; PhD Monash University; MA ANU; BA University of Wales, Lampeter
Tertiary Education, Graduate Diploma, University of Canberra
Award Date: 16 Jun 2016
Archaeology, PhD, The Archaeology of Community Emergence and Development on Mabuiag, Western Torres Strait, Monash University
Award Date: 19 Feb 2010
Archaeology, Master, The Archaeology of Aulong Island and the Colonisation of Palau, Micronesia, The Australian National University
Award Date: 16 Jun 2005
English and Archaeology, Bachelor
Award Date: 6 Jun 2000
Society of Antiquaries, London
22 May 2022 → …
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Research output: Book/Report › Edited Book › peer-review
Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Wright, D., Clark, G. & Huntley, J.
2/06/21 → 1/06/25
Project: Research
1/11/21 → 1/05/23
Project: Research
Tacon, P., Wright, D., Brady, L., Domingo Sanz, I., Goldhahn, J. & May, S.
7/03/16 → 6/03/19
Project: Research