(Associate Professor)
PhD, University of SydneyContact Teaching interestsArchaeology of recent Aboriginal Australia, historical archaeology, the archaeology of colonialism, ethnicity, cultural landscapes, archaeology field and laboratory methods, historical rock art, maritime archaeology. Current Research ProjectsPicturing Change: 21st Century Perspectives on Recent Australian Rock Art This project focuses on Australia-wide contact period rock art, with fieldwork in Arnhem Land (led by Sally May and Paul Tacon), Wollemi National Park (NSW, led by Paul Tacon), the Pilbara (WA, led by Paterson) and central Australia (led by June Ross). Contact sites and imagery are examined from archaeological, archival, ethnographic, historical and material culture points of view. Method and theory derived from merging sub-disciplines of contact archaeology and rock art research is fundamental. Collaboration with Aboriginal colleagues is intended to broaden the research benefits. Fieldwork has commended, with recording in 2008 and 2009.
The Archaeology of Western Australia's Coast
I am involved in several joint projects interested in exploring uses of Western Australia's offshore islands and inland waterways over recent centuries:
• Recherche Archipelago: with local Traditional Owners, WA Museum, and DEC we are looking at nineteenth century evidence for whaling and sealing in these remote islands.
• Estuaries and rivers of the south coast from Esperance to Augusta: with a wide range of local interest groups we are looking at the historical uses of these significant ecosystems.
• Houtman Abrohlos and Batavia shipwreck sites: with the archaeologists at the WA Museum we have recorded a range of sites related to the 1628 wrecking of the VOC ship Batavia.
• Dampier Archipelago: Souter and Paterson have recorded a range of archaeological sites related to the historical uses of this group of islands.
• Kimberley coastline: with the WA Museum Souter and Paterson are interested in the wide variety of uses of the coastal Kimberley by Indonesians, American and other whalers, Aboriginal groups, colonial industries, and the military.
The Historical Archaeology of the Pilbara Project (HAPP)
This project investigates the archaeology of the Pilbara, Western Australia, immediately preceding and following European settlement (1860s). The project develops a regional framework within a fieldwork program of site survey and recording, analysis of documentary sources and oral testimony. Central themes of the investigation are identifying different populations (ie: Malay, Japanese, European) and Aboriginal adaptations to changes in environment, economics, population and work resulting from a range of European activities. Specific themes of investigation include the pastoral industry, mining and maritime industries. This research contributes to the archaeology of cultural contact, Aboriginal history and interpretations of historic-period archaeological resources.
Interactions between pastoralists and hunter-gatherers
I have been researching the contact between various different Aboriginal societies and pastoralists, in the Lake Eyre Basin, the Northern territory, and the Pilbara. This work is detailed in The Lost Legions (Alta Mira Press). Representative publicationsBooks
PATERSON, Alistair G. 2008. The Lost Legions: Culture Contact in Central Australia, AltaMira Press, Lanham, MD. [Australian orders from 'DA Information Services': service@dadirect.com.au] BALME, J. and PATERSON, A. G. (ed) 2006. Archaeology in Practice: A Student Guide to Archaeological Analyses, Blackwell Publishing, Malden. Book chaptersGILL, Nicholas and PATERSON, Alistair 2007. A Work in Progress: The Past, Present and Future of Indigenous Pastoral Heritage. In Loving a Sunburned Country? Geographies of Australian Heritages, Aldershot, Ashgate, 113-131. PATERSON, A. and BALME, J. 2006, Stratigraphy. In Archaeology in Practice: A Student Guide to Archaeological Analyses, edited by BALME, Jane and PATERSON, Alistair G., Malden, Blackwell Publishing, 97-116. PATERSON, A. G. 2005. 'Historical interactions between Aborigines and European pastoralists in Australia's drylands', in SMITH, M. A. and HESSE, P. (ed), 23 Degrees South: Archaeology and Environmental History of the Southern Deserts, National Museum of Australia, Canberra, 267-280. View PDF file View references (PDF file) PATERSON, A. G. 2005. 'Hunter-Gatherer interactions with sheep and cattle pastoralists from the Australian Arid Zone', in SMITH, M. A. and VETH, P. (ed), Desert Peoples: Archaeological Perspectives, Blackwell, Oxford, 276-292. PATERSON, A. G., GILL, N. and KENNEDY, M. J. 2005. '‘Do you want to delete this?’ Hidden histories and hidden landscapes in the Murchison and Davenport ranges, Northern Territory, Australia', in MUCKLE, A. and WARD, G. K. (ed), ‘The Power of Knowledge, the Resonance of Tradition’. Electronic publication of papers from the AIATSIS Indigenous Studies conference, September 2001, Research Program, AIATSIS, Canberra, 125-137. View article PATERSON, A. G. 2002. 'Australian Aboriginal Archaeology', in ORSER Jr, C. E. (ed), Encyclopedia of Historical Archaeology, Routledge, London, 38-42. ArticlesPATERSON, A.G. 2009 'Under the Same Sky: Two British Sttlements in Early Colonial Australia'. Antiquity 83 (322). PATERSON, A.G. and B.J. Heath 2009 'Current Research in Australia and New Zealand: An Overview'. Historical Archaeology 43 (3): 113-118. PATERSON, A. G. and WILSON, A. 2009. Indigenous Perceptions of Contact at Inthanoona, Northwest Western Australia. Archaeology in Oceania 44: 98-110. PATERSON, A. G. 2006 'Towards a Historical Archaeology of Western Australia's Northwest', Australasian Historical Archaeology 24 91-103. View PDF file SOUTER, C., PATERSON, A. G. and HOOK, F. 2006 The Assessment of Archaeological Sites on Barrow Island and the Dampier Archipelago, Pilbara, Western Australia: A Collaborative Approach. Bulletin of the Australasian Institute of Maritime Archaeology 30:85-92. PATERSON, A. G. 2005. 'Early pastoral landscapes and culture contact in Central Australia', Historical Archaeology 39 (3), 28-48. View PDF file PATERSON, A. G. and FRANKLIN, D. 2004. 'The 1629 mass grave for Batavia victims, Beacon Island, Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia', Australasian Historical Archaeology 22 71-78. View PDF file PATERSON, A. G. 2003. 'The texture of agency: An example of culture-contact in central Australia', Archaeology in Oceania 38 (2), 52-65. View PDF file PATERSON, A. G., GILL, N. and KENNEDY, M. 2003. 'An archaeology of historical reality? A case study of the recent past', Australian Archaeology 57 82-89. View PDF file GILL, N., PATERSON, A. G. and KENNEDY, M. 2002. 'Hidden landscapes', Cultural Survival Quarterly 26 (2), 37-38. PATERSON, A. G. and WILSON, A. 2000. 'Australian historical archaeology: Retrospects and prospects', Australian Archaeology 50 81-89. View PDF file TeachingI teach: - Making History HIST2220 (with Dr Andrea Gaynor)
- Archaeology Field Methods ARCY2226
- Archaeological Laboratory Methods ARCY2227 (with Dr Jane Balme)
- Historical Archaeology in Australasia ARCY2218
- Archaeology of Oceania ARCY2242
- Introduction to Historical Archaeology ARCY2272
- The Archaeology of Tribes and Empires ARCY1102
SupervisionI supervise PhD and MA candidates, as well as honours students. I have several projects suitable for postgraduate research and am happy to discuss them with interested researchers. Expertise and Research Interests: - Archaeological method and theory
- Archaeology of culture contact
- Cultural resource management
- Historical archaeology
- Spatial archaeology
Honours and Awards InformationPresident, Australasian Society for Historical Archaeology |
