Everick Associate Research Assistant Opportunities
The School of Social Science is seeking to recruit up to 6 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Associate Research Assistants to work with UQ researchers on active projects over summer 2023/2024. The scheme is sponsored by a philanthropic gift by Everick Foundation. Working under the routine supervision of and reporting to a Project Supervisor, Everick Indigenous Associate Research Assistants will support researchers in conducting research activities in the fields of archaeology, cultural heritage and related areas. See list of projects below.
Training will be provided during the placement and will be complemented by ongoing support from the nominated Project Supervisors. Those in the role will:
- Assist with the collection of data or samples;
- Maintain accurate and up to date research records;
- Prepare text, graphs and figures for research reports;
- Actively participate in research group meetings with supervisor;
- Participate in presentation of research findings to UQ’s research community in a research showcase;
- Provide reflections to researchers on your experience.
Want to Apply?
Please appy for these casual positions through Workday.
Project name: Assessing Impact on Country.
Area of Inquiry: Environmental Anthropology/Cultural Heritage
Project Supervisor: Sally Babidge
The project involves sourcing, organising and preliminary analysis of environmental impact assessment and cultural heritage reports relevant to Country (three potential areas, two in WA and one in Qld). This work will inform a broader project to identify practical research initiatives in collaboration with three different First Nations organisations who, representing their constituents, are negotiating the impact of extractive developments on Country. The project may be taken up as 50 or 100 hours and is desktop based (School of Social Science) with consultation also possible.
Project name: A seed key for Mithaka Country
Area of inquiry: Archaeology/botany
Project Supervisors: Makayla Harding (UQ) and Andy Fairbairn (UQ)
In partnership with the Mithaka Aboriginal Corporation, UQ and the Queensland Herbarium are working to develop seed identification keys to help identify ancient seeds found in archaeological sites, especially grasses. The Associate Research Assistant will prepare and catalogue modern reference specimens for use in the key, including describing and photographing the specimens.
Project name: Microbotanical signatures of Australian seed grinding: a reference collection study
Area of inquiry: Archaeology
Project Supervisor: Alison Crowther and Andrew Fairbairn, School of Social Science, a.crowther@uq.edu.au
The use of a wide variety of seeds for food by Indigenous Australians was widely documented during the ethnographic period, but has been more challenging to trace in the archaeological record. Microscopic residues of starch granules and phytoliths from the seeds of grasses, trees, shrubs and other plants found on the surfaces of grindstones can be used to document seed grinding in the past. Such studies rely on comprehensive reference collections to enable taxonomic identifications of the plant microremains. This laboratory-based study will contribute towards the development of a microbotanical reference collection as part of a larger project investigating the antiquity of seed processing on Mithaka Country in western Queensland. The project will involve the microscopic analysis of starch granules and/or phytoliths from modern reference taxa that were potentially used for food in the past. Laboratory training will be provided including: processing of plant reference material, light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and recording microremains using a morphological key. The data generated from the project will be incorporated into the UQ Online Archaeobotany Reference Database.
Project name: Ancient projectiles scanning project
Area of inquiry: Experimental archaeology
Project Supervisor: Chris Clarkson and Michael Manoel
This project involves training and skill development in 3D scanning, image manipulation and measurement of experimental ancient projectiles using 3D scanning technology. The project is an important element of the ARC funded Evolution of High Speed Projectiles project, which seeks to understand when in the human past fast projectiles first appeared, including in Australia. The Associate Research Assistant will take part in ballistic experiments with replica projectile armatures, acquiring 3D scans of them before and after their use.
Project name: Pollen analysis of long-term landscape change on Mithaka Country
Area of inquiry: Palaeoenvironment
Project Supervisor: Patrick Moss
This project will use analysis of pollen and other information from sediment cores taken waterholes in SW Queensland to understand the deep time history of landscape and environmental change on Mithaka Country. This will provide insight into climate change for the region, as well as potential landscape management through the use of fire by the Traditional Custodians and impacts of British colonisation, which disrupted Indigenous fire management in the late 19th and 20th centuries. The Associate Research Assistant will help prepare and extract pollen and other proxies (micro charcoals etc) from the cores as well as analyse pollen slides using high powered microscopy.
Project name: Mapping Colonial Parramatta: Unearthing the Past through Digital Humanities
Area of inquiry: Historical archaeology
Project Supervisor: Caitlin D'Gluyas
This project will contribute to the historical archaeology of Parramatta, NSW, inviting you to engage with archaeological and historical sources of this rich cultural landscape to critically examine the lasting effects of colonisation. Parramatta, with its deep Aboriginal and colonial history, remains a hotspot for archaeological discovery in NSW primarily through commercial/industry-based projects. Through a range of digital humanities tools, you'll engage in spatial and thematic analyses to map the people, places, and objects that shaped the past. You’ll gain hands-on experience in extracting, organizing, and analysing historical and archaeological data. Learn valuable skills in GIS, Excel, and OpenRefine, while making contributions to a multifaceted research project.
Project name: Ancient animal identification from bone and tooth microstructure
Area of inquiry: Zooarchaeology
Project Supervisors: Justyna Miszkiewicz and Tiina Manne
Animal remains in archaeological contexts are often recovered in a fragmented condition, making species identification challenging. To assist with this problem, we can turn to histology, the study of tissue microstructure. Bone and tooth fragments that have preserved in the archaeological record can be made into thin sections, and described and measured based on animal specific microarchitecture and cell morphology. This project surveys thin sections made from a range of animal (e.g. wombat, kangaroo, rat, crocodile, cow) bones and teeth, with the ultimate goal of creating a histology reference collection that can be then applied to archaeological questions, particularly in Australia. The Associate Research Assistant(s) can take on various roles in this project, including capturing histology images using a microscope camera, analysing histology images using dedicated software, and assisting with building of a database of histology descriptions and measurements.
Project name: Investigations of Dunghutti coastal sites
Area of inquiry: Archaeology
Project Supervisors: Michael Westaway and Malcolm Connolly
Field work on Dunghutti country has revealed a series of important coastal sites that demonstrate that the area around Crescent Head was an important Dunghutti cultural landscape. Honours student Rod Blight is commencing his Honours (part time) to investigate the nature of some of the quarry sites, one of which is situated adjacent to the Crescent Head golf course. In conversations with Greg Douglas the GM of Kempsey Local Aboriginal Land Council it was discussed how it would be important to highlight the existence of this Aboriginal landscape through signage and other educational materials. In ARCS2060 a number of students undertook as part of their assessment a series of interpretive signs of this site which could serve as the foundation of future signage in the area. In addition a recently exposed midden impacted by high tides and large seas contains a curious palaeosol which we intend to investigate with Dr Malcolm Connoly employing micromorphology in February.
The Associate Research Assistant can take on various roles in this project, including field survey with Honours student Rod Bligh, developing interpretative sign drafts for consideration by the Kempsey Shire Council and assistance with the preparation and interpretation of a micromorphological section from the newly exposed and rapidly eroding midden on Crescent Head beach.