Mike Smith
Australian Archaeological Association Awards
Rhys Jones Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Australian Archaeology 2006
Mike Smith
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Photo by Stuart Grant.
Photo courtesy Rhys Jones
Photo by George Serras/National Museum of Australia
Photo courtesy Tim Wimborne |
Dr Mike Smith has been awarded the Rhys Jones Medal to mark his enormous contribution to the development and promotion of archaeology in Australia. Mike is currently Director of Research and Development at the National Museum of Australia. For more than 25 years, he has worked in the Central Australian Desert. A distinguished field archaeologist, he pioneered research into late Pleistocene settlement in the Australian desert and over recent years has initiated, planned and conducted a series of international conferences. Mike's ground breaking research begun in the 1980s, before which Australian deserts were largely believed to be inhospitable landscapes that remained uninhabited until 12,000 years ago. Mike's thorough and dedicated research over three decades has demonstrated that the history of Australian deserts is in fact much longer and much more dynamic and varied. The work at Puritjarra helped change views on desert habitation. Mike has worked with multi-disciplinary teams and published papers and books on the timing and settlement of the shelter, the stone tool assemblage, seed grinding, charcoal, rock art, the source of ochres and their relationship to trade, ethnography and impressions of the rockshelter from people in other disciplines. Recently a book making the recent history of the region has been met with popular acclaim: ‘Peopling’ the Cleland Hills: Aboriginal History in western Central Australia, 1850-1980. More broadly, Mike has expanded his research and publications to focus on issues relating to both the technicalities of dating methods and the implications of archaeological dates for understanding the prehistory of Australian and the wider region. In recent years Mike has led the way in developing an understanding of the environmental histories of deserts and their relationship to cultural change. Seeing the need for the exchange of information across disciplines and across continents, Mike initiated, planned and conducted an international conference series, 230South: The archaeology and environmental history of the Southern Deserts held in Canberra 2003, in Chile in 2005, and set for Namibia in 2008 (see 2005). Two edited volumes arose from these meetings: 230South: Archaeology and Environmental History of the Southern Deserts (with Paul Hesse) and Desert Peoples (with Peter Veth and Peter Hiscock). This conference series has raised the standing of Australian archaeology internationally and has forged strong links between researchers of many nations. These days when global warming is on everyone's lips, the understanding of human and environmental interactions is vitally important. Recognition of Mike's unique contribution to research into late Pleistocene archaeology and Quaternary environments in Australia resulted in his recent appointment as Adjunct Professor at CRES at the ANU, and election as a Fellow of the Australian Acaemy of the Humanities. Mike's achievements at the National Museum of Australia include the researching and curation of blockbuster exhibitions (eg Tangled Destinies: Land and People in Australia, Extremes:Survival in the great deserts of the Southern Hemisphere), leading the way in educating the general public and disseminating archaeological information in a manner not open to academia. Mike’s attention to the ‘big questions’ facing archaeology, his ability to turn ideas into research projects, his continued work in the field, his enviable publication record, his elegant prose, his generosity to other researchers, and his passion for the discipline of archaeology make him an ideal recipient of the Rhys Jones Medal. |
Mike Smith Publications 1978-2006
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| 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 |
1992
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| 2000 | 2001 | ||||||
| 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
1978
Smith, M .A. 1978. A note on the fauna from Devon Downs shelter. Australian Archaeology 8: 19-21.
1979
Smith, M .A. 1979. Archaeological Research on Plumbago Historic Reserve. Yura: Adnjamathana Trainees Newsletter 2: 6-8.
1982
Smith, M .A. 1982. Stone hunting hides in the Olary Region, S.A. The Artefact 7: 19-27.
Smith, M .A. 1982. Devon Downs Reconsidered: Changes in site use at a lower Murray Valley rockshelter. Archaeology in Oceania 17:109-16.
1983
Smith, M .A. 1983 Central Australia: Preliminary archaeological investigations. Australian Archaeology 16: 27-38.
1984
Smith, M .A. 1984 Research Problems Concerning the Prehistory of Central Australia. In Research in Progress 1984, pp.65-68. Darwin: Northern Territory University Planning Authority.
Smith M. A. and B.J. Cundy 1985 Distribution maps for flaked stone points and backed blades in the Northern Territory. Australian Aboriginal Studies 1985/2: 32-37.
Smith, M .A. 1985 A morphological comparison of Central Australian seedgrinding implements and Australian Pleistocene-age grindstones. The Beagle: Occasional Papers of the Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences 2(1): 23-38.
Smith, M .A. 1986 The antiquity of seedgrinding in arid Australia. Archaeology in Oceania 21: 29-39.
Smith, M .A. 1986 An investigation of possible Pleistocene occupation at Lake Woods, Northern Territory. Australian Archaeology 22: 60-74.
Smith, M .A. 1986 A revised chronology for Intirtekwerle (James Range East) rockshelter, Central Australia. The Beagle: Occasional Papers of the Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences 3(1): 123-30.
Smith, M .A. 1987 Pleistocene occupation in arid Central Australia. Nature 328: 710-711.
Kimber R. G. and M.A. Smith 1987 An Aranda ceremony. In D.J. Mulvaney and J.P. White (eds) Australians to 1788, pp.220-237. Sydney: Fairfax, Syme and Weldon.
Smith, M .A. 1988 Central Australian seedgrinding implements and Pleistocene grindstones. In B. Meehan and R. Jones (eds) Archaeology with Ethnography: An Australian Perspective, pp.94-108. Canberra: Department of Prehistory, Research School of Pacific Studies, ANU.
Smith, M .A. 1988 Review of Toward a Prehistory of the Hamersley Plateau, Northwest Australia by Steve Brown. Australian Archaeology 26:118-20.
Smith, M .A. 1989 The case for a resident human population in the Central Australian Ranges during full glacial aridity. Archaeology in Oceania 24: 93-105.
Smith, M .A. 1989 Seed gathering in inland Australia: current evidence from seed-grinders on the antiquity of the ethnohistorical pattern of exploitation. In D.R. Harris and G.C. Hillman (eds) Foraging and Farming: the evolution of plant exploitation, pp.305-317. London: Unwin-Hyman.
Chaloupka E. and M.A. Smith, (1989) The fieldbook approach: the Northern Territory Museum Site Register. In J. Flood, I. Johnson and S. Sullivan (eds) Sites and Bytes: recording Aboriginal places in Australia pp.239-244. Canberra: AGPS.
1990
Roberts R. G., Rhys Jones and M.A. Smith 1990 Thermoluminescence dating of a 50,000 year-old human occupation site in northern Australia. Nature 345: 153-6.
Roberts R. G., Rhys Jones and M.A. Smith 1990 Stratigraphy and statistics at Malakunanja II: reply to Hiscock. Archaeology in Oceania 25: 125-9.
Roberts R. G., Rhys Jones and M.A. Smith, 1990 Early dates at Malakunanja II: A reply to Bowdler. Australian Archaeology 31: 94-7.
Smith M. A. , E. Williams and R.J. Wasson, 1991 The archaeology of the JSN site: some implications for the dynamics of human occupation in the Strzelecki Desert during the late Pleistocene. Records of the South Australian Museum 25(2): 175-92.
Sharp N. D. and M.A. Smith, 1991 Late Pleistocene archaeological sites in Australia, New Guinea and Island Melanesia. Australian Heritage Commission Bibliography Series No. 6. Canberra: AGPS. 71pp.
Smith M. A, M. Spriggs and B. Fankhauser (eds), 1993 Sahul in Review: Pleistocene archaeology in Australia, New Guinea and Island Melanesia. Canberra: Department of Prehistory, Research School of Pacific Studies, ANU. Occasional Papers in Prehistory 24. 312pp.
• Sahul in Review: An Introduction. pp.1-7 (M. A. Smith, M. Spriggs and B. Fankhauser)
• Pleistocene sites in Australia, New Guinea and Island Melanesia: Geographic and temporal structure of the archaeological record. pp.37-59. (M. A. Smith and N.D. Sharp)
• A revised bibliography of Pleistocene archaeological sites in Australia, New Guinea and Island Melanesia. pp.283-312. (M. A. Smith and N.D. Sharp)
Smith M. A. and P.M. Clark, 1993 Radiocarbon dates for prehistoric occupation of the Simpson Desert. Records of the South Australian Museum 26(2): 121-127.
Prescott J. R. and M.A. Smith, 1993 Comparison of Thermoluminescence and 14C dates as an indicator of Cosmic Ray intensity variations. 23rd International Cosmic Ray Conference, Contributed Papers 3. pp.838-841. Calgary: University of Calgary.
Smith, M .A. 1993 Biogeography, human ecology and prehistory in the sandridge deserts. Australian Archaeology 37: 35-50
Roberts R. G. , R. Jones and M.A. Smith, 1993 Optical dating at Deaf Adder Gorge, Northern Territory indicates human occupation between 53,000 and 60,000 years ago. Australian Archaeology 37: 58-9.
1994
Roberts R. G, Rhys Jones and M.A. Smith, 1994 Beyond the radiocarbon barrier in Australian prehistory. Antiquity 68: 611-16.
Roberts R. G., R. Jones, N.A. Spooner, M. J. Head, A. S. Murray and M.A. Smith, (1994) The human colonisation of Australia: Optical dates of 53,000 and 60,000 years bracket human arrival at Deaf Adder Gorge, Northern Territory. Quaternary Science Reviews (Quaternary Geochronology) 13: 575-583.
Smith, M .A. 1994 Trench shoring for archaeologists and the S.I.T. - Randwick grave digging course. Australian Archaeology 39: 98-102.
Smith M. A. and C. J. Brockwell, 1994 Archaeological investigations at a stratified open site near Humpty Doo, Northern Australia. In M. Sullivan, S. Brockwell and A. Webb (eds) Archaeology in the North: Proceedings of the 1993 Australian Archaeological Association Conference, pp.84-104. Darwin: North Australia Research Unit, The Australian National University.
Gaughwin D. and M. A. Smith, 1994 Obituary: Betty Ross. Australian Archaeology 39:126.
Smith M. A., G. Miller and G.F. van Tets, 1994 Burnt ratite eggshell from Pleistocene aeolian sediments. [Published abstract of paper presented at the 1993 Conference on Australasian Vertebrate Evolution, Palaeontology and Systematics Adelaide, April 1993] Records of the South Australian Museum 27(2): 228.
Smith M. A. , L. Vellen and J. Pask, 1995 Vegetation history from archaeological charcoals in central Australia: The late Quaternary record from Puritjarra rock shelter. Vegetation History & Archaeobotany 4: 171-77.
Smith, M .A. 1995 Radiocarbon dates for bifacial points at Scotch Creek 1, Northern Territory. Australian Archaeology 41: 40-1.
Smith, M .A. 1995 Review of Bruising the red earth: Ochre mining and ritual in Aboriginal Tasmania, edited by A. Sagona. Aboriginal History 19(1-2): 213-215. (appeared 1997).
Smith, M .A. 1995 Obituary: G. F. (Jerry) van Tets. Australian Archaeology 40: 156.
Roberts, R. G., R. Jones and M. A. Smith, 1995 Letter to the Editors. Australian Archaeology 41: 56.
Smith, M .A. 1996 Chapter 6B. The chipped stone assemblage. In D. Frankel and J. M. Webb Marki Alonia An early and middle Bronze age town in Cyprus - Excavations 1990-1994, pp.102-109. Jonsered: Paul Astroms Forlag. Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology CXXIII: 1
Smith, M .A. 1996 Prehistory and human ecology in Central Australia: An archaeological perspective. In S. R. Morton and D. J. Mulvaney (eds) Exploring Central Australia: Society, the Environment and the 1894 Horn Expedition, pp.61-73. Chipping Norton (Sydney): Surrey Beatty & Sons.
Smith, M .A. 1996 Book Note. Marki Alonia An early and middle Bronze age town in Cyprus - Excavations 1990-1994. by D. Frankel and J. M. Webb. Australian Archaeology 43:58.
Smith M. A. and S. Pell, 1997 Oxygen-isotope ratios in quartz as indicators of the provenance of archaeological ochres. Journal of Archaeological Science 24: 773-778.
Smith M. A., J. R. Prescott, and M. J. Head, 1997 Comparison of 14C and luminescence chronologies at Puritjarra rock shelter, Central Australia. Quaternary Science Reviews (Quaternary Geochronology) 16: 299-320.
Smith, M .A. 1997 Review of Hunters and Collectors: The antiquarian imagination in Australia, by T. Griffiths. Australian Archaeology 45: 69-70.
Roberts R. G., Yoshida, H., Galbraith, R., Laslett, G., Jones, R. and M. A. Smith, 1998 Single-aliquot and single-grain optical dating confirm thermoluminescence age estimates at Malakunanja II rock shelter in northern Australia. Ancient TL 16: 19-24.
Smith M. A., B. Fankhauser and M. Jercher, 1998 The changing provenance of red ochre at Puritjarra rock shelter, central Australia: Late Pleistocene to present. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 64: 275-292.
Smith, M .A. 1998 The pattern of continental occupation: Late Pleistocene colonisation of Australia and New Guinea. In T. Murray (ed) Archaeology of Aboriginal Australia: A Reader, pp.41-49. Melbourne:Allen and Unwin.
Smith, M .A. 1998 Papers anthologised in T. Murray (ed) Archaeology of Aboriginal Australia: A Reader. Melbourne:Allen and Unwin.
• Beyond the radiocarbon barrier in Australian prehistory. pp.19-25. (reprinted from Antiquity 1994 68: 611-16).
• Biogeography, human ecology and prehistory in the sandridge deserts. pp.119-140. (reprinted from Australian Archaeology 1993 37:35-50).
• Pleistocene occupation in arid Central Australia. pp.77-81. (reprinted from Nature 1987 328:710-1).
Smith M. A. , L. Vellen and J. Pask, 1998 SEM photomicrographs of central Australian wood charcoals: A guide to the identification of archaeological and fossil charcoals. In G. Hope (ed), Identifying wood charcoal remains as palaeo evidence for regions of central and northeast Australia, pp. 5-63. Canberra: Division of Archaeology & Natural History, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University. Research Papers in Archaeology & Natural History. No. 28.
Smith, M .A. 1999 Ancient Wonders. Review of The Riches of Ancient Australia by J. Flood. Australian Book Review July 1999: 8-9.
Smith, M .A. 1999 Excavating John Mulvaney. Review of Prehistory of Australia by D. J. Mulvaney and J. Kamminga. Australian Book Review September 1999: 14-15.
Smith, M .A. 2000 Ochre Tracks. Australian Geographic. October-December 2000: 19-20.
Smith, M .A. 2000 ‘The opening chapter of the romance of excavation in Australia’: Reflections on Norman Tindale’s archaeology Historical Records of Australian Science 13(2): 151-160.
Smith, M .A. 2000 Environmental history in the National Museum of Australia. Public History Review 8: 27-43.
Smith, M .A. 2000 Ochres. In S. Kleinert and M. Neale (eds), The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture, pp.665-666.
Smith, M .A. 2000 Archaeology of Australian hunter-gatherers. Chapter I.VII.2. In R. B. Lee and R. Daly (eds) The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Hunters and Gatherers, pp.324-28. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Turney C. S. M., M. I. Bird, L. K. Fifield, R. G. Roberts, M. A. Smith, C. E. Dortch, R. Grün, E. Lawson, L. K. Ayliffe, G. H. Miller, J. Dortch, R. G. Cresswell, 2001 Early Human Occupation at Devil's Lair, Southwestern Australia 50,000 Years Ago. Quaternary Research 55: 3-13.
Smith M. A. 2001 Review of The Last Tasmanian Tiger: The History and Extinction of the Thylacine, by Robert Paddle and the Endling exhibition, in the National Museum of Australia. Historical Records of Australian Science. 13: 521-524.
Roberts R. G. , T. F. Flannery, L. K. Ayliffe, H. Yoshida, J M. Olley, G. J. Prideaux, G. M. Laslett, A. Baynes, M. A. Smith, R. Jones, and B. L. Smith, 2001 New ages for the last Australian megafauna: Continent-wide extinction about 46,000 years ago. Science 292: 1888-1892.
Veth P, M. A. Smith and M. Haley, 2001 Kaalpi: The archaeology of an outlying range in the dunefields of the Western Desert. Australian Archaeology 56: 9-17.
Roberts R. G., H. Yoshida, T. F. Flannery, L. K. Ayliffe, J M. Olley, G. J. Prideaux, G. M. Laslett, A. Baynes, M. A. Smith and R. Jones, 2001 Archaeology and Australian Megafauna, Science 294: Technical comments 7a.
Smith M. A, M. I. Bird, C. S. M. Turney, L. K. Fifield, G. M. Santos, P. A. Hausladen and M. L. di Tada, 2001 New ABOX AMS-14C ages remove dating anomalies at Puritjarra rock shelter. Australian Archaeology 53: 45-47.
Roberts R. G., T. F. Flannery, L. K. Ayliffe, H. Yoshida, J M. Olley, G. J. Prideaux, G. M. Laslett, A. Baynes, M. A. Smith, R. Jones, and B. L. Smith, 2001 The Last Australian Megafauna, Australasian Science, 22(9): 40-41.
Roberts R. G. and M. A. Smith, 2001 Time Matters, Nature Australia, Autumn 2001: 4-5.
Smith M. A. 2001 The rise and fall of the megafauna. Newsletter, Friends of the National Museum of Australia 12(3): 10-12.
2002
Rosenfeld A and M. A. Smith, 2002 Rock-Art and the history of Puritjarra Rock Shelter, Cleland Hills, Central Australia. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 68: 103-124.
Smith M. A. 2002 Review of Faunal extinction in an island society: Pygmy hippopotamus hunters of Cyprus, by Alan H. Simmons. Australian Archaeology 54: 67-68.
Mooney S. D., C. Geiss and M. A. Smith, 2003 The use of mineral magnetic parameters to characterise archaeological ochres. Journal of Archaeological Science 30: 511-523.
Smith M. A. 2003 A history of ways of seeing the land: Environmental history at the National Museum of Australia. Curator: The Museum Journal 46(1): 7-14.
Bird M. I, C.S.M.Turney, L.K. Fifield, M.A. Smith, G.H. Miller, R. G. Roberts and J. Magee, 2003 Radiocarbon dating of organic- and carbonate-carbon in Genyornis and Dromaius eggshell using stepped combustion and stepped acidification. Quaternary Science Reviews 22: 1805-1812.
Smith M. A. 2003 ‘Exhibits delve depths of past’. Letters to the Editor. The Australian, Tuesday December 16, 2003: 12.
McConvell P. and M. A. Smith, 2003 Millers and mullers: The archaeo-linguistic stratigraphy of technological change in Holocene Australia. In H. Andersen (ed) Language contacts in prehistory: Studies in Stratigraphy, pp.177-200, John Benjamins: Amsterdam. Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 239.
Smith M. A. 2003 Review of The archaeology of drylands: living at the margin, edited by Graeme Barker and David Gilbertson. Australian Archaeology 56: 62-3.
Smith M. A. 2003 Review of Much more than stones & bones: Australian archaeology in the late twentieth century, by Hilary Du Cros. Historical Records of Australian Science 14(3): 374-76.
Smith M. A. 2003 Conference report: 230S – The archaeology and environmental history of the Southern Deserts, 15-18 January 2003, National Museum of Australia, Canberra, Australia. Australian Archaeology 56: 53-54.
2004
Smith M. A. and P. M. Veth, 2004 Radiocarbon dates for baler shell in the Great Sandy Desert. Australian Archaeology 58: 37-38.
Smith M. A. 2004 The grindstone assemblage from Puritjarra rock shelter: Investigating the history of seed-based economies in arid Australia. In T. Murray (ed) Archaeology from Australia, pp.168-186. Melbourne: Australian Scholarly Publishing.
Smith M. A. 2004 ‘Tangled Destines’: Land and People in Australia. In Land, People & Nation: Australian stories from the National Museum of Australia, pp.93-114. Canberra, National Museum of Australia.
2005
Smith M. A. 2005 Palaeoclimates: An archaeology of climate change. In T. Sherratt, T. Griffiths and L. Robin (eds.), A change in the weather: Climate and culture in Australia, pp.176-186. National Museum of Australia Press, Canberra,
Smith M. A. 2005 ‘Peopling’ the Cleland Hills: Aboriginal history in western central Australia, 1850-1980. Aboriginal History Monograph 12. Canberra: Aboriginal History Inc.
Veth P., M. Smith and P. Hiscock (eds.) 2005 Desert Peoples: Archaeological perspectives. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
• Global deserts in perspective. pp. 1-13. (M. Smith, P. Veth, P. Hiscock and L. A. Wallis)
• Desert archaeology, linguistic stratigraphy and the spread of the Western Desert language. pp. 222-242.
Smith M. A. and P. Hesse (eds.) 2005 23oS: Archaeology and environmental history of the Southern Deserts. Canberra: National Museum of Australia Press
• Capricorn’s Deserts. pp. 1-12. (M. Smith and P. Hesse)
• Moving into the Southern Deserts: An archaeology of dispersal and colonisation. pp.92-107.
Martin M, L. Robin and M. A. Smith 2005 Strata: Deserts past, present and future – An environmental art project about a significant cultural place. Mandurama NSW: Mandy Martin.
• West into the desert. pp.5-13. (L. Robin with M. Smith)
• Reading Puritjarra. pp.19-24.
• Archaeology, ecology and environmental history. pp.25-32. (M. Smith and L. Robin)
Smith M. A. 2005 The coming change: The archaeology of climate. The Australian Financial Review, Friday 4 February 2005, Review pp.1-2 and 6.
Smith M. A. and J. Warden, 2005 William Hoggarth: A forgotten Australian collector in the Atacama Desert. World of Antiques and Art, 68: 86-89 (February-August 2005).
Smith M. A. 2005 Take a desert journey. Capital: The Lifestyle Magazine for In and Around Canberra, 15 (March-April): 62.
Smith M. A. 2005 The history of ‘BP’. Letters to the Editor. The Canberra Times, Wednesday March 9, 2005:12.
2006
Smith M. A. 2006 ‘A Kind Of Scripture.’ Review essay (Broken Song: T.G.H. Strehlow and Aboriginal Possession by Barry Hill), in P. Minter (ed.) ‘Blak Times’, Meanjin: New writing in Australia 65(1): 77-82.
Smith M. A. 2006 The 2nd Southern Deserts Conference, Arica, Chile, 10-14 October 2005. Conference Report. Australian Archaeology 62: 74.
Smith M. A. 2006 Research centre an exhibition of good sense. The Canberra Times, Tuesday October 3, 2006: Editorial 11. (Commissioned opinion piece).
Smith M. A. 2006 Chapter 7: The Chipped Stone Artefacts. In D. Frankel and J. M. Webb Marki Alonia An early and middle Bronze age settlement in Cyprus - Excavations 1995-2000. Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology CXXIII: 2 pp. 249-256. Paul Astroms Forlag
Smith M. A. 2006 Deserts past - The archaeology and environmental history of the Australian deserts. In D. Trewin (ed.) Year Book Australia No. 88 (2006), pp.11-19. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra. (Invited feature article for the International Year of deserts and Desertification).
Robin, L. and M. Smith, 2006 Science in place and time: archaeology, ecology and environmental history. In C. Dickman, D. Lunney and S. Burgin (eds.) Animals of Arid Australia: Out on their Own? Mosman: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. (in press).
Smith M. A. 2006 Characterising late Pleistocene and Holocene stone artefact assemblages from Puritjarra rock shelter: A long sequence from the Australian desert. Records of the Australian Museum. 58: 371-410