Research output per year
Research output per year
Personal profile
Biography
Jo McDonald is the Director of the Centre for Rock Art Research + Management at UWA. She holds the Rio Tinto Chair in Rock Art Studies. This is funded by RioTinto’s Conservation Agreement with the Commonwealth for the Dampier Archipelago National Heritage Listed Place. Jo completed an ARC Future Fellowship (2011-2016), which undertook a global comparison of rock art, social and environmental change in two of the great deserts of the world: the Western Desert in Australia and the Great Basin in the USA. She has just completed two projects in the Dampier Archipelago: Murujuga Dynamics of the Dreaming and Deep History of Sea Country. Her current ARC project is Dating Murujuga’s Dreaming: a multidisciplinary project aimed at direct dating the engravings and stone features, as well as refining the understanding of climate change and chronology through a series of different techniques.
Prior to her current role as Director of CRAR+M, Jo was Managing Director of a leading cultural heritage practice based in Sydney. She has more than 35 years’ experience in managing Indigenous archaeology and has been researching rock art throughout this time.
Roles and responsibilities
Director, Centre for Rock Art Research + Management
Rio Tinto Chair of Rock Art Studies
Deputy Head of School (2019-2021)
2017 UWA Innovation Champion
ARCY2004 Co-Ordinator 2019, 2020, 2021
ARCY2005 Co-ordinator 2012-2020
ARCY3011 Cor-Ordinator 2019, 2020, 2021
Future research
Rock Art of the Pilbara
Kimberley and desert art connections
Pilbara and desert art connections
Great Basin rock art
Rock art of the early Americans and Australians
Kimberley and desert art connections
Pilbara and desert art connections
Great Basin rock art
Rock art of the early Americans and Australians
Funding overview
AIATSIS Grant for dating arid zone rock art 2005 Canning Stock Route ARC Linkage Project (Rock Art and Jukurrpa) 2007-2011
Jo was Principal Investigator and JMcD CHM was a Partner organisation.
ARC Future Fellowship: Arid zone rock art of the Western Desert and Great Basin 2011-2016
Lead Chief Investigator - Murujuga: Dynamics of the Dreaming ARC Linkage Project (2015-2018)
Chief Investigator - Deep History of Sea Country (2015-2018)
Lead Chief Investigator - Dating Murujuga's Dreaming ARC Linkage Project (2020-2025)
Lead Chief Investigator - Desert to the Sea ARC Linkage Project (2022-2027)
Previous positions
Director, Jo McDonald Cultural Heritage Management Pty Ltd
Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Australian National University
Director, Brayshaw McDonald Pty Ltd
Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Australian National University
Director, Brayshaw McDonald Pty Ltd
Industrial relevance
As a long term cultural heritage practitioner, Jo has good links with Industry and government, and is well versed in the practicalities of heritage management in Australia. This long term experience has seen her involved as an expert witness in Native Title and Land and Environment Court actions, as well as providing advice to government (Stage and Commonwealth) on heritage matters.
Jo currently sits on the Murujuga Stakeholder Reference Group (WA) and the Murujuga Heritage Committee (WA)
Teaching overview
ARCY 2004 - Archaeology of Rock Art Undergraduate course 2012, 2019, 2020, 2021
ARCY 2005 - Rock Art Field school (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
ARCY 3011 - Australian Archaeology 2019, 2020, 2021
Research
Rock art and information exchange;
Gender and rock art;
Arid zone rock art;
The contemporaneity of rock art with other occupation evidence;
Direct-dating rock art;
Rock art and dreaming tracks (Jukurrpa);
Applied rock art research (Native Title arena, National Heritage and World Heritage)
Gender and rock art;
Arid zone rock art;
The contemporaneity of rock art with other occupation evidence;
Direct-dating rock art;
Rock art and dreaming tracks (Jukurrpa);
Applied rock art research (Native Title arena, National Heritage and World Heritage)
Languages
English
written and colloquial French
written and colloquial French
Industry keywords
- Environmental
Research expertise keywords
- Rock art method and theory
- Archaeological method and theory
- Pleistocene archaeology
- Chronometric dating of pigment art
- Archaeology of gender
- The archaeology of Indigenous Australia
- Hunter-gatherer archaeology
- Open site archaeology
- Regional archaeological studies
- Application of geographical information systems in archaeology
- Rock art database development
- Visualization of rock art
Fingerprint
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Network
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
Research output
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A multi-scalar approach to marine survey and underwater archaeological site prospection in Murujuga, Western Australia
Wiseman, C., O'Leary, M., Hacker, J., Stankiewicz, F., McCarthy, J., Beckett, E., Leach, J., Baggaley, P., Collins, C., Ulm, S., McDonald, J. & Benjamin, J., 20 May 2021, In: Quaternary International. 584, p. 152-170 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
7 Citations (Web of Science)137 Downloads (Pure) -
Archaeology, deep history and the culture wars: Why most archaeologists have not critiqued Dark Emu: Why most archaeologists have not critiqued Dark Emu
McDonald, J., 7 Nov 2021, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Australian Archaeology. 87, 3, p. 313-315 3 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate
Open Access -
Desert Rock Art: Social Geography at the Local Scale
McDonald, J., 30 Apr 2021, Perspectives on Differences in Rock Art . Gjerde, J. M. & Arntzen, M. S. (eds.). England: Equinox Publishing Ltd, p. 338-359 23 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference paper › Chapter › peer-review
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Seeing and managing rock art at Nganjarli: A tourist destination in Murujuga National Park, Western Australia
McDonald, J., Mulvaney, K., Beckett, E., Fairweather, J., Morrison, P., de Koning, S., Dortch, J. & Jeffries, P., 2021, In: Australian Archaeology. 87, 3, p. 268-293 26 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Stone artifacts in the intertidal zone, Dampier Archipelago: Evidence for a submerged coastal site in Northwest Australia
Dortch, J., Beckett, E., Paterson, A. & McDonald, J., 2021, In: The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology. 16, 2-4, p. 509-523 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
6 Citations (Scopus)
Datasets
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Karnatukul, Katjarra (Serpents Glen)
McDonald, J. (Creator), The University of Western Australia, 23 Mar 2018
Dataset
File -
Port Hedland Legacy
McDonald, J. (Creator) & Paterson, A. (Creator), The University of Western Australia, 27 Feb 2013
Dataset
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Port Hedland current conservation project
McDonald, J. (Creator), Paterson, A. (Creator) & Zubieta Calvert, L. (Creator), The University of Western Australia, 27 Feb 2013
Dataset
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Chief Investigator Images 2011 - Oblique and aerial images of historic contact sites
Veth, P. (Creator) & McDonald, J. (Data Manager), The University of Western Australia, 27 Feb 2013
Dataset
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Barrow Island Archaeology Project - General Images
Veth, P. (Creator) & McDonald, J. (Data Manager), The University of Western Australia, 27 Feb 2013
Dataset
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From the Desert to the Sea: Managing Rock Art, Country and Culture
McDonald, J., Veth, P., Van Leeuwen, S., Popelka-Filcoff, R., Grierson, P., Fullagar, R., Field, J., Dotte, E., Jeffries, P., Bird, D., Crabtree, S., Reynolds, S., Chapman, J., Carson, A. & Pervan, J.
29/06/22 → 28/06/27
Project: Research
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Dating Murujuga's Rock Art: new scientific approaches
McDonald, J., McCulloch, M., Hergt, J., Goodwin, I., O'Leary, M., Grierson, P., Leopold, M. & Skrzypek, G.
1/01/19 → 31/12/23
Project: Research
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Dating Murujuga's Rock Art: new scientific approaches
McDonald, J., McCulloch, M., Hergt, J., Goodwin, I., O'Leary, M., Grierson, P., Leopold, M. & Skrzypek, G.
1/01/19 → 31/12/23
Project: Research
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Dating Murujuga's Rock Art: new scientific approaches
McDonald, J., McCulloch, M., Hergt, J., Goodwin, I., O'Leary, M., Grierson, P., Leopold, M., Skrzypek, G. & Jacobs, Z.
1/01/19 → 28/02/26
Project: Research
Prizes
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ANSTO Grant for "Radiocarbon dating of tufa to develop palaeoenvironmental records for Murujuga, NW Western Australia: Implications for early human occupation"
Mather, Caroline (Recipient), McDonald, Jo (Recipient), Leopold, Matthias (Recipient), O'Leary, Mick (Recipient), Skrzypek, Greg (Recipient) & Levchenko, V. A. (Recipient), Jun 2022
Prize: In-kind Award
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ANSTO Grant for Radiocarbon dating
Mather, Caroline (Recipient), McDonald, Jo (Recipient), Leopold, Matthias (Recipient), Skrzypek, Greg (Recipient) & Levchenko, V. A. (Recipient), 11 Nov 2021
Prize: In-kind Award
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Fellow
McDonald, Jo (Recipient), 24 Nov 2020
Prize: Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities
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Activities
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Murujuga: Land and Sea Country
Jo McDonald (Speaker)
16 Mar 2021Activity: Service and engagement › Public lecture, debate or seminar
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New work in Social and Cultural Evolution
Jo McDonald (Participant)
11 Feb 2021Activity: Conferences and workshops › Participation in workshop, seminar or course
File -
Pilbara Rock Art research + management: Research done in collaboration with industry and Aboriginal communities
Jo McDonald (Speaker)
28 Jan 2021Activity: Service and engagement › Profile development- brand and Identity
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Managing Culture, Climate Change and Industry: a two-way conversation on the deep history and the future of Murujuga (Dampier Archipelago)
Jo McDonald (Speaker) & Peter Jeffries (Speaker)
8 Sep 2021Activity: Service and engagement › Public lecture, debate or seminar
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Juukan Gorge Archaeology and Anthropology Panel for Cultural Heritage and the Law Course
Jo McDonald (Participant) & Peter Veth (Participant)
18 Feb 2021Activity: Conferences and workshops › Contribution or participation in a conference
Courses
Press / Media
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From the Desert to the Sea
Jo McDonald & Peter Jeffries
9/09/21
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Press / Media
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Rock Art of Australia and South -East Asia
Jo McDonald & Paul Tacon
28/04/21
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Press / Media
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World's largest collection of ancient rock art at Murujuga National Park re-opens
27/08/20
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Press / Media
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