I am an archaeologist and heritage specialist who studies rock art, graffiti, heritage, Indigenous knowledge, intellectual property, cross-cultural contact, and understandings of time. I studied for my BA and Honours at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa (1988-1992). I was Head of the Rock Art Department at National Museum in Bloemfontein (1994-2002) before reading for an MA and PhD at UC Berkeley (2002-2006). I taught Ancient African History at San Quentin Prison (2004-2005). I returned to South Africa as Senior Lecturer at the University of Pretoria’s Department of Anthropology & Archaeology (2006-2011) before becoming Curator of Archaeology at Iziko South African Museum (2011-2013).

In 2013 I joined UWA’s Centre for Rock Art Research + Management as a Kimberley Rock Art Research Fellow (2013-2015) where I have been Archaeology Discipline Chair (2016-2018), Major Co-ordinator (2015-2021), Honours Co-ordinator (2015-2019 & Mentor) and Seminar Co-ordinator (2017-2020). I was School of Social Sciences Director of Learning, Teaching + Student Matters (2020-2022) and am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

I have directed research in Australia, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa, documenting >4000 rock art sites, conducting >20 excavations and producing >200 site reports. I have written >70 academic >80 other publications; established 6 rock art site museums; and curated 10 exhibitions.

2011-2013: Curator: Archaeology, Iziko South African Museum

2006-2011: Senior Lecturer, Anthropology & Archaeology, University of Pretoria

2004-2006: Townsend Centre for the Humanities Fellow, University of California Berkeley, USA

2004-2005: Associate Professor, Patten University San Quentin Prison Education Programme, USA

2002-2004: Fulbright Scholar (with Amy Biehl Prize), University of California Berkeley, USA

1994-2002: Head: Rock Art Department, National Museum, South Africa

I work on collaborative projects where archaeology, rock art, heritage, identity and indigeneity intersect - especially in the Global South. These projects have mandated activist and outreach components such as measuring the carbon footprint of fieldwork and considering Indigenous as well as western laws that govern heritage. I also contribute to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning through considering equity, diversity and cultural safety. Recognition of this research includes being co-recipient of a 2024 State Heritage Award for digital heritage mapping with Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council. 

* Dududu and Dunggaba Cultural Landscape Project (Department of Planning Lands and Heritage).

* Mapping, Managing and Making Known Heritage Values Along the Martuwarra (Fitzroy) River, West Kimberley, Australia. Australian Heritage Grant (Department of Climate Change Environment and Water) .

* Establishing Equity for First Nations People in Energy Transitions: Cultural heritage protection in the extractive mining industries of Australia, Canada and the USA.  National Industry PhD Program (Australian Department of Education).

* An Archaeology of Boorloo/Perth.

* Heritage, Health and Climate Change.

I have successfully competed individually and with colleagues for AU$3 million in direct funding with at least as much in in-kind support. Funders include the Australian Research Council, Australian Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions, Australian Department of Planning, lands and Heritage, Australian Department of Climate Change, Environment and Water, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, National Research Foundation South Africa, Wenner Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research USA and Oxford University UK. 

I have taught >50 undergraduate and 5 postgraduate Units/Courses in Australia (see ‘Units’), South Africa and the United States of America with primary curriculum development in 32 of these, usually in multi-cultural contexts. I initiated - the UWA Archaeology, Forensic Anthropology and Rock Art Experimental Facility infrastructure project. I designed and delivered UWA’s first Archaeology Summer School and integrated the Australian Archaeological Association’s Skills Passport into the Archaeology curriculum. I have won teaching awards at Discipline, School and/or University level each year from 2015-2023.

I am driven towards designing and delivering socially-responsive, skills-based teaching and learning in Archaeology, Rock Art and Heritage on and off campus.  In order to achieve this outcome, I have been active in two pedagogic spheres – policy and practice. These exist in contrapuntal relationship and require constant maintenance; especially considering fast-changing technology in how Archaeology is practiced. But there is a hindrance – very few university lecturers have any formal training in teaching or how to get students to think critically. Establishing policy that drives a system able to focus on core skills while allowing for individual expression – and ultimately employment - is tricky. I find myself exploring additional ways to teach and prefer a mobile learning environment. Vocational visits to prospective employers have resulted in assessable work of a higher standard than usual. Fieldschools are an especially powerful vehicle for meshing theory and practice. This integration of theory with skills has moved assessment to an evolving portfolio that includes: field diaries, group reports (that can be cited in CVs); ‘Lectorials’ that link a short lecture to a practice-based activity (making a typology of cell phones, or devising stone age recipes based on usewear analysis), integration with staff and postgraduate research projects, making conference posters, and films – as well as quizzes, essays, presentations. I am fortunate in that students are inquisitive and prepared to take risks. They are a diverse cohort, which is especially useful in learning to work in groups across cultural, gender and age boundaries and to gain self-knowledge and perspective (I myself am dyslexic).  I like to tie archaeology tied to live issues of the day. These can be problematic, such as deficient heritage legislation, residual racism, and the effects of climate change on heritage. They can also be  empowering, such as having living communities maintaining cultural traditions and driving the research questions of tomorrow. I consider Archaeology, which bridges the Arts and Sciences, to be a radical and quintessential 21^st century Discipline that extends beyond the Academy.

* Senior Educator: CSIRO’s STEM Professionals in Schools Programme

* National Science Week annual partnership with Indigenous schools like Clontarf Aboriginal College

* Australian Archaeological Association Skills Passport contibutor and National Archaeology Week speaker. 

* Regular outreach at local, state, national and international levels (1-3 times per month).

* Vice Chair: UNESCO ICOMOS CAR International Scientific Committee on Rock Art 

* Purnululu World Heritage Area Advisory Committee: Science Advisor (Ministerial appointment)

* Committee Member (national): Australian Archaeological Association Committee for Teaching and Learning.

* Committee Member (national) Australian Archaeological Association Student Research Grant Scheme

* Committee member (UWA): Ethics Committee, Special Consideration Committee,  and Teaching Prizes Committees (current; former include Research and Education Committees and Board of Studies)

* Research Associate:  Anthropology & Archaeology, University of South Africa, Archaeology, Iziko Museums of South Africa, Rock Art Research Institute, University of the Witwatersrand

* Member: UWA First Year Experience Network

* Mentor: Higher Education Academy, UniMentor, and Fogarty Foundation

* Provide expert opinion on impacts of development on cultural heritage

* Provide expert opinion on management of cultural heritage

* Provide expert opinion on heritage legislation

* Train heritage practitioners

* Provide accurate information to media on archaeology, rock art and heritage

* English

* Afrikaans