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Paul Taçon

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Paul S.C. Taçon FAHA FSA (born 1958) is an anthropologist and archaeologist based in Australia. He has conducted field work in Australia, Botswana, Cambodia, Canada, China, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, South Africa and the United States. In 2011, he was appointed the first chair in Rock Art research[2] at Griffith University on the Gold Coast, Australia. Taçon has made several key archaeological discoveries in Australia, most notably in western Arnhem Land (NT) and Wollemi National Park (NSW). These include the earliest rock art evidence of warfare in the world,[3] the origins of the Rainbow Serpent,[4][5] significant new Arnhem Land rock art sites,[6][7][8] rock art discoveries in Wollemi National Park [9][10][11][12] and the oldest rock paintings of Southeast Asian watercraft in Australia.[13][14]

Paul S.C. Taçon
External image
image icon Paul Tacon
Born1958 (1958)
NationalityAustralian, Canadian
Occupation(s)Anthropologist, Archaeologist at Griffith University
Known forRock art, radiocarbon dating of beeswax rock art
TitleProfessor
Awards
Academic background
EducationAustralian National University
Academic work
DisciplineAnthropology, Archaeology
Main interestsRock art
Websiteexperts.griffith.edu.au/18923-paul-tacon

Early life and education

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Taçon earned a BA (Honours) at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, in 1980, followed by an MA in Anthropology from Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, in 1984. In 1990 he was awarded a PhD from the Australian National University in Canberra, after a spell as professor at Trent University from 1989 to 1990.[15]

Career

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He was based at the Australian Museum in Sydney from 1991 to 2005, acting as a principal research scientist in anthropology from 1999 to 2005[15] and Head of the Museum's People and Place Research Centre from 1995 to 2003.[16]

In 2005, Taçon joined Griffith University as Professor of Archaeology & Anthropology, taking the chair in Rock Art Research in 2011, a position he still holds as of 2020.[15][17] From 2008[15] he led two research programs at Griffith, "Picturing Change" and "Late Pleistocene Peopling of East Asia".[18]

He has pioneered the use of radiocarbon dating of beeswax rock art,[19] and his research team was the first to use uranium-series direct dates for rock art in China.[20]

Taçon established and became the Director of the Place, Evolution and Rock Art Heritage Unit (PERAHU) at Griffith University.[15][17] This research unit is located within the School of Humanities, and advocates multidisciplinary, multicultural and scientific approaches to rock art and cultural evolution research.[citation needed]

From 2012 he was funded by the Australian Research Council as chief investigator on "The peopling of East Asia and Australia", and by the Northern Territory Government to lead the project "History places: Wellington Range rock art".[15] The latter led to the publication of a study which documents rock art of great significance known as the Maliwawa figures, published in Australian Archaeology in September 2020.[21] The art includes 572 images across 87 sites in northwest Arnhem Land, from Awunbarna (Mount Borradaile) across to the Wellington Range. They are estimated to have been drawn between 6,000 and 9,400 years ago.[22] The find is described as very rare, not only in style, but in their depiction of bilbies (not known historically in Arnhem Land)[23] and the first known depiction of a dugong.[24]

As of 2020 his research is focused on improving the placement of Australian archaeology and history of European contact in a regional context, in Southeast Asia. He involves Indigenous peoples (including Indigenous Australians) in his archaeological research, and is himself involved in collaborative research on human evolution research.[15] He has close collaborations with the Rock Art Research Centre at the Australian National University and the Centre for Rock-Art Studies at the University of Western Australia.[citation needed]

Other work

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"Protect Australia's Spirit" campaign

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He launched the "Protect Australia's Spirit" campaign[25][26] in May 2011 with actor Jack Thompson.[27][28] This campaign aims to create a fully resourced national archive to bring together information about rock art sites and a strategy for future rock art management and conservation,[29] as well as raising general awareness about Australian rock art.[15]

Selected publications

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Taçon has published over 200 academic and popular papers on a wide range of topics, including body art, cultural evolution, Indigenous issues and cultural identity.[15]

  • 1989. Taçon, P.S.C. Art and the essence of being: symbolic and economic aspects of fish among the peoples of western Arnhem Land, Australia. In H. Morphy ed., Animals into art, pp. 236–50. London: Unwin Hyman.
  • 1991. Taçon, P.S.C. The power of stone: symbolic aspects of stone use and tool development in western Arnhem Land, Australia. Antiquity 65(247):192-207.
  • 1994. Taçon, P.S.C. Socializing landscapes: the long term implications of signs, symbols and marks on the land. Archaeology in Oceania 29(3):117-29.
  • 1994. Taçon, Paul S.C. and C. Chippindale. Australia's ancient warriors: changing depictions of fighting in the rock art of Arnhem Land, N.T. (with comments from 10 leading authorities and reply). Cambridge Archaeological Journal 4(2):211-48. doi 10.1017/S0959774300001086
  • Chippindale, Christopher; Taçon, P.S.C., eds. (1998). The Archaeology of Rock-Art. New Directions in Archaeology Series. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-57619-2.
  • 2002. Taçon, P.S.C., Pardoe, C. Dogs Make Us Human. Nature Australia, Vol. 27(4), Australian Museum pp. 52–61
  • 2011. Taçon, P.S.C. Special places and images on rock; 50,000 years of Indigenous engagement with Australian landscapes. In J. Anderson (ed.), Cambridge companion to Australian art, pp. 11–21. Cambridge University Press, Melbourne.
  • 2012. Taçon, P.S.C., June Ross, Alistair Paterson, and Sally May. Picturing change and changing pictures: Contact period rock art in Australia. In J. McDonald and P. Veth, eds., A Companion to rock art. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. ISBN 978-1-4443-3424-1
  • Tacon, Paul; Boivin, Nicole; et al. (April 2013). "Mid-Holocene age obtained for nested diamond pattern petroglyph in the Billasurgam Cave complex, Kurnool District, southern India". Journal of Archaeological Science. 40 (4): 1787–1796. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2012.12.006 – via University of Wollongong.
  • Wright, Duncan; May, Sally; Tacon, Paul; Stephenson, Birgitta (January 2014). "A scientific study of a new cupule site in Jabiluka, Western Arnhem Land". Rock Art Research. 31 (1): 92–100 – via University of Queensland.
  • Brady, L.M.; Taçon, P.S.C. (2016). Relating to Rock Art in the Contemporary World: Navigating Symbolism, Meaning, and Significance. University Press of Colorado. ISBN 978-1-60732-497-3.

Awards and academic distinctions

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References

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  1. ^ a b Marshall, Deborah (6 May 2016). "ARC Laureate Fellowship honours rock art expert". Griffith University. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Protect Australia's Spirit". Griffith University. 31 May 2011. Archived from the original on 17 January 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  3. ^ Paul Taçona1 and Christopher Chippindalea2 (22 December 2008). "Cambridge Journals Online - Abstract". Cambridge Archaeological Journal. 4 (2). Journals.cambridge.org: 211–248. doi:10.1017/S0959774300001086. S2CID 162983574.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Taçon, Paul Stephen Charles; Chippindale, Christopher; Wilson, Meredith D. (12 September 2000). Birth of the Rainbow Serpent in ... - Paul Stephen Charles Tacon, Christopher Chippindale, Meredith Wilson - Google Books. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  5. ^ "Rainbow Serpent and the Dreamtime". Aboriginal Art Online. Archived from the original on 12 November 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  6. ^ "Rocks of ages: millenniums in pictures". Sydney Morning Herald. 20 September 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  7. ^ May, Sally (January 2010). "Ancient bird stencils discovered in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia (Sally May)". Antiquity. 84 (324). Anu.academia.edu: 416–427. doi:10.1017/S0003598X00066679. hdl:10072/36700. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  8. ^ Traci Watson Contributor (29 May 2010). "Cache of Aboriginal Art Revealed in Djulirri Rock Shelter in Australia". Aolnews.com. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2011. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  9. ^ "Wollemi find an Aboriginal seat of the gods". Sydney Morning Herald. 20 April 2007. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  10. ^ "Songlines across the Wollemi". Sydney Morning Herald. 27 September 2003. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  11. ^ "Catalyst: Wollemi Rock Art". ABC TV Science. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 16 October 2003. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  12. ^ "Timeline of recent rock art discoveries in Wollemi". Diamondspirit.net. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  13. ^ "Australia's oldest painting prompts history rethink". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 17 July 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  14. ^ "Australia's oldest painting prompts history rethink". AustraliaNews.com.au. 17 July 2010. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Paul S.C.Taçon". The Conversation. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  16. ^ "History of the Anthropology Department". The Australian Museum. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  17. ^ a b "Professor Paul Tacon: Bio". Griffith University. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  18. ^ "Professor Paul Taçon". Griffith University. Archived from the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
  19. ^ "Dating Australian Rock-Markings: An Interdisciplinary Challenge". Mc2.vicnet.net.au. Archived from the original on April 7, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
  20. ^ Aubert, Maxime. "Uranium-series age estimates for rock art in southwest China (Maxime Aubert)". Journal of Archaeological Science. 39 (2): 492–499. Retrieved 16 December 2011 – via Academia.edu.
  21. ^ Taçon, Paul S. C.; May, Sally K.; et al. (30 September 2020). "Maliwawa figures—a previously undescribed Arnhem L and rock art style". Australian Archaeology. 86 (3). Informa UK Limited: 208–225. doi:10.1080/03122417.2020.1818361. ISSN 0312-2417 – via Taylor & Francis Online.
  22. ^ Nichele, Amelia (1 October 2020). "A missing part of the rock art gallery". Cosmos Magazine.
  23. ^ Taçon, Paul S. C. (2 October 2020). "Maliwawa Figures: Ancient Aboriginal art 'unlike anything seen before'" (video). BBC News. Videography by Isabelle Rodd. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  24. ^ Weule, Genelle (1 October 2020). "'Bilbies', thylacines and dugongs among stunning Maliwawa rock art documented in Arnhem Land". ABC News. ABC Science. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  25. ^ Protect Australia’s Spirit
  26. ^ "Protect Australia's Spirit - Griffith University". Griffith.edu.au. May 31, 2011. Archived from the original on January 17, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
  27. ^ Dayton, Leigh (31 May 2011). "Jack Thompson acts to preserve rock art". The Australian.
  28. ^ Foster, Margot (31 May 2011). "Protect Australia's Spirit - a campaign to save our rock art - 31/05/2011". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  29. ^ "Campaign for Aboriginal rock art database". The World Today. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Radio National). 2 October 1980. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  30. ^ "Fellow Profile: Paul Tacon". Australian Academy of the Humanities. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
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