Charles Eugene Dortch (born 1940) is a US born archaeologist, largely known for his life and works in Western Australia.

Biography

Charlie Dortch was born in Atlanta, Georgia, where he began his interest in the peoples of the first nations, and in history and archaeology. He completed a degree in history from the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

and furthered his studies in the United Kingdom at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. Dortch was invited to apply for a position as curator of the archaeological department of the Western Australian Museum by Ian Crawford, newly appointed to the museum's anthropology department. After settling in Western Australia, he joined the palaeontologist

Duncan Merrilees Duncan Merrilees (1922–2009) was an Australian geologist, palaeontologist, lecturer and curator at the Western Australian Museum. His research on the fossil records of mammals also founded examination into the period after the arrival of humans ...

in beginning a study of the site at

Devils Lair Devil's Lair is a single-chamber cave with a floor area of around that formed in a Quaternary dune limestone of the Leeuwin–Naturaliste Ridge, from the modern coastline of Western Australia. The stratigraphic sequence in the cave floor depo ...

, an important fossil site located in

Southwest Australia Southwest Australia is a biogeographic region in Western Australia. It includes the Mediterranean-climate area of southwestern Australia, which is home to a diverse and distinctive flora and fauna. The region is also known as the Southwest Aus ...

. Many of the papers to which he contributed concern this site and its evidence of early mammalian fauna. In the early 1970s he was involved in research in the Kimberleys. He was also interested in the altered coast, shoreline and lakes of the south west where he investigated submerged sites. A significant site was that of

Lake Jasper Lake Jasper is a permanent freshwater lake in the South West area of Western Australia. The lake is the largest freshwater lake in Western Australia. It has evidence of Aboriginal activity within its bounds. The lake is located on a flat san ...

, the first submerged Aboriginal site to be found in Australia. Dortch completed his PhD at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

in 2001, and retired from the Western Australian Museum in 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dortch, Charles E. 2014 deaths Australian archaeologists Australian anthropologists People from Atlanta University of Western Australia alumni University of Southern Mississippi alumni 1940 births