Sandra Bowdler (born 1946) is an Australian

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

, emeritus professor of archaeology and former head of the Archaeology Department 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 ...

Education

Bowdler completed an Honours degree in archaeology at the University of Sydney in 1971 and received her PhD from the Australian National University in 1979. Bowdler's PhD thesis was on the Aboriginal archaeology of Hunter Island in the Bass Strait near Tasmania, which was later published in 1984.

Career

Bowdler was appointed Professor of Archaeology at the University of Western Australia in 1983, where her research covered Australian Indigenous archaeology, and in particular

Shark Bay Shark Bay (Malgana: ''Gathaagudu'', "two waters") is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/shark-bay area is located approximately north of Perth, on the ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

and coastal New South Wales, known as part of New England, as well as the pre-neolithic archaeology of East and Southeast Asia. She was at various times a tutor of prehistory at the University of Papua New Guinea, a research scholar with the Department of Prehistory Research, School of Pacific Studies at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

, lecturer in archaeology at the University of New England, Aboriginal sites consultant for the Forestry Commission of New South Wales and in private practice in Sydney, and professor of archaeology at the University of Western Australia. From 2008, Bowdler was an emeritus professor/honorary research fellow in archaeology, and an honorary senior research fellow in the School of Music, at UWA.

Publications

As a member of the Australian Museum in 1964, she documented the Aboriginal burial site in the Balls Head rock shelter, and has written extensively on the Aboriginal ceremonial Bora rings. In 2008, a special volume of the journal Australian Archaeology was published in Bowdler's honour. Edited by Jane Balme and Sue O'Connor, the special volume was titled ''More Unconsidered Trifles: Papers to Celebrate the Career of Sandra Bowdler'' and featured contributions from many of Bowdler's students. From 2015 to 2019, Bowdler was editor of the journal ''Australian Archaeology''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowdler, Sandra Australian archaeologists Living people 1946 births Australian women scientists Australian women archaeologists University of Papua New Guinea faculty