Jean (Judy) Birmingham is a prominent English historical archaeologist, who has been based in Sydney, Australia, for most of her career.

Biography

Birmingham received her MA in Classics from the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

in 1953 and latter attended the

UCL Institute of Archaeology UCL's Institute of Archaeology is an academic department of the Social & Historical Sciences Faculty of University College London (UCL) which it joined in 1986 having previously been a school of the University of London. It is currently one o ...

and received her MA in Archaeology from there in 1959.“Judy Birmingham: Bibliography, Positions Held.” ''Australasian Historical Archaeology'', vol. 24, 2006, pp. 113–114. www.jstor.org/stable/29544562. In 1961, an opening for an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...

specialist was created at the University of Sydney, and Birmingham was recommended for the post. Birmingham and her then-husband Michael travelled to Australia, where she taught as a lecturer, specialising in Iron Age

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

and

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. In 1966, Birmingham began to look for sites close to Sydney where her students could get basic training in archaeological techniques. In 1967, Birmingham began running excavations at the site of Irrawang Pottery, the pottery works owned by James King at Irrawang just north of Newcastle. This project is considered to be one of the first examples of

historical archaeology in Australia Historical archaeology in Australia is the study of Australia's past through material remains such as artifacts (objects), structures (standing and ruined buildings, fences and roads), features (ditches, mounds, canals and landfills), and landsca ...

. In 1973, Birmingham and historian Ian Jack proposed teaching a course in historical archaeology at the University of Sydney. As detailed by Jack, the course proposal was fought by the conservative members of the archaeology department; however the proposal was accepted and the first course in historical archaeology in Australia was taught by Birmingham, Jack, geographer Dennis Jeans and historian Ken Cable. The course also had a significant fieldwork component to give student essential practical training.

Contribution to professional organisations

Birmingham was instrumental in forming the Australasian Society for Historical Archaeology (ASHA), which was founded as the Australian Society for Historical Archaeology in 1970. ASHA began at the University of Sydney and developed because of Birmingham's enthusiasm for historical archaeology. She edited early issues of the ASHA Newsletter, organised special publications and conferences. She served as the society's first secretary (1970-1980), and later served as president (1980-1991). Birmingham was a Founder Member of Australia ICOMOS and contributed to the drafting of the

Burra Charter The Burra Charter is a document published by the Australian ICOMOS which defines the basic principles and procedures to be followed in the conservation of Australian heritage places. The Charter was first endorsed in 1979 as an Australian adaptat ...

. Birmingham was also an active member of the

National Trust of Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's In ...

, including acting as Chairman of its Industrial Archaeology Committee (1969-1985).

Awards and honours

In recognition of her contributions to ASHA, Birmingham was made an Honorary Life Member of the association. ASHA has also created an annual award named in her honour, the "Judy Birmingham Award for Best Historical Archaeology Consulting Report". In 2001, Birmingham was awarded by the Australian Government a

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...

for "service to Australian society and the humanities in prehistory and archaeology" and in 2017 she was awarded a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

for "significant service to higher education, particularly to historical archaeology, as an academic, and to professional associations."

Partial bibliography

*Zagora (1972), (Birmingham et al.), Sydney Up,
gettextbooks.co.in (website) *Old Sydney Burial Ground 1974, (Birmingham et al.), Australian Society for Historical Archaeology, *Australian Pioneer Technology. Sites and Relics (1979), (Birmingham et al.), Heinemann Educational Australia, *10,000 Years of Sydney Life (1980), (Peter Stanbury, with Judy Birmingham, editor), The Macleay Museum, the University of Sydney, *Industrial archaeology in Australia: Rural industry (1983), (Judy Birmingham), Heinemann Publishers Australia, *Castle Hill Archaeological Report (1984), (Birmingham et al.), *Papers in Australian Historical Archaeology, (Birmingham et al.) *Archaeology and Colonisation (1988), (Birmingham et al.), American Society of Civil Engineers, *Transformations. The Art of Recycling (2000), (Birmingham et al.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birmingham, Judy Australian archaeologists Australian women archaeologists Living people English archaeologists British women archaeologists Alumni of the UCL Institute of Archaeology Members of the Order of Australia Year of birth missing (living people)

Biography

Contribution to professional organisations

Awards and honours

Partial bibliography

See also

References