Jane Balme Explained

Jane Balme
Occupation:Archaeologist
Employer:University of Western Australia
Education:University of Western Australia
Australian National University
Professor

Jane Balme is a Professor of Archaeology at the University of Western Australia. She is an expert on early Indigenous groups and Australian archaeology.

Biography

Balme studied for an undergraduate degree in Anthropology at the University of Western Australia, graduating in 1979. Balme worked on cave sites in south west Australia for the Western Australian Museum and became interested in archaeology.[1]

Balme completed her PhD at the Australian National University in 1990.[2]

Her research focuses on early Indigenous groups in Australia, gendered social organisation, and the discipline of archaeology.

Balme has authored a wide range of journal articles, a textbook Archaeology in Practice: A Student Guide to Archaeological Analyses with Alistair Paterson, and the edited volumes Gendered Archaeology with Wendy Beck, and More Unconsidered Trifles : Papers to Celebrate the Career of Sandra Bowdler.[3] A review of Archaeology in Practice states that "It is rare that a book is written as a text book but also provides an important contribution to the discipline and this volume deserves this dual recognition."[4]

Balme has been strongly involved with the Australian Archaeological Association, serving as secretary and chair of the Australian National Committee for Archaeology Teaching and Learning.

In November 2018 Balme was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.[5]

As of 2020 Balme, working alongside Sue O'Connor, is researching Rock art in Australia with a particular focus on carvings (also called dendroglyphs) on Boab trees in the Kimberley Region and in the Tanami Desert.[6] In this study the pair discuss the history of research into this trees as well as present a recent survey; in the Kimberley they worked closely with Nyigina and Mangala Traditional Owners.[7] Their results provide insight into the archaeological and anthropological significance of these carvings.[8]

Selected publications

References

  1. Web site: Jane Balme – the UWA Profiles and Research Repository. research-repository.uwa.edu.au. en. 2018-08-17.
  2. Encyclopedia: Balme, Jane. Arthure. Susan. Springer. 2014. 740–741. Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology.
  3. Book: Balme. Jane. O'Connor. S.. Ulm. S.. Ross. A.. 2008. More Unconsidered Trifles: Papers to Celebrate the Career of Sandra Bowdler. Australian Archaeological Association . 9780958922135 . en.
  4. Ross. A. 2006. Review of 'Archaeology in Practice: A Student Guide to Archaeological Analyses' edited by Jane Balme and Alistair Paterson. Australian Archaeology. 62. 57–58.
  5. Web site: Welcoming our 28 newly elected Fellows . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20181120101240/https://www.humanities.org.au/2018/11/19/welcoming-28-newly-elected-fellows/ . 2018-11-20 . 2024-04-30 . Australian Academy of the Humanities . en-AU.
  6. Web site: Garstone . Brenda . Balme . Jane . O'Connor . Sue . 2022-10-11 . The boab trees of the remote Tanami desert are carved with centuries of Indigenous history – and they're under threat . 2023-10-09 . The Conversation . en.
  7. K. Frederick . Ursula . Balme . Jane . Jamieson . Jeffrey . Marshall . Melissa . O’Connor . Sue . 2023-09-01 . Embedded in the Bark: Kimberley Boab Trees as Sites of Historical Archaeology . International Journal of Historical Archaeology . en . 27 . 3 . 817–840 . 10.1007/s10761-022-00678-z . 1573-7748. free .
  8. O'Connor . Sue . Balme . Jane . Frederick . Ursula . Garstone . Brenda . Bedford . Rhys . Bedford . Jodie . Rivers . Anne . Bedford . Angeline . Lewis . Darrell . December 2022 . Art in the bark: Indigenous carved boab trees (Adansonia gregorii) in north-west Australia . Antiquity . en . 96 . 390 . 1574–1591 . 10.15184/aqy.2022.129 . 0003-598X. free .

Further reading