Caroline Bird (archaeologist) facts for kids

Caroline Bird is an Australian archaeologist and teacher. She is an expert in studying women's roles, protecting cultural sites, and understanding Indigenous cultures through archaeology, especially in early Australia. Caroline also focuses on lithic technology (how people made tools from stone) and ancient art.

She has worked on archaeological digs and research in the UK, Europe, Australia, and Egypt. Her work covers many different time periods, from the Neolithic (New Stone Age) to modern Australian history.

Learning About the Past

Caroline Bird studied archaeology and anthropology at Cambridge University, Deakin University, and the University of Western Australia. She earned her first degree, a BA in archaeology and anthropology, from Cambridge University in 1977. Later, in 1997, she received a Masters in Science and Technical Studies from Deakin University. She then completed her Ph.D. (a high-level research degree) in archaeology at the University of Western Australia in 1985.

Caroline's Work

Caroline has taught archaeology and cultural heritage at universities and technical colleges (TAFE) in Western Australia and Victoria. She also created a training program for people who look after important historical sites. Plus, she helped improve school lessons about Aboriginal and Intercultural Studies in Western Australia.

In 2013, Caroline joined Archae-aus, a group in Perth, Western Australia. This group helps protect historical and maritime heritage and teaches people about it. At Archae-aus, Caroline gives public talks and has helped write a book called "Kakutungutanta to Warrie Outcamp - 40,000 Years in Nyiyaparli Country." She continues to work on archaeological digs as a senior project officer. She has also been a member of the Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists in Western Australia.

Important Discoveries

One of Caroline Bird's most famous articles is "Woman the Toolmaker: Evidence for Women's Use and Manufacture of Flaked Stone Tools in Australia and New Guinea," published in 1993. In this article, she used a new way of looking at archaeology, called feminist archaeology. She wanted to challenge an old idea that men were always the hunters and women were always the gatherers. Caroline's article showed that women also made and used stone tools. Her work helped start important discussions about how archaeologists study the past and make sure they don't have unfair ideas about gender.

Caroline has also done research on radiocarbon dating. This is a scientific method used to find out how old ancient objects are. She and David Frankel have written a lot about dating ancient sites in Australia. Their work has given new clues about when people first arrived in Australia and how they spread across the land.

More recently, Caroline has focused on heritage and Indigenous studies. In her 2016 article, she explained why it's important to include stories and knowledge from Indigenous people in archaeological research. She believes that including these different viewpoints helps archaeology grow and helps more people care about heritage and community values.

In 2022, she was chosen as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities, which is a big honor for her work.

Awards and Recognitions

• John Mulvaney Book Award from the Australian Archaeological Association (2015): She won this award with Edward McDonald for their book Kakutungutanta to Warrie Outcamp - 40,000 Years in Nyiyaparli Country.
• Best Poster at the Australian Archaeological Association Awards Conference (2016): She won this with Jim Rhoads, Fiona Hook, and Edward McDonald for their poster "Issues of Scale and Resolution in Interpreting Surface Artefact Scatter in the Inland Pilbara."