Harry Lourandos facts for kids

Harry Lourandos (born 1945) is an Australian archaeologist. He teaches at James Cook University in Cairns. He is well-known for his ideas about how Aboriginal Australians changed their way of life a long time ago. This big change is called "intensification." It happened between 3000 and 1000 BCE.

Early Life and Education

Harry Lourandos was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1945. His parents were immigrants from Ithaca, an island in Greece. His family worked in restaurants and other jobs in Sydney.

He went to Sydney Grammar School. In 1963, he started studying at the University of Sydney. He earned an honours degree there. After that, he became a Research Archaeologist at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. He was the first professional archaeologist to work there.

He continued his studies, earning a Master's degree in prehistory in 1970. He got this from the Australian National University. Later, in 1980, he completed his PhD in anthropology at the University of Sydney.

In 1973, he started teaching at the University of Sydney. He then taught at the University of New England starting in 1979. In 1986, he moved to the University of Queensland as a senior lecturer.

Archaeological Research

Harry Lourandos began his archaeological fieldwork in Tasmania in 1964. He worked with another archaeologist named Rhys Jones. In 1965, they helped dig up a cave site called Rocky Cape South. This site was very important because it was about 5000 years old.

Lourandos also studied the Tasmanian highlands. He visited places like the Warragarra rock shelter in 1968. His work showed how Aboriginal Tasmanians lived and adapted to changes in the climate.

The Intensification Debate

Harry Lourandos is most famous for his ideas about "intensification." This is a big discussion in Australian archaeology. Intensification means that Aboriginal people started to change their environment more. They also grew in numbers and traded more with other groups.

Here are some key parts of intensification:

• Changing the environment: People started to manage their surroundings more. For example, they built eel traps in Victoria.
• Population growth: More people lived in certain areas.
• Increased trade: Different groups traded goods and ideas more often.
• Complex societies: Their social structures became more detailed.
• New tools: Stone tools changed. People started making smaller, more detailed points and scrapers.
• Dingo arrival: The Australian dingo (a type of wild dog) was probably introduced to mainland Australia around this time.

Lourandos's research helps us understand how Aboriginal Australians lived and adapted over thousands of years.