Jo McDonald facts for kids
Dr. Josephine McDonald is an Australian archaeologist. She studies ancient cultures and people by looking at things they left behind. She is the Director of the Centre for Rock Art Research + Management at the University of Western Australia. Dr. McDonald is well-known for her important work in rock art research. She also works closely with Australian Aboriginal communities on her projects.
Learning and Degrees
Dr. McDonald studied at the University of Sydney for her first degree. She then earned her PhD, which is a very high university degree, from the Australian National University. Her PhD research was about rock art in the Sydney area. It was called Dreamtime Superhighway: An analysis of Sydney Basin rock art and prehistoric information exchange. She finished this work in 1994.
This research showed how important rock art was to the culture and society of people in the Sydney Basin. Her PhD also helped scientists learn how to directly date rock art using radiocarbon methods. This was a new and exciting way to understand old paintings.
Her Career Journey
Early in her career, Dr. McDonald worked as a cultural heritage consultant. This means she helped protect important historical and cultural sites. She mostly worked in New South Wales. She first directed a company called Brayshaw McDonald Pty Ltd. Later, she started her own company, Jo McDonald Cultural Heritage Management Pty Ltd.
As a consultant, she did important work in Western Sydney, especially on the Cumberland Plain. She helped dig up and manage old stone tool sites there. She was also involved in studying the remains of a person known as Narrabeen Man.
Since 2012, Dr. McDonald has worked at the University of Western Australia. She leads the Centre for Rock Art Research + Management. From 2012 to 2017, she also held a special position called the Rio Tinto Chair of Rock Art Studies.
Exploring Ancient Art
When Dr. McDonald was a consultant, she worked on a project called The Canning Stock Route: Rock Art and Jukurrpa Project. This project focused on finding and recording cultural sites along the Canning Stock Route. She worked with local Aboriginal communities to do this.
In 2012, Dr. McDonald and Peter Veth published a book called A Companion to Rock Art. This book was the first to bring together rock art research from all over the world.
Dr. McDonald's research often looks at the archaeology and rock art of people who live in deserts. She has studied the Western Desert of Australia and the Great Basin of America. From 2012 to 2014, she explored how rock art changed in these dry areas when the environment changed.
With Peter Veth, Dr. McDonald also studied how rock art connects to social groups. They did this research in Pilbara and the Western Desert in 2013. Their work in the Western Desert helped show how groups of people moved across the land. They found clues about these movements in the rock art.
More recently, Dr. McDonald has focused on the archaeology and rock art of the Dampier Archipelago. Local Aboriginal communities call this area Murujuga. She was a main researcher for the Murujuga - Dynamics of the Dreaming project from 2014 to 2016. Dr. McDonald has also helped with efforts to get Murujuga recognized as a World Heritage site.
Special Recognitions
In 2016, Dr. McDonald received the Rhys Jones Medal. This is the highest award given by the Australian Archaeological Association (AAA). It is for outstanding contributions to Australian archaeology.
In 2018, she won the Bruce Veitch Award for Excellence in Indigenous Engagement. The AAA gives this award each year. It honors individuals or groups who have done archaeological work that greatly benefits Indigenous people.
Dr. McDonald is also a lifetime member of the Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists Inc. (AACAI). She was the President of AACAI from 1993 to 1997.
