Ariane Lambridis

In terms of an object, I would say would be during my PhD and we found this really beautiful, tiny pearl fishhook, which we interpreted as maybe it was made by a child or somebody learning to make fishhooks.

And that was really exciting, I think, because I think sometimes we forget those stories.

attached to the objects we're finding and thinking about, like an individual learning the technique of making a fishhook, like sitting by the coast with somebody and learning those skills.

Since I've been working in Australia, I would say being involved definitely in the Ygru or the Lizard Island project and being part of that team that found pottery dated to two and a half thousand years ago, the first example of Aboriginal people making pottery in Australia.

That was a real privilege to be part of that bigger team.

What does it mean indeed?

So I am a chief investigator with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures.

Bit of a mouthful, that one.

So I'm one of 20, so there's a few of us, and we're part of a bigger team that's looking at developing co-designed research, so with our eight Indigenous partner organisations, to look 1,000 years into the past and think about the ways that together, as part of that co-design research process, that we can use that really valuable deep-time information then to inform the management of country, you know, into 1,000 years into the future effectively.

So...

I'm part of that broader team that's getting to do that really exciting work all over Australia.

I think often what's so remarkable is these kind of added layers that are always contributed by having that Indigenous knowledge part of the story.

The fact that from the beginning we are partners, the research questions are developed with community, everything we're doing is designed with community, and then because of that kind of capacity to take Indigenous knowledge alongside whatever scientific methods that we're implementing to be able to tell, I think, a much richer and fuller story.

story so I would say it's all very complimentary and sometimes they tell a different story but that's wonderful too I think it's all part of the richness.

No, no.

I mean, I wouldn't say I personally think that.

Yeah, those stories are just so central to being able to interpret the archaeological record because we're so limited.

At the end of the day, these communities have been in these places for thousands of years and have these tremendous stories and knowledge and have so much to share.

And I'm all the richer for being able to hear those stories.

Thank you.