Jane Balme (born 1960) is a Professor of Archaeology at the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

. She is an expert on early Indigenous groups and

Australian archaeology Australian archaeology is a large sub-field in the discipline of archaeology. Archaeology in Australia takes four main forms: Aboriginal archaeology (the archaeology of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia before and af ...

Biography

Balme studied for an undergraduate degree in Anthropology at the

, graduating in 1979. Balme worked on cave sites in south west Australia for the

Western Australian Museum The Western Australian Museum is a statutory body, statutory authority within the Culture and the Arts Portfolio, established under the ''Museum Act 1969''. The museum has six main sites. The state museum, WA Museum Boola Bardip, is located i ...

and became interested in archaeology. Balme completed her PhD at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

in 1990. 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 Sandra Bowdler (born 1946) is an Australian archaeologist, emeritus professor of archaeology and former head of the Archaeology Department at the University of Western Australia. Education Bowdler completed an Honours degree in archaeology at ...

''. 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." Balme has been strongly involved with the

Australian Archaeological Association The Australian Archaeological Association (AAA) is an archaeological organisation in Australia. Membership is open to anyone interested in furthering archaeology in Australia. Sometimes referred to by the nickname ''Triple A'', the association wa ...

, 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 The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australi ...

. As of 2020 Balme, working alongside

Sue O'Connor Sue O'Connor is an Australian archaeologist and Distinguished Professor in the School of Culture, History & Language at the Australian National University. Her research focuses primarily on the evidence of Pleistocene settlement and early hu ...

, is researching

Rock art In archaeology, rock arts are human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type al ...

in Australia with a particular focus on carvings (also called

dendroglyph Arborglyphs, dendroglyphs, silvaglyphs, or modified cultural trees are carvings of shapes and symbols into the bark of living trees. Although most often referring to ancient cultural practices, the term also refers to modern tree-carving. Love c ...

s) on Boab trees in the

Kimberley Region The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy Desert, Great Sandy and Tanami Desert, Tanami deserts in t ...

and in the

Tanami Desert The Tanami Desert () is a desert in northern Australia, situated in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. It has a rocky terrain and small hills. The Tanami was the Northern Territory's final frontier and was not fully explored by Austral ...

. 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 The Nyikina people (also spelt Nyigina and Nyikena, and listed as Njikena by Tindale) are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. They come from the lower Fitzroy River (which they call ''mardoowarra''). ...

and

Mangala Mangala (, IAST: ) is the personification, as well as the name for the planet Mars, in Hindu literature. Also known as Lohita (), he is the deity of anger, aggression, as well as war. According to Vaishnavism, he is the son of Bhumi, the eart ...

traditional owners. Their results provide insight into the archaeological and anthropological significance of these carvings.

Selected publications

*K. Frederick, U., Balme, J., Jamieson, J. ''et al.'' Embedded in the Bark: Kimberley Boab Trees as Sites of Historical Archaeology. ''Int J Histor Archaeol'' 27, 817–840 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-022-00678-z *O'Connor, S., Balme, J., Frederick, U., Garstone, B., Bedford, R., Bedford, J., . . . Lewis, D. (2022). Art in the bark: Indigenous carved boab trees (Adansonia gregorii) in north-west Australia. ''Antiquity,'' ''96'' (390), 1574-1591. *Balme, J., O’Connor, S. & Fallon, S. 2018. New dates on dingo bones from Madura Cave provide oldest firm evidence for arrival of the species in Australia. ''

Scientific Reports ''Scientific Reports'' is a peer-reviewed open-access scientific mega journal published by Nature Portfolio, covering all areas of the natural sciences. The journal was established in 2011. The journal states that their aim is to assess solely ...

''. 8, 1, 9933 *Balme, J. and O'Connor, S. 2016. Dingoes and Aboriginal social organisation in Holocene Australia. ''Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports'' 7: 775–781. *Balme, J. and O'Connor, S. 2015. A 'port scene', identity and rock art of the inland Southern Kimberley, Western Australia. ''Rock Art Research'' 32 (1): 75–83. *Balme, J. and Paterson, A. 2014. ''Archaeology in Practice''. *Balme, J. 2013. Of boats and string: the maritime colonisation of Australia. ''

Quaternary International ''Quaternary International'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal on quaternary science published by Elsevier on behalf of the International Union for Quaternary Research. The journal was established in 1989 and covers full spectrum of the physi ...

'' 285: 68–75. *Bowdler, S. and Balme, J. 2010. Gatherers and grannies: further thoughts on the origins of gender. ''

Australian Feminist Studies ''Australian Feminist Studies'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering feminist studies. It was established in 1985 and is published by Routledge. The founding editor-in-chief was Susan Magarey (University of Adelaide). She was suc ...

'' 25: 391–405. *Balme, J., Davidson, I., Mcdonald, J., Stern, N., Veth, P. Symbolic behaviour and the peopling of the southern arc route to Australia. ''

'' 202 (1/2): 59–68. *Balme, J. and Bulbeck, C. Engendering Origins : Theories of Gender in Sociology and Archaeology. ''

Australian Archaeology Australian archaeology is a large sub-field in the discipline of archaeology. Archaeology in Australia takes four main forms: Aboriginal archaeology (the archaeology of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia before and af ...

'' 67: 3–11. *Balme, J., O'Connor, S., Ulm, S., Ross, A. 2008. ''More Unconsidered Trifles: Papers to Celebrate the Career of Sandra Bowdler.'' Australian Archaeological Association Inc. *Balme, J. & Beck, W. 2002. Starch and Charcoal: Useful Measures of Activity Areas in Archaeological Rockshelters. ''

Journal of Archaeological Science The ''Journal of Archaeological Science'' is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal that covers "the development and application of scientific techniques and methodologies to all areas of archaeology". The journal was established in 1974 by Acad ...

'' 29 (2): 157–166. *Balme, J. & Toussaint, S. 1999. 'I reckon they should keep that hut': reflections on Aboriginal tracking in the Kimberley. ''Australian Aboriginal Studies'' 1: 26–32. *Balme, J. & Beck, W. 1996. Earth mounds in southeastern Australia. ''

'' 42: 39–51.

Biography

Selected publications

References

Further reading