Palaeoenvironments and Aboriginal History of the Blue Mountains

PhD Opportunity in Chronos Radiocarbon Laboratory & School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Australia

Students are invited to apply for a PhD scholarship for a project on the interaction of indigenous people and the past environments of the Blue Mountains of eastern NSW.

Recent research has confirmed that people were living in the treeless Blue Mountains at the height of the last ice age in Australia. An archaeological investigation of Dargan Shelter has revealed multiple hearths and 693 artefacts, some sourced from non-local quarries (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-025-02180-y). The findings show that cold climate was not natural barrier to human mobility and occupation in Australia.

There remain significant gaps in our understanding of the environmental conditions at the time and how people interacted with the landscape. The project will contribute by radiocarbon dating new archaeological sites and sediment cores from wetlands in the Blue Mountains and develop palaeoenvironmental records. This will include calculating charcoal accumulation in the sediments as a proxy for fire and new geochemical proxies for the presence of people in the landscape. Students will participate in fieldwork and sample collection.

The PhD student will be supervised by A/Prof Timothy Barrows at UNSW as part of an interdisciplinary team with the Australian Museum, University of Sydney, Macquarie University and La Trobe University. Research funds are provided as part of an Australian Research Council Discovery Project.

We are seeking a graduate with skills in either palaeoenvironmental reconstruction or techniques such as charcoal analysis, microscopy, and/or organic geochemistry. The student should hold a first-class Honours or Masters by Research in environmental science, archaeology or the Earth sciences. The scholarship is for three and a half (3.5) years full-time and will be based on the UNSW Kensington campus. The position is open to those with Australian/New Zealand nationality or residency.

Students must be eligible to be admitted into a PhD degree at UNSW, see: https://www.unsw.edu.au/research/hdr/application

Scholarship

• $39,206 (2026 rate) pa, 3.5 years

Eligibility

• Open to Domestic PhD applicants

How to Apply

Applicants should send the following to Associate Professor Tim Barrows at t.barrows@unsw.edu.au

• Cover letter as an expression of interest, outlining your match to the position and relevant experience
• CV
• Copy of your academic transcript
• Two suggested referees

Shortlisting will commence on the 1st September and the position will remain open until filled.