Tracing the threads of linguistic and genetic diversity in New Guinea
Seminar
New Guinea is the heart of global linguistic diversity. New Guinea makes up 1% of the global land area as an island, containing less than 0.2% of the world's population and 20% of all languages. The obvious linguistic and anthropological question is why? There are many social and evolutionary…
Chicken Shit and Bare Life: the ritual economy of India's chickens
Seminar
This talk delves into the complexities of India's evolving poultry industry, reflecting on the social, cultural and economic aspects to do with the shift from 'traditional' to 'modern' farming. It examines the implications of these changes on labor relations, land use, and the environment, with a…
A Late Quaternary faunal sequence from Lachitu Cave, PNG: Advances in understanding biodiversity and human subsistence in the northern New Guinea lowlands
Seminar
The cave site of Lachitu (RIQ) on the Vanimo coast of New Guinea preserves a large faunal assemblage covering the last few centuries to ~30,000 years ago, offering a unique insight into the subsistence strategy of humans in northern New Guinea from the Pleistocene through to contemporary times.…
Uncovering Kuwae’s Past: recent fieldwork on Epi Island, Vanuatu
Seminar
In the fifteenth century CE, a massive volcanic eruption on the island of Kuwae reshaped the physical and social landscapes of Central Vanuatu. The disaster resulted in the destruction of a large portion of Kuwae, creating a submarine caldera more than 12 kilometres wide, which separates the…
‘Save Cow, Save India’: Interspecific vulnerabilities in India’s cow protection politics
Seminar
India criminalises cow slaughter, based on Hindus’ reverence of cows as sacred and a Hindu nationalist imagination of the cow as a Hindu nation. Simultaneously, India is also a leading beef producer. This talk addresses this puzzle by demonstrating how the cow-worshipping, aspirational Hindu state…
Palaeocological insights into the causes and consequences of Late Quaternary megafauna extinction in Asia and Australia
Seminar
Palaeoecological Insights into the Causes and Consequences of Mid-Late Quaternary Megafauna Extinction in Asia and Australia Mid-Late Quaternary megafauna extinctions have long intrigued researchers seeking to understand the causes and consequences of these significant ecological events. What role…
Park rangers, pig hunters and pigs: The unruly world of invasive species management and control in a Cape York national park
Seminar
Biosecurity and invasive species management is an enduring concern for environmental managers in Australia. In Cape York Peninsula, far north Queensland, significant energy, and resources are devoted to controlling the ever-expanding population of feral pigs (Sus scrofa). Reviled for their…