Sandra Bowdler

Sandra Bowdler is Emeritus Professor of Archaeology in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Western Australia. She earned a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours from the University of Sydney in 1971 and a Doctor of Philosophy from the Australian National University in 1979, based on her research into the Aboriginal archaeology of Hunter Island in Bass Strait, Tasmania. Her early career included serving as Tutor in Prehistory at the University of Papua New Guinea from 1971 to 1972, Lecturer at the University of New England from 1977 to 1980, and Consultant on Aboriginal Sites for the Forestry Commission of New South Wales in 1981. Bowdler was appointed Professor of Archaeology at the University of Western Australia in 1983, holding the position until her retirement, after which she became Emeritus Professor and Honorary Research Fellow in Archaeology in 2008. She also holds the position of Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the School of Music at UWA.

Bowdler's research interests focus on shell middens and coastal archaeology in New South Wales, Tasmanian Aboriginal archaeology, Shark Bay Aboriginal archaeology, the archaeology of the colonisation of Australia, archaeology of music and ritual, Australian Aboriginal archaeology, coastal archaeology, early Asian archaeology, gender and society in archaeology, shell midden studies, and Tasmanian Aborigines in pre-colonial and colonial periods. Notable publications include her book derived from her PhD, Hunter Hill, Hunter Island: archaeological investigations of a prehistoric Tasmanian site (1984), 'Pleistocene date for man in Tasmania' (Nature, 1974), 'Spear and digging stick: The origin of gender and its implications for the colonization of new continents' co-authored with Jane Balme (2006), and more recent contributions such as 'Landscapes created by millennia of cultural land use in the Fleurieu Group of Islands, Tasmania—a knowledge baseline for current and future land management under changing climates' (2024). She has authored numerous articles and editorials in Australian Archaeology. A volume entitled More Unconsidered Trifles: Papers to Celebrate the Career of Sandra Bowdler (2008) highlights her contributions to the field. Her work has advanced understandings of prehistoric coastal adaptations and Tasmanian prehistory through extensive fieldwork.

Professional Email: sandra.bowdler@uwa.edu.au