The history of archaeology and museums in the Pacific: where are we now?

Bruce Trigger’s concluding chapter in A History of Archaeological Thought is ‘Chapter 10: The Relevance of Archaeology’ in which he argues there is ‘a need to empower indigenous groups to guard and protect their cultural heritage’. In this seminar Dr Michelle Richards, from the University of Melbourne, will consider how far we have progressed towards this goal in Australia and the Pacific. In particular, she will present case studies to analyse how archaeology and museum collections have contributed to the governance of cultural heritage in the region and where research in the area is headed.

Speaker bio

Dr Michelle Richards' innovative research combines archaeological and earth science approaches with heritage and museum studies. She has been working at the forefront of the development and application of non-destructive geochemical analysis to identify and characterise the origin of archaeological stone tools as a means to explore historical complexities and interactions among First Peoples and early settler communities in Australia and the Pacific. Michelle is a postdoctoral fellow in the Indigenous Knowledge Institute at the University of Melbourne, she is a full international member of ICOMOS and ICOMOS Pasifika and a 2025 DECRA fellow.

Presented as part of the School of Archaeology and Anthropology's 2025Centre for Archaeological Research (CAR) Seminar series