AACAI WA Sundowner Talk - Nathan Jankowski

The WA Chapter of the Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists Inc. (AACAI WA) are delighted to present a sundowner talk by Dr Nathan Jankowski, a Quaternary Scientist based at the University of Wollongong’s Optical Dating Facility, titled:

From luminescence to landscape change: charting the palaeoenvironmental history of the Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area

Nathan will discuss the findings of his ARC DECRA project in the Willandra Lakes Region of far western NSW. Here, he used a combination of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, sediment micromorphology, and geomorphology to investigate both the timing and processes of site formation that constructed, deflated, and altered the region’s lunettes over the last glacial cycle. The findings of this work has clarified the timing of lake level fluctuations within the Lake Mungo and Lake Arumpo basins and the impact these changes had on their associated lunette. Furthermore, this nuanced record of past landscape change provides an understanding of how these changes affected the lifeways of the countless generations of people who have lived here, and provides a lens through which to interrogate the archaeological record.

This chrono-stratigraphic approach also provides a useful template for his current work in the north-west of Western Australia as part of the Desert People Project, where he aims to provide a high-resolution temporal framework for the changes and movements of people living in the north-west deserts of the Australian continent by modelling the results from both within and between sites.

Along the way, Nathan will provide some insights into working in a globally leading OSL facility at the University of Wollongong.

Sundowner Details:

Wednesday 9th April 2025 at 6pm sharp.

The Albion Hotel, 535 Stirling Highway, Cottesloe

Food will be provided

Please make sure to book by Friday the 4th April! We will not be accepting ticket payments at the venue.

AACAI Member* $10.00

Student^ $10.00

General Admission $20.00

*Must be a current financial member
^Must book with a valid student email address

AACAI WA is very grateful to the Desert People Project at the University of Western Australia for supporting this event.