Caroline Bird

Caroline Bird in an active Australian archaeologist and educator. She is particularly concerned with women's studies, cultural heritage, and indigenous studies in the archaeological context, specifically in relation to early Australian archaeology. Some of her other focuses include lithic technology and art.

Bird studied archaeology and anthropology at Cambridge University, Deakin University, and the University of Western Australia. She received her BA in archaeology and anthropology (honors) from Cambridge University in 1977, followed by an MA in Science and Technical Studies at Deakin University in 1997. Bird then went on to pursue a PhD in archaeology at the University of Western Australia and was awarded her degree in 1985. During her doctoral studies, Bird was advised by Sylvia Hallam and Charles Amsden. Bird's doctoral thesis is entitled "Prehistoric lithic resource utilisation: a case study from the Southwest of Western Australia."

Bird has been contributing to the archaeological community for over 40 years in both the public sector and within academia. She has experience in archaeological field work and laboratory research focused in areas such as the UK, Europe, Australia, and Egypt. Bird works on sites dating to various periods, ranging from Neolithic to historical Australia.

Bird has taught archaeology and cultural heritage university and technical education (TAFE) classes in Western Australia and Victoria. Bird also developed and oversaw the site officer training program at the Victoria Archaeological Survey, and helped to expand the school curriculum regarding Aboriginal and Intercultural Studies in Western Australia.

In February 2013, Bird joined Archae-aus, an organization based in Perth, Western Australia committed to providing specialist historical and maritime heritage consultation and education services. Within the organization, Bird has been involved in public presentations and publication (producing a book pertaining to the Archae-aus project 'Kakutungutanta to Warrie Outcamp - 40,000 Years in Nyiyaparli Country'), and continues to conduct field work as a senior project officer. Bird has also worked as a member of the AACAI (Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists Inc) in Western Australia.

Bird's most widely cited and praised article, "Woman the Toolmaker: Evidence for Women's Use and Manufacture of Flaked Stone Tools in Australia and New Guinea," is heralded by the scientific community as a feminist approach to archaeology. In this 1993 publication, Bird confronts and discredits the once commonly held gender-role assumption that "women hunt and men gather."This piece helped to inspire feminist archaeological theory and fuel discussion concerning the prevalence of male bias in the research process, inadequate ethnographic accounts, and the discipline of archaeology as a whole.

Equally impactful, however, is Bird's work on radiocarbon chronologies. Bird and co-author David Frankel have written extensively on dating sequences in Australia, illuminating new evidence regarding early colonization and population histories and distributions.

Most recently, Bird has been involved in heritage and indigenous studies research in connection to her membership with Archae-aus. In her 2016 article, "Reflections on CB08-500 Alternative Narratives, Aboriginal Heritage and Significance Assessment in Western Australia," Bird argues for the importance of incorporating indigenous narratives into the archaeological research process. Bird asserts that such inclusivity in archaeological reporting is necessary to progress the discipline and can also aid in engaging a wider audience in discussions concerning heritage and community values.

• John Mulvaney Book Award from the Australian Archaeological Association (2015, for Kakutungutanta to Warrie Outcamp - 40,000 Years in Nyiyaparli Country, received along with Edward McDonald)
• Best Poster at the Australian Archaeological Association Awards Conference (2016, won for "Issues of Scale and Resolution in Interpreting Surface Artefact Scatter in the Inland Pilbara", received along with Jim Rhoads, Fiona Hook and McDonald)

• Bird, C. and D. Frankel. 1991. "Problems in Constructing a Prehistorical Regional Sequence: Holocene South-east Australia." World Archaeology. 23 (2): 179-192. doi:10.1080/00438243.1991.9980170.
• Bird, C. 1993. "Woman the Toolmaker: Evidence for Women's Use and Manufacture of Flaked Stone Tools in Australia and New Guinea." 22-30.
• Bird, C., A. Dias, F. Hook, M. Jimenez-Lozano, H. Tierney. 2014. "Time and Efficiency in Data Recovery: An Experiment Comparing Wet and Dry Sieving in Pilbara Rockshelter Excavations." JAACA. 2: 1-8. ISSN 2202-7890.
• Bird, C. and J. Rhoads. 2015. "Rockshelters as Indicators of Mobility Patterns in the Inland Pilbara." Archaeology in Oceania. 50 (S1): 37-46. doi:10.1002/arco.5055.
• Bird, C., F. Hook, J. Rhodes. 2016. "Reflections on CB08-500 Alternative Narratives, Aboriginal Heritage and Significance Assessment in Western Australia Reflections on CB08-500." Hunter Gatherer Research. 2: 327-243. doi:10.3828/hgr.2016.23. ISSN: 476-4261.
• Frankel, D. and C. Bird. 2013. "Integrating Hunter-gatherer Sites, Environments, Technology and Art in Western Victoria." In Archaeology in Environment and Technology: Intersections and Transformations edited by D. Frankel, J. Webb, and S. Lawrence. 69-43.