Val Attenbrow

Val Attenbrow
FAHA
Colour photograph of Dr Val Attenbrow, crouched in a sandstone rockshelter, kneeling in front of an open excavation with another archaeologist working within the square.
Attenbrow in 1992–1993, directing archaeological excavations at Balmoral Beach, Sydney
Born(1942-11-21)21 November 1942
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died5 May 2026(2026-05-05) (aged 83)
Woollahra, New South Wales, Australia
OccupationArchaeologist
Awards
Academic background
EducationUniversity of Sydney
ThesisThe Upper Mangrove Creek Catchment: a study of quantitative changes in the archaeological record (1986)
Academic work
DisciplineArchaeology
Sub-discipline
Aboriginal archaeology, lithic analysis
InstitutionsAustralian Museum
Notable works
  • Sydney's Aboriginal Past: Investigating the Archaeological and Historical Records
  • What's Changing: Population Size or Land-use Patterns? The Archaeology of Upper Mangrove Creek, Sydney Basin

Valerie Jane Attenbrow FAHA (21 November 1942 – 5 May 2026) was an Australian archaeologist and a research scientist at the Australian Museum.[1] Her research has focused on the Holocene period subsistence patterns, resource use and stone artefact technologies of Aboriginal people, particularly in south-eastern Australia.[1] She was recognised as belonging to an important, discipline shaping network of female archaeologists in the history of archaeology in Australia.[2]

Early life and education

Attenbrow commenced her archaeological studies in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Sydney where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in 1976.[3][4] She completed her PhD in 1987 with a thesis entitled The Upper Mangrove Creek Catchment: a study of quantitative changes in the archaeological record.[5]

Career and research

Attenbrow initially worked as a consulting archaeologist in the private sector before joining the National Parks and Wildlife Service (New South Wales) as a cultural heritage officer.[4] She played an important early role in the Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists and was its president in 1984.[6] Beginning in 1978 she undertook fieldwork as a part of a major regional study in Upper Mangrove Creek near Wyong on the New South Wales central coast.[7][8] This work was carried out as salvage archaeology prior to its inundation by the construction of Mangrove Creek Dam.[9]

In 1989 she was appointed a research scientist in the then Anthropology Research Section of the Australian Museum.[1] In this role she was a researcher in the Lightning Brothers Project in Wardaman Country, Northern Territory.[10] As part of this project she published work reassessing the timing and spread of point technologies in the region.[11]

She served as co-editor, alongside Betty Meehan, of the peer-reviewed journal Australian Archaeology from 1989 to 1992 and as editor of Short Reports from 1996 to 1999.[12]

In 1989 Attenbrow initiated the large-scale Port Jackson Archaeological Project, focusing on the archaeology of coastal Sydney.[13][14][15] Excavations were conducted at Balmoral, Cammeray, Castle Cove, and Vaucluse.[14][16][17] The work undertaken as part of this project formed a major component of her comprehensive study of the archaeology of the Aboriginal people of the Sydney area, which was published in 2002, entitled Sydney’s Aboriginal Past: Investigating the Archaeological and Historical Records.[18] An updated second edition was published in 2010.[14]

Attenbrow was an expert contributor to a lithics workshop hosted at the Australian Museum and funded by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies as an attempt to revise and update Australian Aboriginal stone implements: including bone, shell and tooth implements written by her predecessor at the Australian Museum, Fred McCarthy.[19][20]

She later published a major update of her PhD thesis, revising her initial interpretation of the data from Upper Mangrove Creek.[7] This formed part of a larger project revising older models of intensification and critiquing simplistic models of demographic change in the Holocene.[21][22]

Her final major research project focused on mapping the social networks linked to the trade of ground-edged artefacts in and around the Sydney Basin and their source material using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy.[23][24][25]

Death

Attenbrow died on 5 May 2026, at the age of 84.[26]

Awards and recognition

Attenbrow was a co-author of the paper, Of Lightning Brothers and White Cockatoos: dating the antiquity of signifying systems in the Northern Territory, Australia, that won the inaugural Antiquity prize for best paper in 1994.[27][28]

In 2002, Attenbrow was made a Life Member of the Australian Archaeological Association (AAA) for her contributions to the association, which she first became a member of in the mid-1970s.[29] In 2004 Attenbrow won the inaugural John Mulvaney Book Award from the AAA for Sydney's Aboriginal Past.[30] In 2019, Attenbrow was awarded the Rhys Jones Medal, the highest award offered by the AAA, in recognition of her outstanding and sustained contribution to the field of archaeology in Australia.[31]

Attenbrow was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 2009.[32]

In 2011, Attenbrow's colleagues at the Australian Museum produced a festschrift in the journal Technical Reports of the Australian Museum Online dedicated to her "because she has had a major impact in all the areas of Australian archaeology that are highlighted in the papers included"; the volume was entitled "Changing Perspectives in Australian Archaeology".[1] In its preface, it was noted by editors Jim Specht and Robin Torrence that:

One of the features of Attenbrow’s work over the last three and a half decades has been her willingness to undertake long-term projects that do not yield immediate results, but with meticulous attention to detail and resolution of methodological and theoretical issues, she has brought them all to fruition.[1]

In 2020 she was awarded an Australian Museum Research Institute Lifetime Achievement Award.[33][4]

Selected publications

Books

Articles and chapters

  • Robertson, G., V. Attenbrow and P. Hiscock (2019). "Residue and use-wear analysis of non-backed retouched artefacts from Deep Creek Shelter, Sydney Basin: implications for the role of backed artefacts." Archaeology in Oceania 52(2): 1-17.
  • Attenbrow, V. and P. Hiscock (2015). "Dates and demography: are radiometric dates a robust proxy for long‐term prehistoric demographic change?" Archaeology in Oceania 50(S1): 30-36.
  • Grave, P., V. Attenbrow, L. Sutherland, R. Pogson and N. Forster (2012). "Non-destructive pXRF of mafic stone tools." Journal of Archaeological Science 39(6): 1674-1686.
  • Robertson, G., V. Attenbrow and P. Hiscock (2009). "Multiple uses for Australian backed artefacts." Antiquity 83(320): 296-308.
  • Attenbrow, V., G. Robertson and P. Hiscock (2009). "The changing abundance of backed artefacts in south-eastern Australia: a response to Holocene climate change?" Journal of Archaeological Science 36: 2765-2770.
  • Attenbrow, V., T. Doelman and T. Corkill (2008). "Organizing the manufacture of Bondi points at Balmoral Beach, Middle Harbour, Sydney, NSW, Australia." Archaeology in Oceania 43: 104-119.
  • Hiscock, P. and V. Attenbrow (2004). "A revised sequence of backed artefact production at Capertee 3, New South Wales." Archaeology in Oceania 39: 94-99.
  • Hiscock, P. and V. Attenbrow (2003). "Early Australian implement variation: a reduction model." Journal of Archaeological Science 30: 239-249.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Specht, Jim; Torrence, Robin (2011). "Changing Perspectives in Australian Archaeology. Preface". Technical Reports of the Australian Museum, Online. 23: 1–2. doi:10.3853/j.1835-4211.23.2011.1565.
  2. ↑ Smith, Claire; Formosa, Niamh; Ferguson, Gwen; Tola, Kristen (2023), "Women in Australian Archaeology: Challenges and Achievements", in López Varela, Sandra L. (ed.), Women in Archaeology: Intersectionalities in Practice Worldwide, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 593–617, doi:10.1007/978-3-031-27650-7_29, ISBN 978-3-031-27650-7, retrieved 29 May 2026
  3. ↑ Straiton, Peta B. (2020), "Attenbrow, Valerie J.", Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, Springer, Cham, pp. 1092–1093, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-30018-0_2435, ISBN 978-3-030-30018-0, retrieved 29 May 2026
  4. 1 2 3 "Dr Val Attenbrow". The Australian Museum. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  5. ↑ Attenbrow, Valerie (1 June 1988). "PhD Thisis Abstract: The Upper Mangrove Creek Catchment - A Study of Quantitative Changes in the Archaeological Record (Volumes I and II)". Australian Archaeology. 26 (1): 110–111. doi:10.1080/03122417.1988.12093151. ISSN 0312-2417.
  6. ↑ "Past AACAI Presidents". AACAI. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
  7. 1 2 Attenbrow, Val (February 2007). What's Changing: Population Size or Land-Use Patterns? (Terra Australis 21): The archaeology of Upper Mangrove Creek, Sydney Basin (1st ed.). ANU Press. doi:10.22459/wc.02.2007. ISBN 978-1-74076-116-1.
  8. ↑ Attenbrow, Val (December 2007). "Emu Tracks 2, Kangaroo and Echidna, and Two Moths: Further Radiocarbon Ages for Aboriginal Sites in the Upper Mangrove Creek Catchment, New South Wales". Australian Archaeology. 65 (1): 51–54. doi:10.1080/03122417.2007.11681859. ISSN 0312-2417.
  9. ↑ Attenbrow, Val (1 December 1980). "Loggers Shelter, Upper Mangrove Creek, Near Sydney". Australian Archaeology. 11 (1): 25–27. doi:10.1080/03122417.1980.12092772. ISSN 0312-2417.
  10. ↑ David, Bruno; McNiven, Ian; Flood, Josephine; Attenbro, Val; Frost, Robin (January 1990). "The Lightning Brothers Project: The 1988 And 1989 Field Seasons". Australian Archaeology. 31 (1): 86–91. doi:10.1080/03122417.1990.11681393. ISSN 0312-2417.
  11. ↑ Attenbrow, Val; David, Bruno; Flood, Josephine (October 1995). "Mennge‐ya and the origins of points: new insights into the appearance of points in the semi‐arid zone of the Northern Territory". Archaeology in Oceania. 30 (3): 105–120. doi:10.1002/j.1834-4453.1995.tb00334.x. ISSN 0728-4896.
  12. ↑ Lilley, Ian (2003). "2002 AAA Conference Dinner Awards: Rhys Jones Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Australian Archaeology: Rhys Jones". Australian Archaeology (56): 54–55. ISSN 0312-2417.
  13. ↑ Attenbrow, Val (September 1991). "Port Jackson archaeological project: A study of the prehistory of the Port Jackson catchment, New South Wales. Stage I - site recording and site assessment". Australian Aboriginal Studies (2): 40–55. doi:10.3316/informit.153258744613571.
  14. 1 2 3 Attenbrow, Valerie (2010), Sydney's Aboriginal past : investigating the archaeological and historical records (2nd ed.), University of New South Wales Press, ISBN 978-1-74223-116-7
  15. ↑ Australian Academy of the Humanities Honorary Fellows
  16. ↑ Attenbrow, Val (January 1992). "Shell Bed Or Shell Midden". Australian Archaeology. 34 (1): 3–21. doi:10.1080/03122417.1992.11681447. ISSN 0312-2417.
  17. ↑ Attenbrow, Val; Doelman, Trudy; Corkill, Tessa (October 2008). "Organizing the manufacture of Bondi points at Balmoral Beach, Middle Harbour, Sydney, NSW, Australia". Archaeology in Oceania. 43 (3): 104–119. doi:10.1002/j.1834-4453.2009.tb00037.x. ISSN 0728-4896.
  18. ↑ Attenbrow, Valerie J. (2002). Sydney's Aboriginal past: investigating the archaeological and historical records ; [includes Sites-to-visit supplement]. Sydney: UNSW Press. ISBN 978-0-86840-585-8.
  19. ↑ Holdaway, Simon (1 November 1996). "AIATSIS Funded Lithics Workshop 1996". Australian Archaeology. 43 (1): 44–44. doi:10.1080/03122417.1996.12094414. ISSN 0312-2417.
  20. ↑ Holdaway, Simon; Stern, Nicola (2004). A record in stone: the study of Australia's flaked stone artefacts. Canberra : Melbourne, Vic: Aboriginal Studies Press ; Museum Victoria. ISBN 978-0-85575-460-0.
  21. ↑ Hiscock, Peter; Attenbrow, Val (October 2016). "Dates and demography? T he need for caution in using radiometric dates as a robust proxy for prehistoric population change". Archaeology in Oceania. 51 (3): 218–219. doi:10.1002/arco.5096. ISSN 0728-4896.
  22. ↑ Attenbrow, Val; Hiscock, Peter (2015). "Dates and demography: are radiometric dates a robust proxy for long-term prehistoric demographic change?". Archaeology in Oceania. 50 (S1): 30–36. doi:10.1002/arco.5052. ISSN 1834-4453.
  23. ↑ Grave, Peter; Attenbrow, Val; Sutherland, Lin; Pogson, Ross; Forster, Nicola (June 2012). "Non-destructive pXRF of mafic stone tools". Journal of Archaeological Science. 39 (6): 1674–1686. Bibcode:2012JArSc..39.1674G. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2011.11.011.
  24. ↑ Attenbrow, Val; Corkill, Tessa; Pogson, Ross; Sutherland, Lin; Grave, Peter (4 May 2017). "Non-destructive Provenancing of Ground-Edged Mafic Artifacts: A Holocene Case Study from the Sydney Basin, Australia". Journal of Field Archaeology. 42 (3): 173–186. doi:10.1080/00934690.2017.1324354. ISSN 0093-4690.
  25. ↑ Attenbrow, V.; Bryant, R.; Corkill, T.; Pogson, R.; Grave, P. (April 2019). "Geological sources and chronological change in ground-edged artefacts of the Hawkesbury region, the Sydney Basin: A Macdonald River case study". Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 24: 631–639. Bibcode:2019JArSR..24..631A. doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2019.01.025.
  26. ↑ Tutton, Samantha (6 May 2026). "Vale Dr Valerie Attenbrow FAHA 1942 – 2026". Australian Academy of the Humanities. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  27. ↑ David, Bruno; McNiven, Ian; Attenbrow, Val; Flood, Josephine; Collins, Jackie (June 1994). "Of Lightning Brothers and White Cockatoos: dating the antiquity of signifying systems in the Northern Territory, Australia". Antiquity. 68 (259): 241–251. doi:10.1017/S0003598X0004655X. ISSN 0003-598X.
  28. ↑ "Prize winners | Antiquity Journal". antiquity.ac.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  29. ↑ "Val Attenbrow". australianarchaeologicalassociation.com.au. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  30. ↑ "John Mulvaney Book Award". Australian Archaeological Association. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  31. ↑ AustArchAssoc (13 December 2019). "#AAA42 Congratulations to the winner of the Rhys Jones Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Australian Archaeologypic.twitter.com/5lIHxhYqPH". @AustArchaeology. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  32. ↑ "Fellow Profile: Valerie Attenbrow". Australian Academy of the Humanities. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  33. ↑ "Celebrating three scientific trailblazers with Lifetime Achievement Awards". The Australian Museum. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
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