Professor Amy Roberts
Matthew Flinders Professor
College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Amy Roberts, a Matthew Flinders Professor, is an archaeologist and anthropologist who is committed to meaningful and long-term collaborations with Traditional Owners. She primarily works with Aboriginal communities in South Australia. In particular she has worked closely with Aboriginal peoples from the River Murray and Yorke Peninsula regions. In recent years she has focused on the pre and post-contact archaeology of the Riverland and the ways in which Narungga people have and continue to engage with their seascape
Amy is a Future Fellow for the ARC project 'From Baskets to Boomerangs: Liefways, Knowledges and Colonial Legacies' FT230100499, the lead investigator for the ARC projects 'Rockshelters and Rock Art in the River Murray Gorge: New Data and Syntheses' LP200200803 and 'White People had the Gun: Interrogating the Riverland's Colonial Frontier' LP170100479 and is a CI on the projects 'Ochre Archaeomicrobiology' DP190102219 and 'A National Facility for the 3D Imaging of the Near Surface' LE210100037).
Prior to her appointment as an academic at Flinders University Amy worked as an expert to the Federal Court for a number of native title cases – including for the First Peoples of the River Murray and Mallee Region which achieved a successful determination. She continues to work in a consulting capacity on native title, Aboriginal heritage and stolen generations matters.
- Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) Flinders University
- Graduate Certificate of Applied Anthropology (Native Title and Cultural Heritage) University of Western Australia
- Doctor of Philosophy (Archaeology) Flinders University
Awards
- 2023: Matthew Flinders Professorship
- 2022: Flinders University Reconciliation Award
- 2022: Flinders University Certificate of Excellence in HDR Supervision
- 2020: Flinders University College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Research Excellence Award
- 2015: Flinders University Faculty of Education, Law and Humanities Award for Excellence in Teaching
- 2014: Australian Archaeological Association: Bruce Veitch Award for Excellence in Indigenous Engagement
Grants
- 2023: ARC FT230100499
- 2023: ANSTO Award AS233/XFM/20329
- 2022: ANSTO Award AS223/PD/18922
- 2021: ARC LP200200803 (Lead CI)
- 2021: ARC LE210100037 (CI)
- 2021: ANSTO Award AP16560
- 2021: ANSTO Award AP12957
- 2020: ANSTO Award AP12393
- 2020: ANSTO Award AP12553
- 2019: ARC DP19012219 (CI)
- 2019: ANSTO Award AP12115
- 2018: ANSTO Award AP11925
- 2018: ANSTO Award AP11268
- 2018: ANSTO Award AP11268
- 2017: ARC LP170100479 (Lead CI)
- 2016: International Society for Archaeological Prospection
- 2018: Natural Resources SA Murray-Darling Basin, Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources
- 2016: ANSTO Award AP10306
- 2015: AINSE Award 15018
- 2014: AINSE Award 14516
- 2014: AINSE Award 14011
- 2013: AINSE Award 13503
- 2012-2014: Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage/Social Sciences and Humanities Research of Canada
- 2011: AINSE Award 11036
- 2011: Flinders University Re-entry Fellowship
- 2010: State Government of South Australia - PIRSA
- 2010: State Government of South Australia - Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation Division
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Administrative and Organisational Roles
Amy has been a detailed assessor for the following ARC categories: Laureates, Future Fellowhips, DECRAs, Discovery Projects, Linkage Projects, SRI and LIEF. She has also been a reviewer for numerous Q1 journals as well as Oxford and Routledge Books.
Amy has held various external organisational roles since 2000 including:
- Editorial Committee Member for Australian Archaeology.
- Member of the Australian National Committee for Archaeology Teaching and Learning.
- Short Reports Editor and Editorial Commeitte Member for Australian Archaeology.
- Editorial Committee Member, Book Review Editor and State Convenor for the Alternative Law Journal.
- Editor of the Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia.
- Councillor for the Anthropological Society of South Australia.
- South Australian Representative for the Australian Archaeological Association.
She is currently a member of the South Australian Museum Board Research Advisory Committee, the Editorial Advisory Board for Rock Art Research and the La Trobe Univeristy's Archaeological Course Advisory Committee.
Amy has also held numerous high-level positions at Flinders University including:
- Acting Dean of Education for the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
- Teaching Program Director for History, Archaeology, Geography and Indigenous Studies.
- Head of the Archaeology Department.
- Member of the Education, Humanities and Law Faculty Board.
Vice-Chancellor’s Prize for Doctoral Thesis Excellence - MAR 2016
Flinders University EHL Student Research Project Funding - MAR 2014
CNMI Humanities Council Grant - AUG 2014
Flinders University Overseas Field Trip Grant - JUL 2014
AIMA Scholarship - DEC 2013
Flinders University EHL Student Research Project Funding - AUG 2013
Berndt Post-Graduate Award - OCT 2013
AINSE International Travel Scholarship - MAR 2015
AINSE International Travel Scholarship - MAR 2015
Vice-Chancellor’s Prize for Doctoral Thesis Excellence - APR 2018
Flinders University EHL Student Research Project Funding - MAR 2015
Australian Archaeological Association Student Research Grant Award - MAY 2019
Berndt Foundation Award - JAN 2017
Flinders University Research Scholarship - JAN 2014
Australian Postgraduate Award - JAN 2013
Society for Historical Archaeology ACUA George Fischer International Student Travel Award - DEC 2015
Ruth and Vincent Megaw Award for Outstanding Collaboration in Archaeological Research and Practice - DEC 2017
Flinders University Vice-Chancellor's Prize for Doctoral Thesis Excellence - DEC 2022
Australian Postgraduate Award - JAN 2015
Flinders University Overseas Field Trip Grant - JUN 2023
Australian Archaeological Association Student Research Grant Award - MAY 2022
Flinders University Vice-Chancellor's Prize for Doctoral Thesis Excellence - DEC 2020
Royal Society of South Australia Research Grant - DEC 2021
Recent Invited Keynotes/Presentations
2023 Archaeological and Anthropological Society of Victoria Series
2022 ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage Series
2021 ANSTO User Meeting Keynote
2020 Royal Society of South Australia Series
2019 Sprigg Lecture Keynote
2019 La Trobe Futures Forum
Amy Roberts has also been an invited speaker or panelist at a range of other conference sessions and seminar series including: 1) World Archaeological Congress Symposium; 2) Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage Conference; 3) American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting; 4) The Australian Centre for Ancient DNA Seminar Series, University of Adelaide; 5) Society for American Archaeology; 6) The Department of First Nations Studies at Simon Fraser University; and 7) The Living Landscapes Seminar Series.
Professional Memberships
- Australian Anthropological Association - Fellow
- Australian Institute of Aboriginal Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies - Member
- Australian Archaeological Association - Member
- Anthropological Society of South Australia - Member
- World Archaeological Congress - Member
- Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage - Associate Scholar
- Australian Rock Art Research Association - Member
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South Australia 5042
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