
Overview
Background
My research interests involve integrating interdisciplinary methods with particular emphasis on archaeological geophysics, remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS) and geoarchaeology in archaeological research. Recent work explores the potential use and comparability of soil magnetic susceptibility with other techniques like soil chemistry and geochronology, to understand the nature and persistence of Pleistocene human occupation in Australia. Outside Australia, I have been involved in several international projects in Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, Indonesia, North and South America, Papua New Guinea and Southeast Asia.
I also have significant relevant industry experience as a consultant in cultural heritage management in Australia and the U.S. I have worked casually as a Senior Heritage Advisor in Australia since 2011 and started my own cultural heritage business specialising in geophysics during the COVID pandemic. Before commencing my PhD, I was a full-time Project Manager at Coastal Environments Incorporated in the U.S. after completing my M.A. at the University of Mississippi. My role involved the management of cultural resources for both federal (e.g. Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Coast Guard) and state (e.g. Mississippi Department of Transportation and Mississippi Department of Archives and History) agencies along the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Availability
- Dr Kelsey Lowe is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
Research interests
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Archaeological geophysics
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Geoarchaeology
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Geographic information systems
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Cultural Heritage Management
Research impacts
My research focuses on developing techniques that assist in understanding past human behaviour, cultural landscapes, and modern humans' spread through archaeological geophysical applications. These findings have been disseminated in 26 scientific journal articles and 46 international and national conference papers. My PhD research (2014) was instrumental in identifying the earliest Pleistocene occupations at two archaeological sites where the stratigraphic integrity was questioned because the deposits were primarily sand and where there was no clear way to corroborate the lithic record in these deposits to the geochronology. I resolved the questions about the onset of human occupation and its association with specific stratigraphic levels through a novel technique that can be applied globally to identify human occupation. As a benchmark for archaeological geophysics, this work led to my involvement in significant and high-profile research projects in Australia, Indonesia and the Caribbean and as an Associate Investigator for the Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH) and a Senior Research Fellow for the UQ Building Capacity for a Centre for the Anthropocene Project.
Works
Search Professor Kelsey Lowe’s works on UQ eSpace
2024
Journal Article
Correction to: Early human occupation of Australia’s eastern seaboard (Scientific Reports, (2024), 14, 1, (2579), 10.1038/s41598-024-52000-y)
Adams, Shaun, Norman, Kasih, Kemp, Justine, Jacobs, Zenobia, Costelloe, Michael, Fairbairn, Andrew, Robins, Richard, Stock, Errol, Moss, Patrick, Smith, Tam, Love, Serena, Manne, Tiina, Lowe, Kelsey M., Logan, India, Manoel, Michael, McFadden, Karen, Burns, Darren, Dooley, Thomas, Falkiner, Zac and Clarkson, Chris (2024). Correction to: Early human occupation of Australia’s eastern seaboard (Scientific Reports, (2024), 14, 1, (2579), 10.1038/s41598-024-52000-y). Scientific Reports, 14 (1) 14309. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-65370-0
2024
Journal Article
Early Aboriginal pottery production and offshore island occupation on Jiigurru (Lizard Island group), Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Ulm, Sean, McNiven, Ian J., Summerhayes, Glenn R., Wu, Pei-hua, Bunbury, Magdalena M.E., Petchey, Fiona, Hua, Quan, Skelly, Robert, Lambrides, Ariana B.J., Rowe, Cassandra, Lowe, Kelsey M., Reepmeyer, Christian H., Maclaurin, Cailey, Woo, Katherine G.P., Harris, Matthew, Morgan, Sarah B., Turner-Kose, Kayla L., Slater, Sarah A., Connelly, Joshua D., Kneppers, Michael C., Szabó, Katherine, Fairbairn, Andrew, Haberle, Simon G., Hopf, Felicitas, Bultitude, Robert, Ash, Jeremy, Lewis, Stephen E., Beaman, Robin J., Leon, Javier Xavier ... Cobus, Brian (2024). Early Aboriginal pottery production and offshore island occupation on Jiigurru (Lizard Island group), Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Quaternary Science Reviews, 333 108624, 333. doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108624
2024
Book Chapter
Fish Traps, Seed-Grinding and Food Stores : Reconstructing Complex Mithaka Indigenous Economic and Water Management Technologies
Kerkhove, Ray C., Silcock, Jennifer L., Williams, Douglas, Kotarba-Morley, Ania, Keenan-Jones, Duncan, Wright, Nathan J., Morley, Mike W., Gorringe, Joshua, Scholz, Glen, Lowe, Kelsey M., Cemre Üstünkaya, M., Stephens, Samantha, Moss, Patrick T. and Westaway, Michael C. (2024). Fish Traps, Seed-Grinding and Food Stores : Reconstructing Complex Mithaka Indigenous Economic and Water Management Technologies. The Oxford Handbook of Global Indigenous Archaeologies. (pp. 1-69) Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197607695.013.60
2024
Journal Article
Early human occupation of Australia’s eastern seaboard
Adams, Shaun, Norman, Kasih, Kemp, Justine, Jacobs, Zenobia, Costelloe, Michael, Fairbairn, Andrew, Robins, Richard, Stock, Errol, Moss, Patrick, Smith, Tam, Love, Serena, Manne, Tiina, Lowe, Kelsey M., Logan, India, Manoel, Michael, McFadden, Karen, Burns, Darren, Falkiner, Zac and Clarkson, Chris (2024). Early human occupation of Australia’s eastern seaboard. Scientific Reports, 14 (1) 2579. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-52000-y
2023
Conference Publication
Unearthed burial from rising sea levels: a collaborative community approach for tackling climate change in the Torres Strait Islands, Australia
Lowe, Kelsey, Tom, Enid, Westaway, Michael C., Swift, Jaime and Lau, Annie (2023). Unearthed burial from rising sea levels: a collaborative community approach for tackling climate change in the Torres Strait Islands, Australia. Society of American Archaeologists, Portland, OR United States, 30 March - 1 April 2023.
2023
Journal Article
A Holocene sequence from Walufeni Cave, Southern Highlands Province, and its implications for the settlement of the Great Papuan Plateau, Papua New Guinea
Barker, Bryce, Lamb, Lara, Leavesley, Matthew, Manne, Tiina, Fairbairn, Andrew, Coe, Andrew, Lowe, Kelsey M., Beni, Teppsy, Neanda, Betty and Aubert, Maxime (2023). A Holocene sequence from Walufeni Cave, Southern Highlands Province, and its implications for the settlement of the Great Papuan Plateau, Papua New Guinea. Australian Archaeology, 89 (1), 47-65. doi: 10.1080/03122417.2023.2175960
2023
Journal Article
Ula Thirra: a case study in the geomagnetic detection of combustion features in Channel Country of far south-western Queensland
Lowe, Kelsey M., Williams, Doug, Wright, Nathan, Gorringe, Shawnee, Gorringe, Josh, Andrews, Ian, Ustunkaya, Meltem Cemre, Gorringe, Betty and Westaway, Michael C. (2023). Ula Thirra: a case study in the geomagnetic detection of combustion features in Channel Country of far south-western Queensland. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 15 (3) 30, 1-17. doi: 10.1007/s12520-023-01722-7
2021
Other Outputs
Australia has a heritage conservation problem. Can farming and Aboriginal heritage protection co-exist?
Westaway, Michael, Gorringe, Joshua, Lowe, Kelsey M., Martin, Richard and Mitchell, Ross (2021, 12 02). Australia has a heritage conservation problem. Can farming and Aboriginal heritage protection co-exist? The Conversation
2021
Journal Article
Hidden in plain sight: the archaeological landscape of Mithaka Country, south-west Queensland
Westaway, Michael C., Williams, Douglas, Lowe, Kelsey, Wright, Nathan J., Kerkhove, Ray, Silcock, Jennifer, Gorringe, Joshua, Miszkiewicz, Justina, Wood, Rachel, Adams, Richard, Manne, Tiina, Adams, Shaun, Miscamble, Tony, Stout, Justin, Wrobel, Gabriel D., Kemp, Justine, Hendry, Brooke, Gorringe, Max, Gorringe, Betty, Lander, Keiron, Gorringe, Shawnee, Andrews, Ian and Collard, Mark (2021). Hidden in plain sight: the archaeological landscape of Mithaka Country, south-west Queensland. Antiquity, 95 (382) PII S0003598X21000314, 1-18. doi: 10.15184/aqy.2021.31
2017
Journal Article
Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago
Clarkson, Chris, Jacobs, Zenobia, Marwick, Ben, Fullagar, Richard, Wallis, Lynley, Smith, Mike, Roberts, Richard G., Hayes, Elspeth, Lowe, Kelsey, Carah, Xavier, Florin, S. Anna, McNeil, Jessica, Cox, Delyth, Arnold, Lee J., Hua, Quan, Huntley, Jillian, Brand, Helen E. A., Manne, Tiina, Fairbairn, Andrew, Shulmeister, James, Lyle, Lindsey, Salinas, Makiah, Page, Mara, Connell, Kate, Park, Gayoung, Norman, Kasih, Murphy, Tessa and Pardoe, Colin (2017). Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago. Nature, 547 (7663), 306-310. doi: 10.1038/nature22968
2016
Journal Article
Using soil magnetic properties to determine the onset of Pleistocene human settlement at Gledswood Shelter 1, Northern Australia
Lowe, Kelsey M., Shulmeister, James, Feinberg, Joshua M., Manne, Tiina, Wallis, Lynley A. and Welsh, Kevin (2016). Using soil magnetic properties to determine the onset of Pleistocene human settlement at Gledswood Shelter 1, Northern Australia. Geoarchaeology, 31 (3), 211-228. doi: 10.1002/gea.21544
2015
Journal Article
The archaeology, chronology and stratigraphy of Madjedbebe (Malakunanja II): A site in northern Australia with early occupation
Clarkson, Chris, Smith, Mike, Marwick, Ben, Fullagar, Richard, Wallis, Lynley, A., Faulkner, Patrick, Manne, Tiina, Hayes, Elspeth, Roberts, Richard, G., Jacobs, Zenobia, Carah, Xavier, Lowe, Kelsey M., Matthews, Jacqueline and Florin, S. Anna (2015). The archaeology, chronology and stratigraphy of Madjedbebe (Malakunanja II): A site in northern Australia with early occupation. Journal of Human Evolution, 83, 46-64. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.03.014
2014
Journal Article
Ground-penetrating radar and burial practices in western Arnhem Land, Australia
Lowe, Kelsey M., Wallis, Lynley A., Pardoe, Colin, Marwick, Ben, Clarkson, Chris, Manne, Tiina, Smith, Mike A. and Fullagar, Richard (2014). Ground-penetrating radar and burial practices in western Arnhem Land, Australia. Archaeology in Oceania, 49 (3), 148-157. doi: 10.1002/arco.5039
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Kelsey Lowe is:
- Available for supervision
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Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Kelsey Lowe directly for media enquiries about:
- Archaeological geophysics
- Australian archaeology
- Ground-penetrating radar
- Sediment magnetic susceptibility
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