Professor Andrew Fairbairn
Professor

Andrew Fairbairn

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 336 52780

Background

I research ancient agriculture, plant use and human environmental impact in Turkey, Italy (Pompeii) and Australasia via the analysis of archaeological plant remains (seeds, fruits leaves etc)

I started my archaeological career in 1988, working on the excavation of Blawearie Cairn in my native Northumberland (UK). I studies at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL (London) gaining BSc Archaeology (1991), MSc Bio and Geoarchaeology (1992) and PhD (2001), specialising in the study of plant macrofossil remains, such as seeds, fruits, leaves and wood, from archaeological sites to reconstruct past environments and economic practices. I also developed a large consulting portfolio, working as an environmental archaeologist for the Museum of London Archaeology Service (1993-1994) and UCL Geoarchaeology Unit (1992-1993) and as an independent contractor (1994-2001). From 1999-2001 I worked as a research assistant for the Catalhoyuk Research Project, based at Cambridge University and during that time moved to Australia. From 2001 - 2004 I worked at The Australian National University in Canberra as a research assistant to the Engendering Roman Spaces Project and then received a research fellowship at the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies. I moved to UQ in January 2006. My research interests are currently focused on the origins of agriculture in Central Anatolia (Turkey) and the later development of the region's state economies. I also work in Australasia where I have been developing plant macrofossil techniques to disentangle ancient tree-fruit use and the development of food production in Papua New Guinea.

Availability

Professor Andrew Fairbairn is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Fields of research

Archaeology

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Science, University College London
  • Masters (Coursework) of Science, University College London
  • Doctor of Philosophy, University College London

Search Professor Andrew Fairbairn’s works on UQ eSpace

93 works between 2002 and 2024
All (93) Journal Article (68) Book Chapter (14) Conference Publication (4) Book (2) Edited Outputs (5)

21 - 40 of 93 works

2019

Journal Article

Late Pleistocene human genome suggests a local origin for the first farmers of central Anatolia

Feldman, Michal, Fernandez-Dominguez, Eva, Reynolds, Luke, Baird, Douglas, Pearson, Jessica, Hershkovitz, Israel, May, Hila, Goring-Morris, Nigel, Benz, Marion, Gresky, Julia, Bianco, Raffaela A., Fairbairn, Andrew, Mustafaoglu, Gokhan, Stockhammer, Philipp W., Posth, Cosimo, Haak, Wolfgang, Jeong, Choongwon and Krause, Johannes (2019). Late Pleistocene human genome suggests a local origin for the first farmers of central Anatolia. Nature Communications, 10 (1) 1218, 1218. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-09209-7

Late Pleistocene human genome suggests a local origin for the first farmers of central Anatolia

2019

Journal Article

Gordon C. Hillman: 20 July 1943 to 1 July 2018

Fairbairn, Andrew and Nesbitt, Mark (2019). Gordon C. Hillman: 20 July 1943 to 1 July 2018. Anatolian Studies, 69, III-IV. doi: 10.1017/S0066154619000012

Gordon C. Hillman: 20 July 1943 to 1 July 2018

2019

Book Chapter

Early Lapita subsistence: the evidence from Kamgot, Anir Islands, New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea

Summerhayes, Glenn, Szabo, Katherine, Fairbairn, Andrew, Horrocks, Mark, McPherson, Shannon and Crowther, Alison (2019). Early Lapita subsistence: the evidence from Kamgot, Anir Islands, New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea. Debating Lapita: distribution, chronology, society and subsistence. (pp. 379-402) edited by Stuart Bedford and Matthew Spriggs. Canberra, ACT, Australia: ANU.

Early Lapita subsistence: the evidence from Kamgot, Anir Islands, New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea

2018

Journal Article

Ceremonial plant consumption at Middle Bronze Age Büklükale, Kırıkkale Province, central Turkey

Fairbairn, Andrew S., Wright, Nathan J., Weeden, Mark, Barjamovic, Gojko, Matsumura, Kimiyoshi and Rasch, Ron (2018). Ceremonial plant consumption at Middle Bronze Age Büklükale, Kırıkkale Province, central Turkey. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 28 (3), 327-346. doi: 10.1007/s00334-018-0703-x

Ceremonial plant consumption at Middle Bronze Age Büklükale, Kırıkkale Province, central Turkey

2018

Journal Article

Comparing pollen and archaeobotanical data for Chalcolithic cereal agriculture at Çatalhöyük, Turkey

Eastwood, Warren J., Fairbairn, Andrew, Stroud, Elizabeth, Roberts, Neil, Lamb, Henry, Yiğitbaşıoğlu, Hakan, Şenkul, Çetin, Moss, Andrew, Turner, Rebecca and Boyer, Peter (2018). Comparing pollen and archaeobotanical data for Chalcolithic cereal agriculture at Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Quaternary Science Reviews, 202, 4-18. doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.11.012

Comparing pollen and archaeobotanical data for Chalcolithic cereal agriculture at Çatalhöyük, Turkey

2018

Journal Article

Reduction intensity of backed blades: blank consumption, regularity and efficiency at the early Neolithic site of Boncuklu, Turkey

Muller, Antoine, Clarkson, Chris, Baird, Douglas and Fairbairn, Andrew (2018). Reduction intensity of backed blades: blank consumption, regularity and efficiency at the early Neolithic site of Boncuklu, Turkey. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 21, 721-732. doi: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.08.042

Reduction intensity of backed blades: blank consumption, regularity and efficiency at the early Neolithic site of Boncuklu, Turkey

2018

Journal Article

Forager-farmer transitions from East Asia to Sahul: regional and global perspectives

Fairbairn, Andrew S. and Bar-Yosef, Ofer (2018). Forager-farmer transitions from East Asia to Sahul: regional and global perspectives. Quaternary International, 489 (Norw. Arch. Rev 17 1984), 1-3. doi: 10.1016/j.quaint.2018.07.006

Forager-farmer transitions from East Asia to Sahul: regional and global perspectives

2018

Journal Article

The preservation and interpretation of δ34S values in charred archaeobotanical remains

Nitsch, E. K., Lamb, A. L., Heaton, T. H. E., Vaiglova, P., Fraser, R., Hartman, G., Moreno-Jiménez, E., López-Piñeiro, A., Peña-Abades, D., Fairbairn, A., Eriksen, J. and Bogaard, A. (2018). The preservation and interpretation of δ34S values in charred archaeobotanical remains. Archaeometry, 61 (1), 161-178. doi: 10.1111/arcm.12388

The preservation and interpretation of δ34S values in charred archaeobotanical remains

2018

Journal Article

Agricultural origins on the Anatolian plateau

Baird, Douglas, Fairbairn, Andrew, Jenkins, Emma, Martin, Louise, Middleton, Caroline, Pearson, Jessica, Asouti, Eleni, Edwards, Yvonne, Kabukcu, Ceren, Mustafaoğlu, Gökhan, Russell, Nerissa, Bar-Yosef, Ofer, Jacobsen, Geraldine, Wu, Xiaohong, Baker, Ambroise and Elliott, Sarah (2018). Agricultural origins on the Anatolian plateau. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115 (14), E3077-E3086. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1800163115

Agricultural origins on the Anatolian plateau

2018

Journal Article

Anatolian wine in the middle bronze age

Barjamovic, Gojko and Fairbairn, Andrew (2018). Anatolian wine in the middle bronze age. Die Welt des Orients, 48 (2), 249-284.

Anatolian wine in the middle bronze age

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

Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago

2017

Journal Article

Agricultural innovation and resilience in a long-lived early farming community: the 1,500-year sequence at Neolithic to early Chalcolithic Çatalhöyük, central Anatolia

Bogaard, Amy, Filipovic, Dragana, Fairbairn, Andrew, Green, Laura, Stroud, Elizabeth, Fuller, Dorian and Charles, Michael (2017). Agricultural innovation and resilience in a long-lived early farming community: the 1,500-year sequence at Neolithic to early Chalcolithic Çatalhöyük, central Anatolia. Anatolian Studies, 67, 1-28. doi: 10.1017/S0066154617000072

Agricultural innovation and resilience in a long-lived early farming community: the 1,500-year sequence at Neolithic to early Chalcolithic Çatalhöyük, central Anatolia

2017

Journal Article

Early ceramics in Anatolia: implications for the production and Use of the earliest pottery. The evidence from Boncuklu Höyük

Fletcher, A., Baird, D., Spataro, M. and Fairbairn, A. (2017). Early ceramics in Anatolia: implications for the production and Use of the earliest pottery. The evidence from Boncuklu Höyük. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 27 (2), 1-19. doi: 10.1017/S0959774316000767

Early ceramics in Anatolia: implications for the production and Use of the earliest pottery. The evidence from Boncuklu Höyük

2017

Conference Publication

Grinding burning and trading at Kultepe: Archaebotanical evidence for economic differences between settlements in Anatolia's Middle Bronze Age

Fairbairn, Andrew and Wright, Nathan (2017). Grinding burning and trading at Kultepe: Archaebotanical evidence for economic differences between settlements in Anatolia's Middle Bronze Age. Kultepe International Meeting, Kultepe, Turkey, 26-30 July 2015. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols.

Grinding burning and trading at Kultepe: Archaebotanical evidence for economic differences between settlements in Anatolia's Middle Bronze Age

2016

Journal Article

Bronze Age olive domestication in the north Jordan valley: new morphological evidence for regional complexity in early arboricultural practice from Pella in Jordan

Dighton, Anne, Fairbairn, Andrew, Bourke, Stephen, Faith, Tyler and Habgood, Phillip (2016). Bronze Age olive domestication in the north Jordan valley: new morphological evidence for regional complexity in early arboricultural practice from Pella in Jordan. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 26 (4), 1-11. doi: 10.1007/s00334-016-0601-z

Bronze Age olive domestication in the north Jordan valley: new morphological evidence for regional complexity in early arboricultural practice from Pella in Jordan

2016

Journal Article

The animate house, the institutionalization of the household in Neolithic central Anatolia

Baird, Douglas, Fairbairn, Andrew and Martin, Louise (2016). The animate house, the institutionalization of the household in Neolithic central Anatolia. World Archaeology, 49 (5), 1-24. doi: 10.1080/00438243.2016.1215259

The animate house, the institutionalization of the household in Neolithic central Anatolia

2016

Journal Article

Settlement reorganisation and the rebirth of the Ottoman Empire: Bayesian modelling narrows dates for post-medieval occupation at Kaman-Kalehöyük, Kırşehir Province, Turkey

Fenwick, Rhona S. H., Fairbairn, Andrew S., Hua, Quan and Matsumura, Kimiyoshi (2016). Settlement reorganisation and the rebirth of the Ottoman Empire: Bayesian modelling narrows dates for post-medieval occupation at Kaman-Kalehöyük, Kırşehir Province, Turkey. International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 21 (2), 1-25. doi: 10.1007/s10761-016-0367-0

Settlement reorganisation and the rebirth of the Ottoman Empire: Bayesian modelling narrows dates for post-medieval occupation at Kaman-Kalehöyük, Kırşehir Province, Turkey

2016

Journal Article

The demographic development of the first farmers in Anatolia

Kılınç, Gülşah Merve, Omrak, Ayça, Özer, Füsun, Günther, Torsten, Büyükkarakaya, Ali Metin, Bıçakçı, Erhan, Baird, Douglas, Dönertaş, Handan Melike, Ghalichi, Ayshin, Yaka, Reyhan, Koptekin, Dilek, Açan, Sinan Can, Parvizi, Poorya, Krzewińska, Maja, Daskalaki, Evangelia A., Yüncü, Eren, Dağtaş, Nihan Dilşad, Fairbairn, Andrew, Pearson, Jessica, Mustafaoğlu, Gökhan, Erdal, Yılmaz Selim, Çakan, Yasin Gökhan, Togan, İnci, Somel, Mehmet, Stora, Jan, Jakobsson, Mattias and Götherström, Anders (2016). The demographic development of the first farmers in Anatolia. Current Biology, 26 (19), 2659-2666. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.07.057

The demographic development of the first farmers in Anatolia

2016

Book Chapter

Measure twice, cut once: cooperative deployment of a generalized, archaeology-specific field data collection system

Sobotkova, Adela, Ross, Shawn A., Ballsun-Stanton, Brian, Fairbairn, Andrew, Thompson, Jessica and Van Valkenburgh, Parker (2016). Measure twice, cut once: cooperative deployment of a generalized, archaeology-specific field data collection system. Mobilizing the past for a digital future: the potential of digital archaeology. (pp. 337-371) edited by Erin Walcek Averett, Jody Michael Gordon and Derek B. Counts. Grand Forks, ND United States: The Digital Press at the University of North Dakota.

Measure twice, cut once: cooperative deployment of a generalized, archaeology-specific field data collection system

2015

Journal Article

Explaining changing patterns of wood presence across the Bronze and Iron Age at Kaman-Kalehöyük, central Anatolia

Wright, Nathan J., Fairbairn, Andrew S., Üstünkaya, M. Cemre and Faith, J. Tyler (2015). Explaining changing patterns of wood presence across the Bronze and Iron Age at Kaman-Kalehöyük, central Anatolia. Quaternary International, 431, 90-102. doi: 10.1016/j.quaint.2015.11.121

Explaining changing patterns of wood presence across the Bronze and Iron Age at Kaman-Kalehöyük, central Anatolia

Current funding

  • 2022 - 2025
    Testing the Dark Emu hypothesis
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2025
    Re-evaluating forager-farmer plant use in Anatolias Neolithic transition
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2019 - 2024
    Archaeology, collections and Australian South Sea Islander lived identities (ARC Linkage Project administered by The University of Sydney)
    University of Sydney
    Open grant
  • 2019
    Zooming In, Zooming Out: High-Definition Multi-Scalar Technologies in Archaeology, Cultural Heritage and Environment
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2019
    Mass spectrometry for next generation isotope analysis of silicate minerals (ARC LIEF grant administered by The University of Adelaide)
    University of Adelaide
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2019
    Continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometer (CF-IRMS) and ancillary preparation systems for carbon, nitrogen and sulfur isotope microanalysis for archaeology, biology, earth and environmental scie
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2017 - 2018
    Centre for Geoanalytical Mass Spectrometry (CGMS) - Achieving excellence in isotope geochemistry and geochronology
    UQ Research Facilities Infrastructure Grants
    Open grant
  • 2015
    A state-of-the-art spinning disc confocal microscope for high speed imaging of live cells and super resolution microscopy
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2016
    Operationalising research collections in archaeological science and museum studies
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2015
    Federated Archaeological Information Management Systems project: transforming archaeological research through digital technologies (ARC LIEF Grant administered by Macquarie University)
    University of New South Wales
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2019
    Resource security trade and the development of urbanism in the pre-Classical world
    ARC Future Fellowships
    Open grant
  • 2013
    Building Capacity in Experimental and Scientific Archaeology at UQ
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2014
    Federated Archaeological Information Management System (FAIMS) conducted under the NeCTAR Program administered by the University of Melbourne (as subcontracted to the University of New South Wales)
    University of New South Wales
    Open grant
  • 2012
    A social science e-research hub for data management, analysis and dissemination in material and visual culture
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2012
    Evaluating stable isotopes as a means of investigating changing Bronze Age agricultural practices in Central Turkey
    Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering
    Open grant
  • 2012
    Re-evaluation of the chronology of aceramic Neolithic Can Hasan III, Turkey
    Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2014
    The emergence of farming beyond the Fertile Crescent at Boncuklu Hoyuk, Central Turkey
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2012
    Macrobotanical analysis
    UniQuest Pty Ltd
    Open grant
  • 2011
    An absolute chronology of agricultural change at Ottoman Kaman-Kalehoyuk, Central Turkey
    Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering
    Open grant
  • 2011
    Deforestation and the Hittite State: Preliminary investigations into wood fuel use at Kaman-Kaleöyük, Central Anatolia, Turkey
    Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering
    Open grant
  • 2011
    New directions and capacity building in archaeological and palaeoenvironmental research
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2010
    Dating the emergence of agriculture in the Konya Plain, Turkey
    Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering
    Open grant
  • 2010 - 2011
    Enhanced field and laboratory microscopy and spectroscopy facilities for understanding past and current environmental changes in Geographical and Archaeological Sciences
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2009 - 2011
    Agriculture and the Late Bronze Age collapse of the Hittite Empire
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2008 - 2010
    Indegenous Cultural Heritage Outreach Program
    UQ DEEWR Higher Education Equity Support Program Grants
    Open grant
  • 2008
    Creating new research opportunities in archaeological & anthropological science
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2007 - 2009
    Environmental Evolution of the Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area
    Australian National University
    Open grant
  • 2006 - 2007
    Prehistoric crop translocations in Melanesia and Southeast Asia
    UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund
    Open grant
  • 2006 - 2008
    Plant use at the dawn of agriculture in central Anatolia
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant

Availability

Professor Andrew Fairbairn is:
Available for supervision

Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.

Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Master Philosophy

    An archaeobotanical framework for empirically distinguishing Indigenous plant collection, cultivation, and agriculture on Mithaka Country southwest Queensland

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Michael Westaway

  • Master Philosophy

    Plant exploitation and management on Mithaka Country, south-western Queensland: Developing frameworks for understanding cultivation, niche construction, and domestication in Australia

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Michael Westaway

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Understanding the complex origins of the olive tree: olive domestication processes and their ecological and socioeconomic impact in prehistory

    Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Settlement resilience and adaptation through the climatic, economic, and political changes of the Central Anatolian Bronze Age

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Alison Crowther

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Understanding the complex origins of the olive tree: olive domestication processes and their ecological and socioeconomic impact in prehistory

    Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Archaeobotanical Analysis of Plant Processing on Mithaka Country

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Michael Westaway, Dr Alison Crowther

  • Doctor Philosophy

    An Archaeobotanical Perspective on the Economy of the Ancient City of Kilwa Kisiwani, Southern Tanzania: AD 800-1600

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Alison Crowther

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Investigating prehistoric mobility in Motupore Islanders through strontium isotope mapping

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Michael Westaway

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Collecting Antiquities in Wartime: Australian antiquities collectors in the First World War

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Associate Professor Geoff Ginn

  • Doctor Philosophy

    The role of humans in controlling the rainforest-sclerophyll forest boundary in Southeast Queensland during the Holocene

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Alison Crowther

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Understanding prehistoric human mobility along the coast of Papua New Guinea through strontium isotope mapping

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Michael Westaway

Completed supervision

Enquiries

Contact Professor Andrew Fairbairn directly for media enquiries about:

  • Ancient agriculture
  • Ancient human environmental impacts
  • Archaeological sites - seeds and fruits
  • Archaeology
  • Archaeology - charcoals
  • Environmental impacts - ancient human
  • Macrofossil analysis
  • Natural sediments - archaeological sites
  • Papua New Guinea - archaeology
  • Seeds and fruits - archaeological sites
  • Turkey - archaeology
  • UK - archaeology

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