The Archaeology and Natural History department's laboratories house state-of-the-art equipment for the exploration of environmental and archaeological questions.
ANH houses eight research laboratories (including three quarantine laboratories) and one teaching laboratory.
Mercury Analyser
Our direct mercury analyser allows for the detection of mercury in sediment, soil, biological and water samples.
Desktop SEM
Our desktop SEM allows for the high resolution imgaging as well as elemental analysis of macroscopic and microscopic remains such as charcoal, textiles, archaeological material and pollen.
Research supported by our laboratories includes prehistoric textiles, archaeobotanical remains, rock art, faunal material, lithics, and ceramics.
We maintain the largest pollen reference collection in Australia, as well as excellent plant, bone, shell and obsidian collections.
With a wide range of optical microscopes and a scanning electron microscope, we can analyse artefacts, pollen, charcoal, phytoliths and diatoms from both ancient and modern sites.
The Department of Archaeology and Natural History
Our research aims to understand past human societies, the environments in which they developed and the environmental consequences of human presence.
