Andrew Fairbairn – The Conversation

Reconstruction of 14,300-year-old dog jawbone from Gough’s Cave, England. Tom Anders & Longleat

March 27, 2026

Ancient bones show dogs have been woven into human life for nearly 16,000 years

Andrew Fairbairn, The University of Queensland; Douglas Baird, University of Liverpool, and Gokhan Mustafaoglu, Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University

Based on international collaborations lasting decades, two new studies have unlocked previously unavailable information from the bones of dogs long dead.

May Nango sharing stories about Mamukala wetlands with her grandson, in 2015. Anna Florin (courtesy of GAC)

May 4, 2022

65,000 years of food scraps found at Kakadu tell a story of resilience amid changing climate, sea levels and vegetation

Anna Florin, University of Cambridge; Andrew Fairbairn, The University of Queensland, and Chris Clarkson, The University of Queensland

The Kakadu region has gone through immense transformation throughout history. How can archaeological food scraps tell us about how the First Australians adapted?

S. Anna Florin.

January 25, 2021

Burnt ancient nutshells reveal the story of climate change at Kakadu — now drier than ever before

Anna Florin, University of Wollongong; Andrew Fairbairn, The University of Queensland; Chris Clarkson, The University of Queensland; James Shulmeister, University of Canterbury; Nicholas R Patton, University of Canterbury, and Patrick Roberts, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology

Tiny nutshell fragments, found at a rock shelter in the Kakadu region, have helped researchers track past climate change in the region.

Researchers May Nango, Djaykuk Djandjomerr and S. Anna Florin collecting plants in Kakadu National Park. Reproduced with permission of Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation. Elspeth Hayes

February 17, 2020

65,000‑year‑old plant remains show the earliest Australians spent plenty of time cooking

Anna Florin, The University of Queensland; Andrew Fairbairn, The University of Queensland, and Chris Clarkson, The University of Queensland

Charred plant remains from one of the oldest archaeological sites reveal that the first Australians ate a varied - and sometimes labour-intensive - diet.

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