Alice Gorman

Last updated

Alice Gorman
Alice Gorman introducing Free Range Films at Camperdown.jpg
Dr. Alice Gorman introduces a film at Camperdown, Australia
Born1964
EducationUniversity of Melbourne University of New England
OccupationArchaeologist

Alice Gorman FAHA FSA (born 1964) is an Australian archaeologist, heritage consultant, and lecturer, who is best known for pioneering work in the field of space archaeology and her Space Age Archaeology blog. [1] Based at Flinders University, she is an expert in Indigenous stone tool analysis, but better known for her research into the archaeology of orbital debris, terrestrial launch sites, and satellite tracking stations. [2] Gorman teaches modern material culture studies, cultural heritage management, [3] and Australian stone tools. Gorman is also a founding member of the Archaeology, Science and Heritage Council of For All Moonkind, Inc., a nonprofit organisation developing and seeking to implement an international convention to protect human cultural heritage in outer space. [4]

Contents

Traditional archaeology

Gorman graduated from The University of Melbourne in 1986 with a B.A. (Hons) before working as an archaeological consultant in the Indigenous heritage management sector. She returned to study in the late 1990s and obtained a Ph.D. from The University of New England in 2001. [5] Her doctoral thesis examined how archaeologists can identify tools used in body modification through wear and residue analysis. [6] After graduation, she continued working as a heritage consultant until receiving a permanent academic position at Flinders University in 2005. Gorman continues to work in the Indigenous heritage management sector on short-term contracts.

Space archaeology

From an early age, Gorman wanted to be both an astrophysicist and an archaeologist. [7] While she ended up pursuing a career in archaeology, she has reconciled the two by turning her research focus onto the archaeology of space exploration, or simply, space archaeology (for the use of satellite imagery to examine archaeological sites and landscapes, see remote sensing). In 2003, she took part in the first conference session on space archaeology at the Fifth World Archaeological Congress with John Campbell and Beth Laura O'Leary. [8]

Since the mid-2000s, she has produced a number of publications on space archaeology and is credited for pioneering the concept of space as a cultural landscape and the application of cultural significance assessment to "space junk". [9] Gorman not only explored "Space Race" that happened during the Cold War, [10] she has also considered the contribution of Indigenous people to global space exploration and the archaeological signatures of this interaction. [11]

Gorman's space archaeology research includes the oldest satellite still in orbit, Vanguard 1, the Woomera and Kourou terrestrial launch sites, and the Orroral Valley NASA Tracking Station. In 2013, Gorman received recognition for her work on the archaeology of space when she was invited to present at TEDx Sydney. [12]

Gorman is a member of the faculty of the International Space University, an assessor for the Australian Research Council, and a member of numerous space and archaeology organisations including the Space Industry Association of Australia. [5] She writes regularly for The Conversation, where she details much of her space archaeology research for a general audience. [13] Her work has been included in the 2013 Science Online anthology [14] and the collection of Best Australian Science Writing from 2013 to 2017.

In 2019, Gorman published her first book on space archaeology entitled "Dr Space Junk vs The Universe: Archaeology and the future" [15] for which she was interviewed on the ABC's Conversations program. [16] In December 2019, "Dr Space Junk vs The Universe: Archaeology and the future" was awarded the John Mulvaney Book Award by the Australian Archaeological Association, which recognises a significant publication on Australian Archaeology. [17]

Awards and recognition

In 2016, Gorman was elected as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. [18] In 2017 she was awarded the Bragg UNSW Press Prize for Science Writing for her essay "Trace fossils: The silence of Ediacara, the shadow of uranium". [19] In 2020, Gorman was given a Distinguished Alumni Award by the University of New England. In 2021, the Working Group on Small Body Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union announced that asteroid 551014 Gorman, a 2-km diameter asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter, was named in her honour. [20]

In 2022, Gorman was included in a program, "The Unidentified: Are we alone in the universe?", an episode of the sensational "Under Investigation". [21] She was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 2023. [22]

Publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flinders Ranges</span> Mountain range in South Australia

The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain ranges in South Australia, which starts about 200 km (125 mi) north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over 430 km (265 mi) from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology</span> Museum in London, England

The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology in London is part of University College London Museums and Collections. The museum contains 80,000 objects, making it one of the world's largest collections of Egyptian and Sudanese material. It is designated under the Arts Council England Designation Scheme as being of "national and international importance".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Cribb</span> Australian anthropologist and archaeologist (1948–2007)

Roger Llewellyn Dunmore Cribb was an Australian archaeologist and anthropologist who specialised in documenting and modelling spatial patterns and social organisation of nomadic peoples. He is noted for conducting early fieldwork amongst the nomadic pastoralists of Anatolia, Turkey; writing a book on the archaeology of these nomads; pioneering Australian archaeology and anthropologies' use of geographical information systems, plus genealogical software; and conducting later fieldwork documenting the cultural landscapes of the Aboriginal peoples of Cape York Peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claire Smith (archaeologist)</span> Australian archaeologist and academic

Claire Smith, is an Australian archaeologist specialising in Indigenous archaeology, symbolic communication and rock art. She was dean (research) of the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Flinders University in 2017-2018 and, before that, head of the Department of Archaeology. She was president of the World Archaeological Congress from 2003 to 2014. Among her many publications is the Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heather Burke</span> Australian archaeologist (born 1966)

Heather Burke is an Australian historical archaeologist and a professor in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Flinders University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space archaeology</span> Study of human-made items found in space

In archaeology, space archaeology is the research-based study of various human-made items found in space, their interpretation as clues to the adventures humanity has experienced in space, and their preservation as cultural heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Boast</span>

Robin Benville Boast is the Professor Emeritus at the University of Amsterdam, Department of Media Studies. Until the end of 2012 Prof. Boast was an Associate Professor and Curator for World Archaeology at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge. In December 2021, Prof. Boast retired from the University of Amsterdam where he taught for nine years on Cultural Information Science, Neo-colonial information governance, and the history and sociology of digitally and collecting.

Jean (Judy) Birmingham is a prominent English historical archaeologist, who has been based in Sydney, Australia, for most of her career. She is well known for her roles in the development of historical archaeology and cultural heritage management in Australia. In 2017 she was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for her work in this field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">For All Moonkind</span> UN volunteer organisation

For All Moonkind, Inc. is a volunteer international nonprofit organization which is working with the United Nations and the international community to manage the preservation of history and human heritage in outer space. The organization believes that the lunar landing sites and items from space missions are of great value to the public and is pushing the United Nations to create rules that will protect lunar items and secure heritage sites on the Moon and other celestial bodies. Protection is necessary as many nations and companies are planning on returning to the Moon, and it is not difficult to imagine the damage an autonomous vehicle or an errant astronaut—an explorer, colonist or tourist—could to one of the Moon landing sites, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wurrwurrwuy stone arrangements</span> Historic site in Northern Territory, Australia

Wurrwurrwuy stone arrangements is a heritage-listed indigenous site at Yirrkala, Northern Territory, Australia. It is also known as Wurrwurrwuy. It was added to the Northern Territory Heritage Register on 15 August 2007 and to the Australian National Heritage List on 9 August 2013.

Laila Haglund is an archaeologist who played a key role in establishing consulting archaeology in Australia, and in drafting Queensland's first legislation to protect Aboriginal cultural heritage.

Sharon Sullivan is an Australian archaeologist, advocate of Indigenous Australian rights, and author of five books on heritage management. She is best known for her work in establishing protocols and programs for cultural heritage management in Australia.

Dr Josephine McDonald is an Australian archaeologist and Director of the Centre for Rock Art Research + Management at the University of Western Australia. McDonald is primarily known for her influence in the field of rock art research and her collaborative research with Australian Aboriginal communities.

Veronica Strang is an author and professor of anthropology affiliated to Oxford University. Her work combines cultural anthropology with environmental studies, and focuses on the relationship between human communities and their environments. Strang's publications include the books 'The Meaning of Water' ; Gardening the World: agency, identity, and the ownership of water' ; 'What Anthropologists Do', 'Water Nature and Culture' and most recently 'Water Beings: from nature worship to the environmental crisis', which is based on a major comparative study of water deities around the world. Further information is available on her website at: https://www.veronicastrang.com/

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zena Kamash</span> Archaeologist

Zena Kamash FSA is a British Iraqi archaeologist and senior lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London. Her research topics include water, food, memory, the Roman period in the Middle East and Britain.

Banduk Mamburra Wananamba Marika, known after her death as Dr B Marika, was an artist, printmaker and environmental activist from Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia, who was dedicated to the development, recognition and preservation of Indigenous Australian art and culture. She uses her artwork to translate her ancestral stories through figures and motifs. She was one of the few Indigenous artists to specialize almost entirely in print making. She was the first Aboriginal person to serve on the National Gallery of Australia's board.

Sally Kate May, usually cited as Sally K. May, is an Australian archaeologist and anthropologist. She is an Associate Professor of Archaeology and Museum Studies at the University of Adelaide, Australia. She is a specialist in Indigenous Australian rock art and Australian ethnographic museum collections.

Anne (Annie) Clarke is an Australian archaeologist and heritage specialist. She is a professor of archaeology and heritage at the University of Sydney. Clarke is a leading scholar in Australian archaeology, both historical and Aboriginal, as well as critical heritage studies. She has specialisms in archaeobotany, contact archaeology and rock art.

Lynley A. Wallis is an Australian archaeologist and Associate Professor at Griffith University. She is a specialist in palaeoenvironmental reconstruction through the analysis of phytoliths.

Tarisi Vunidilo is a Fijian archaeologist and curator who specialises in indigenous museology and heritage management.

References

  1. "SPACE AGE ARCHAEOLOGY". zoharesque.blogspot.com.au.
  2. Dovey, Ceridwen, Dr. Space Junk Unearths the Cultural Landscape of the Cosmos , The New Yorker, 1 September 2017
  3. "Alice Gorman". www.flinders.edu.au. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  4. "Moonkind – Archaeology, Science and Heritage Council | For All Moonkind". Archived from the original on 8 January 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  5. 1 2 "Associate Professor Alice Gorman". Flinders University.
  6. Gorman, A. C., 2001, The archaeology of body modification. Identifying symbolic behaviour through use-wear and residues on flaked stone tools. Unpublished doctoral thesis, Division of Archaeology and Palaeoanthropology, School of Human and Environmental Studies, University of New England, Armidale.
  7. Gorman, Alice (14 July 2016). "We should encourage boys _and_ girls to reach for the stars". The Conversation. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  8. Junk, Dr Space (27 May 2014). "SPACE AGE ARCHAEOLOGY: How I became a space archaeologist Part II". SPACE AGE ARCHAEOLOGY. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  9. Gorman, A.C. (2005). "The cultural landscape of interplanetary space". Journal of Social Archaeology. 5: 85–107. doi:10.1177/1469605305050148. S2CID   144152006.
  10. Gorman, Alice (2016). "An ideological vacuum: The Cold War in outer space". In Schofield, Dr John; Cocroft, Wayne (eds.). A Fearsome Heritage. Routledge. pp. 73–92. doi:10.4324/9781315435855. ISBN   9781598742596 . Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  11. Gorman, Alice (3 October 2013). "Beyond the morning star: the real tale of the Voyagers' Aboriginal music". The Conversation. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  12. TEDx Talks (9 May 2013), Space archaeology | Alice Gorman | TEDxSydney , retrieved 2 June 2018
  13. "Alice Gorman". The Conversation. 8 September 2011.
  14. Junk, Dr Space (21 January 2014). "SPACE AGE ARCHAEOLOGY: Happy 10th anniversary Dr Space Junk!". SPACE AGE ARCHAEOLOGY. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  15. Gorman, Alice (2019). Dr Space Junk vs The Universe: Archaeology and the future. Sydney: NewSouth. ISBN   9781742236247.
  16. "The truth about space junk". ABC Radio. 4 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  17. AustArchAssoc (13 December 2019). "#AAA42 Congratulations to the winner of the John Mulvaney Book Awardpic.twitter.com/sLX4cvGGp9". @AustArchaeology. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  18. "Fellows Directory - Society of Antiquaries". www.sal.org.uk. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  19. "The Bragg UNSW Press Prize for Science Writing". Newsouth Publishing. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  20. "WGSBN Bulletin vol.1 nr 7" (PDF). International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  21. "The Unidentified: Are we alone in the universe? | Under Investigation". YouTube . 16 February 2022.
  22. "Fellow Profile – Alice Gorman". Australian Academy of the Humanities. Retrieved 6 August 2024.