Michael I Bird
Biographic Data
| ID | 154624 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Michael I Bird |
| GIVEN NAMES | Michael I |
| FAMILY NAME | Bird |
| SIGNATURE | BIRD M I |
| AFFILIATIONS | James Cook University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1801-8703 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 46 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 330 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 46 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1979 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 11 |
Isotopes and isoscapes for Australian archaeology
Isoscapes are important for studies of provenance, migration and diet. • Isoscapes the Australian continent now exist for H, C, N, O, S, Sr, Nd and Pb. • We review the factors controlling isotope variation across Australia. • The development of isoscapes for multiple isotope systems provides new opportunities for archaeology in Australia. Both stable and radiogenic isotope analyses are widely applied in archaeological science to examine questions…
Putting a stake in the ground
Foundational principles for the academic profession in the context of greater systemic accountability
The impact of global systemic changes over 40 years in higher education (HE) have typically focussed on efficiency, cost-reduction and the needs of the economy. This has usually involved ‘command and control’ change processes and corporate accountability practices aimed at reducing university autonomy and bringing academics under greater institutional control. We draw on systems research to consider factors related to the effectiveness of a HE sy…
A 33,000-year paleohydrological record from Sanamere Lagoon, north-eastern tropical savannas of Australia
There are very few records of past terrestrial environmental change of any time period for the Australian tropical savannas. Here we document the hydrological development of Sanamere Lagoon, north Queensland, from a 1.72 m sediment sequence with a basal age of ca. 33 ka. We measure a variety of proxies reflecting environmental change within and around the lagoon, including grain size, elemental and diatom abundance, and carbon and nitrogen isotop…
Assessing the Reliability of a Small-Scale Legacy Radiocarbon Dataset Using Chronometric Transparency Approaches
A new quality assurance framework was developed to assess the reliability of 14 C ages from a small-scale legacy dataset from archaeological sites across the Torres Strait (northeastern Australia). Chronometric transparency principles were applied across three stages of data analysis, comprising of a basic, immediate, and advanced assessment of the 14 C ages and associated metadata. Reliability ratings (1*, 2*, 3*, and 4*) were assigned to repres…
Late Holocene climate change in northern Australia inferred from the archaeal lipids in Lake Barrine
Australian Marine Radiocarbon Reservoir Effects
Studies of pre-bomb mollusks live-collected around the Australian coastline have concluded that near-shore marine radiocarbon reservoir effects are small and relatively uniform. These studies are based on limited samples of sometimes dubious quality representing only selective parts of Australia’s lengthy coastline. We systematically examine spatial variability in the marine radiocarbon reservoir effect (ΔR) through analysis of 292 live-collected…
Directionally supervised cellular automaton for the initial peopling of Sahul
Reconstructing the patterns of expansion out of Africa and across the globe by modern Homo sapiens have been advanced using demographic and travel-cost models. However, modelled routes are ipso facto influenced by migration rates, and vice versa. It is therefore timely to combine these two intertwined phenomena in reconstructing the migratory history of our species. We applied such an approach to one of the world’s earliest peopling events in Sah…
Vegetation over the last glacial maximum at Girraween Lagoon, monsoonal northern Australia
Northern Australia is a region where limited information exists on environments at the last glacial maximum (LGM). Girraween Lagoon is located on the central northern coast of Australia and is a site representative of regional tropical savanna woodlands. Girraween Lagoon remained a perennial waterbody throughout the LGM, and as a result retains a complete proxy record of last-glacial climate, vegetation and fire. This study combines independent p…
Island Hopping to Sahul
The dispersal of Homo sapiens to Sahul required passage through the vast Wallacean archipelago, resulting in the first large-scale modern human maritime migration. This migration likely required social, technological, and economic innovations as modern humans island-hopped east towards Sahul (the combined Pleistocene landmass of Australia, New Guinea, and the Aru Islands). The dispersal pathways through Wallacea are not well documented archaeolog…
A new Holocene sea-level record for Singapore
Relative sea-level (RSL) records from far-field regions distal from ice sheets remain poorly understood, particularly in the early Holocene. Here, we extended the Holocene RSL data from Singapore by producing early Holocene sea-level index points (SLIPs) and limiting dates from a new ~40 m sediment core. We merged new and published RSL data to construct a standardized Singapore RSL database consisting of 88 SLIPs and limiting data. In the early H…
A late-Holocene multiproxy fire record from a tropical savanna, eastern Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia
Fire has a long history in Australia and is a key driver of vegetation dynamics in the tropical savanna ecosystems that cover one quarter of the country. Fire reconstructions are required to understand ecosystem dynamics over the long term but these data are lacking for the extensive savannas of northern Australia. This paper presents a multiproxy palaeofire record for Marura sinkhole in eastern Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia. The rec…
Integrating charcoal morphology and stable carbon isotope analysis to identify non-grass elongate charcoal in tropical savannas
A carbon and nitrogen isotope perspective on ancient human diet in the British Isles
Landscape rules predict optimal superhighways for the first peopling of Sahul
Archaeological data and demographic modelling suggest that the peopling of Sahul required substantial populations, occurred rapidly within a few thousand years and encompassed environments ranging from hyper-arid deserts to temperate uplands and tropical rainforests. How this migration occurred and how humans responded to the physical environments they encountered have, however, remained largely speculative. By constructing a high-resolution digi…
Partitioning of Microbially Respired CO 2 Between Indigenous and Exogenous Carbon Sources During Biochar Degradation Using Radiocarbon and Stable Carbon Isotopes
Pyrolized carbon in biochar can sequester atmospheric CO 2 into soil to reduce impacts of anthropogenic CO 2 emissions. When estimating the stability of biochar, degradation of biochar carbon, mobility of degradation products, and ingress of carbon from other sources must all be considered. In a previous study we tracked degradation in biochars produced from radiocarbon-free wood and subjected to different physico-chemical treatments over three y…
Complexities in the palaeoenvironmental and archaeological interpretation of isotopic analyses of the Mud Shell Geloina erosa (Lightfoot, 1786)
Quantifying Charcoal Degradation and Negative Priming of Soil Organic Matter with a 14 C-Dead Tracer
Converting biomass to charcoal produces physical and chemical changes greatly increasing environmental recalcitrance, leading to great interest in the potential of this carbon form as a long-term sequestration strategy for climate change mitigation. Uncertainty remains, however, over the timescale of charcoal’s environmental stability, with estimates varying from decadal to millennial scales. Uncertainty also remains over charcoal’s effect on oth…
Sclerochronological analysis of archaeological mollusc assemblages
Alkali extraction of archaeological and geological charcoal
Charcoal reflectance measurements
Evolution of the Irrawaddy delta region since 1850
We present a time series of coastline change for the Irrawaddy delta region of Myanmar using the earliest available navigation chart from 1850, and a set of topographic maps and satellite imagery dating from 1913 to 2006. Despite the large sediment load delivered annually to the gulf by the Irrawaddy and Salween Rivers, the coastline has been largely stable for 156 years, advancing at an average rate of no more than 0.34 km per century since 1925…
A Protocol for Radiocarbon Dating Tropical Subfossil Cave Guano
We present accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates on several organic fractions isolated from tropical guano deposits recovered from insular Southeast Asia. Differences were observed between 14 C measurements made on bulk guano as well as bulk lipids, the saturated hydrocarbon fraction, solvent-extracted guano, and insect cuticles extracted from the same bulk sample. We infer that 14 C dates from the bulk lipid fraction and saturate…
Geochronology of cave deposits at Liang Bua and of adjacent river terraces in the Wae Racang valley, western Flores, Indonesia
Environmental and socioeconomic dynamics of the Indian Ocean tsunami in Penang, Malaysia
This paper addresses some of the environmental and socioeconomic dimensions of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami on Penang, Malaysia. We aim to offer wide access to unique and perishable data, while at the same time providing insight to ongoing debates about hazards, vulnerability and social capital. Our social survey examines some of the dynamics that shaped the tsunami impact, response and recovery process. While in terms of lives lost Penang may n…
The 'human revolution' in lowland tropical Southeast Asia
Geochronology of cave deposits at Liang Bua and of adjacent river terraces in the Wae Racang valley, western Flores, Indonesia
Radiocarbon Dating of the Human Occupation of Australia Prior to 40 ka BP—Successes and Pitfalls
Charcoal samples from ancient human occupation sites in Australia have been subjected to a rigorous pretreatment and stepped combustion regime in order to explore the possibility that these sites may be older than previous radiocarbon dating had suggested. In one case, the Devil's Lair site in southwest Australia, the methodology has clearly removed vestiges of contamination by more modern carbon and has led to a revised radiocarbon chronology th…
Landscape rules predict optimal superhighways for the first peopling of Sahul
Archaeological data and demographic modelling suggest that the peopling of Sahul required substantial populations, occurred rapidly within a few thousand years and encompassed environments ranging from hyper-arid deserts to temperate uplands and tropical rainforests. How this migration occurred and how humans responded to the physical environments they encountered have, however, remained largely speculative. By constructing a high-resolution digi…
Past Human Activity and Geomorphological Change in a Guano-Rich Tropical Cave Mouth
This paper presents initial interpretations of the processes and events responsible for the late Quaternary sequence in the West Mouth of the Great Cave of Niah, in the hot and humid lowland rainforest and swamp forest of Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo. It evaluates the geomorphological context of the site within the known pattern of rapid late Quaternary climate change. Attention is given to the proximity to the sea and the likelihood of humid trop…
Prehistoric Foragers and Farmers in South-east Asia
The paper describes the initial results from renewed investigations at Niah Cave in Sarawak on the island of Borneo, famous for the discovery in 1958 of the c. 40,000–year old ‘Deep Skull’. The archaeological sequences from the West Mouth and the other entrances of the cave complex investigated by Tom and Barbara Harrisson and other researchers have potential implications for three major debates regarding the prehistory of south-east Asia: the ti…
Alkali extraction of archaeological and geological charcoal
Buang Merabak
[Extract] This paper reports new radiocarbon estimates for the age of human occupation of Buang Merabak, an archaeological site in central New Ireland, Papua New Guinea. Previously, the oldest radiocarbon date for human occupation in New Ireland was 35,410 ± 430 BP (Leavesley and Allen 1998:80). The radiocarbon determinations reported here, although preliminary, may extend the first evidence of human occupation in New Ireland to beyond 40,000 BP …
Sclerochronological analysis of archaeological mollusc assemblages
Charcoal reflectance measurements
Populating PEP II
X-ray microtomographic imaging of charcoal
A new Holocene sea-level record for Singapore
Relative sea-level (RSL) records from far-field regions distal from ice sheets remain poorly understood, particularly in the early Holocene. Here, we extended the Holocene RSL data from Singapore by producing early Holocene sea-level index points (SLIPs) and limiting dates from a new ~40 m sediment core. We merged new and published RSL data to construct a standardized Singapore RSL database consisting of 88 SLIPs and limiting data. In the early H…
New Abox Ams- 14 C Ages Remove Dating Anomalies At Puritjarra Rock Shelter
Short Reports more generally to gain an appreciation of what information is in existence, its location and how to obtain it. The creation of the Bowen Basin Collection originated as a response to this. Information within the collection largely (but not solely) derives fiom material amassed throughout the nearly seven year course of the Bowen Basin Project. As the Collection took shape, major gaps in the information held and the incomplete nature …
Australian Marine Radiocarbon Reservoir Effects
Studies of pre-bomb mollusks live-collected around the Australian coastline have concluded that near-shore marine radiocarbon reservoir effects are small and relatively uniform. These studies are based on limited samples of sometimes dubious quality representing only selective parts of Australia’s lengthy coastline. We systematically examine spatial variability in the marine radiocarbon reservoir effect (ΔR) through analysis of 292 live-collected…
Evolution of the Irrawaddy delta region since 1850
We present a time series of coastline change for the Irrawaddy delta region of Myanmar using the earliest available navigation chart from 1850, and a set of topographic maps and satellite imagery dating from 1913 to 2006. Despite the large sediment load delivered annually to the gulf by the Irrawaddy and Salween Rivers, the coastline has been largely stable for 156 years, advancing at an average rate of no more than 0.34 km per century since 1925…
A late-Holocene multiproxy fire record from a tropical savanna, eastern Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia
Fire has a long history in Australia and is a key driver of vegetation dynamics in the tropical savanna ecosystems that cover one quarter of the country. Fire reconstructions are required to understand ecosystem dynamics over the long term but these data are lacking for the extensive savannas of northern Australia. This paper presents a multiproxy palaeofire record for Marura sinkhole in eastern Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia. The rec…
Indian Ocean tsunamis
We report the results of a study of the physical characteristics and socio-economic impacts of the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 26 December 2004 on the tourist island of Langkawi, Malaysia. In comparison with many other locations struck by the tsunami, the immediate physical and socio-economic impacts in Langkawi were relatively minor. A detailed survey of the watermark and ground elevations was undertaken in the worst affected area between Sungei Kua…
Integrating charcoal morphology and stable carbon isotope analysis to identify non-grass elongate charcoal in tropical savannas
A carbon and nitrogen isotope perspective on ancient human diet in the British Isles
Quantifying Charcoal Degradation and Negative Priming of Soil Organic Matter with a 14 C-Dead Tracer
Converting biomass to charcoal produces physical and chemical changes greatly increasing environmental recalcitrance, leading to great interest in the potential of this carbon form as a long-term sequestration strategy for climate change mitigation. Uncertainty remains, however, over the timescale of charcoal’s environmental stability, with estimates varying from decadal to millennial scales. Uncertainty also remains over charcoal’s effect on oth…
A Protocol for Radiocarbon Dating Tropical Subfossil Cave Guano
We present accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates on several organic fractions isolated from tropical guano deposits recovered from insular Southeast Asia. Differences were observed between 14 C measurements made on bulk guano as well as bulk lipids, the saturated hydrocarbon fraction, solvent-extracted guano, and insect cuticles extracted from the same bulk sample. We infer that 14 C dates from the bulk lipid fraction and saturate…
Film as Hierophany
Within the discussion of religious art there arises the fascinating question of how art can engender the awareness of those special (hierophanous) moments in culture where the sacred dimension breaks through into otherwise profane experience. This question requires a consideration of the peculiar relationship which a given art form has to its world (e.g., imitation vs. interpretation, recording vs. transformation). The special potency of cinemati…
Film as Hierophany
Within the discussion of religious art there arises the fascinating question of how art can engender the awareness of those special (hierophanous) moments in culture where the sacred dimension breaks through into otherwise profane experience. This question requires a consideration of the peculiar relationship which a given art form has to its world (e.g., imitation vs. interpretation, recording vs. transformation). The special potency of cinemati…
Religion in Film
Fire, prehistoric humanity, and the environment
An association between our hominid ancestors and fire extends back over a million years. Along with speech and the ability to use tools, fire has allowed humanity an unprecedented power to manipulate its environment. Archaeological evidence suggests that modern humans were present on most habitable continents, firestick in hand, by at least 40 000 years ago and probably earlier. Humans were therefore in a position to exert considerable influence …
Optical and radiocarbon dating at Jinmium rock shelter in northern Australia
Challenging behaviour in dementia
Challenging behaviour has been a known feature of dementia for at least 90 years but until recently has been largely ignored by serious research. Unfortunately, for those exposed to it, phenomena such as continuous screaming or violence are impossible to ignore. They can cause severe distress to family members and are a major reason for committal to residential care, where nursing staff also find it hard to cope. The research vacuum means that th…
Early Human Occupation at Devil's Lair, Southwestern Australia 50,000 Years Ago
New dating confirms that people occupied the Australian continent before the earliest time inferred from conventional radiocarbon analysis. Many of the new ages were obtained by accelerator mass spectrometry 14 C dating after an acid–base–acid pretreatment with bulk combustion (ABA-BC) or after a newly developed acid–base–wet oxidation pretreatment with stepped combustion (ABOX-SC). The samples (charcoal) came from the earliest occupation levels …
New Abox Ams- 14 C Ages Remove Dating Anomalies At Puritjarra Rock Shelter
Short Reports more generally to gain an appreciation of what information is in existence, its location and how to obtain it. The creation of the Bowen Basin Collection originated as a response to this. Information within the collection largely (but not solely) derives fiom material amassed throughout the nearly seven year course of the Bowen Basin Project. As the Collection took shape, major gaps in the information held and the incomplete nature …
Radiocarbon Dating of the Human Occupation of Australia Prior to 40 ka BP—Successes and Pitfalls
Charcoal samples from ancient human occupation sites in Australia have been subjected to a rigorous pretreatment and stepped combustion regime in order to explore the possibility that these sites may be older than previous radiocarbon dating had suggested. In one case, the Devil's Lair site in southwest Australia, the methodology has clearly removed vestiges of contamination by more modern carbon and has led to a revised radiocarbon chronology th…
Radiocarbon analysis of the early archaeological site of Nauwalabila I, Arnhem Land, Australia
Buang Merabak
[Extract] This paper reports new radiocarbon estimates for the age of human occupation of Buang Merabak, an archaeological site in central New Ireland, Papua New Guinea. Previously, the oldest radiocarbon date for human occupation in New Ireland was 35,410 ± 430 BP (Leavesley and Allen 1998:80). The radiocarbon determinations reported here, although preliminary, may extend the first evidence of human occupation in New Ireland to beyond 40,000 BP …
Prehistoric Foragers and Farmers in South-east Asia
The paper describes the initial results from renewed investigations at Niah Cave in Sarawak on the island of Borneo, famous for the discovery in 1958 of the c. 40,000–year old ‘Deep Skull’. The archaeological sequences from the West Mouth and the other entrances of the cave complex investigated by Tom and Barbara Harrisson and other researchers have potential implications for three major debates regarding the prehistory of south-east Asia: the ti…
Herodotus
Populating PEP II
The Case of the Proselytizing Pharisees?—Matthew 23.15
This essay examines Matthew 23.15 in the context of the debate concerning pre-Christian Jewish proselytizing activity amongst Gentiles. The study assesses the historical authenticity of the logion and examines the various positions for understanding its meaning. It then attempts to argue that Matthew 23.15 is an authentic saying of Jesus aimed at censuring a Pharisaic group for endeavouring to recruit Gentile adherents (God-fearers) to the cause …
Palaeoenvironments of insular Southeast Asia during the Last Glacial Period
Past Human Activity and Geomorphological Change in a Guano-Rich Tropical Cave Mouth
This paper presents initial interpretations of the processes and events responsible for the late Quaternary sequence in the West Mouth of the Great Cave of Niah, in the hot and humid lowland rainforest and swamp forest of Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo. It evaluates the geomorphological context of the site within the known pattern of rapid late Quaternary climate change. Attention is given to the proximity to the sea and the likelihood of humid trop…
The Criterion of Greek Language and Context
This essay examines Stanley E. Porter's proposed new criterion of authenticity, the criterion of Greek language and context. This criterion attempts to recover the Greek words of Jesus embedded in the Gospels. Porter presents a robust case for a multilingual Palestinian environment and highlights the value of language tools for historical-Jesus study. Despite this, Porter's proposed new criterion is questionable for several reasons. (1) The chara…
The 'human revolution' in lowland tropical Southeast Asia
Indian Ocean tsunamis
We report the results of a study of the physical characteristics and socio-economic impacts of the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 26 December 2004 on the tourist island of Langkawi, Malaysia. In comparison with many other locations struck by the tsunami, the immediate physical and socio-economic impacts in Langkawi were relatively minor. A detailed survey of the watermark and ground elevations was undertaken in the worst affected area between Sungei Kua…
Environmental and socioeconomic dynamics of the Indian Ocean tsunami in Penang, Malaysia
This paper addresses some of the environmental and socioeconomic dimensions of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami on Penang, Malaysia. We aim to offer wide access to unique and perishable data, while at the same time providing insight to ongoing debates about hazards, vulnerability and social capital. Our social survey examines some of the dynamics that shaped the tsunami impact, response and recovery process. While in terms of lives lost Penang may n…
Textual Criticism and the Historical Jesus
This study argues that historical Jesus research needs to pay greater attention to the field of textual criticism and study of early Christian manuscripts. It is accordingly argued that the field of textual criticism impacts historical Jesus studies in at least three ways: (1) the textual integrity of the New Testament and the possibility of historical Jesus research; (2) the significance of the agrapha; and (3) text-critical contributions to his…
X-ray microtomographic imaging of charcoal
A Protocol for Radiocarbon Dating Tropical Subfossil Cave Guano
We present accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates on several organic fractions isolated from tropical guano deposits recovered from insular Southeast Asia. Differences were observed between 14 C measurements made on bulk guano as well as bulk lipids, the saturated hydrocarbon fraction, solvent-extracted guano, and insect cuticles extracted from the same bulk sample. We infer that 14 C dates from the bulk lipid fraction and saturate…
Geochronology of cave deposits at Liang Bua and of adjacent river terraces in the Wae Racang valley, western Flores, Indonesia
Alkali extraction of archaeological and geological charcoal
Geography (34 works) · Archaeology (22 works) · Geology (21 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (18 works) · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research (16 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (15 works) · Geology (13 works) · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies (13 works) · Paleontology (13 works) · Biology (12 works)