JCU > Research Portfolio > Dr Mirani Litster

About

Mirani is a Lecturer in Archaeology in the College of Arts, Society and Education and previously, she was a Lecturer in Cultural Heritage at the University of Canberra (2020-2021). Mirani received a Bachelor of Archaeology (Hons) from Flinders University and a PhD in Archaeology from the Department of Archaeology and Natural History at the Australian National University. Her doctoral research explored early globalisation in islands through an exploration of the archaeological record of the Maldives during the first millennium AD, focusing on cowry shell money.

Mirani's research focus is in coastal and island archaeology, the archaeology of cross-cultural encounters, early globalisation, conflict and warfare, and archaeomalacology. Her regional focus includes Australia and the Indian Ocean and she has been involved in research projects from Australia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Pacific. Mirani is currently a Chief Investigator on an ARC Discovery Project: 'Before Cook: Contact, Negotiation and the Archaeology of the Tiwi Islands'. This project will redefine, deepen and reconcile divergent narratives of early cultural encounters between Tiwi Traditional Owners, the Dutch, Macassans and British. Mirani is also an Associate Investigator on the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH).

Outside of academia, Mirani has worked as a heritage consultant in South Australia, the ACT, Victoria and New South Wales.

Teaching

AR2304: From Stonehenge to the Colosseum: Archaeology of Europe (Level 2; TSV)
AR3008: Boats and Beaches: The Archaeology of Coasts and Islands (Level 3; CNS & TSV)

Interests

Research

Archaeomalacology
Cross-cultural exchange
Shell money
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander archaeology
Island and coastal archaeology
Indian Ocean archaeology

Teaching

Research-led teaching
Critical pedagogy

Experience

2021 to present - Lecturer in Archaeology, James Cook University (Cairns)
2021 - Discipline Lead in Heritage and Conservation, University of Canberra (Canberra)
2020 to 2021 - Lecturer in Cultural Heritage, University of Canberra (Canberra)
2019 to 2020 - Project Manager, ARC Laureate Project 'Collective Biography of Archaeology in the Pacific' (Canberra)
2016 to 2018 - Sessional Lecturer (Cultural Heritage), University of Canberra (Canberra)
2011 to 2018 - Sessional Lecturer (Archaeology and Cultural Heritage), The Australian National University (Canberra)

Research Disciplines

Socio-Economic Objectives

Honours

Awards

2015 - Ulm-Ross Prize for Best Paper in Australian Archaeology
2006 - University Medal, Flinders University

Memberships

2022 - Association of Critical Heritage Studies
2022 - International Council for Archaeozoology
2020 - Australian Museums and Galleries Association Inc.
2009 - Australian Archaeological Association

Other

2020 - Visiting Fellow in Archaeology, Australian National University
2020 - Book Review Editor, Australian Archaeology
2019 - Associate Research Fellow in Archaeology, Flinders University
2018 - Editorial Board, Kapata Arkeologi (Balai Arkeologi Maluku)
2018 - Editorial Board, Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia
2017 to 2021 - Public Officer, Australian Archaeological Association

Publications

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

Brockwell S, McWilliam A, Kealy S, Litster M, Cooling S, Hawkins S, Langley M, Wolfe L and O'Connor S (in press) New archaeological discoveries in north-central Timor-Leste indicate sociocultural adaptations to landscape change during the Holocene. Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology,
Wright D, Samper Carro S, Nejman L, Van Der Kolk G, Litster M, Langley M, Wood R, Claringbold I and Repu C (2021) Archaeology of the Waiat mysteries on Woeydhul Island in Western Torres Strait. Antiquity: a quarterly review of archaeology, 95 (381). pp. 791-811
Brockwell S, Pardoe C, Litster M, Wesley D, Huntley J, Disspain M, Langley M, Gaffey P, Scadding R and Willan R (2020) Human responses to the late Holocene freshwater transition on the northern coastal plains of the Alligator Rivers region in western Arnhem Land. Australian Archaeology, 86 (1). pp. 80-94
Hawkins S, Arumdhati F, Litster M, Lim T, Basile G, Leclerc M, Reepmeyer C, Maloney T, Boulanger C, Louys J, Mahirta M, Clark G, Keling G, Willan R, Yuwono P and O'Connor S (2020) Metal-Age maritime culture at Jareng Bori rockshelter, Pantar Island, eastern Indonesia. Records of the Australian Museum, 72 (5). pp. 237-262
Litster M, Barham A, Meyer J, Maloney T, Shipton C, Fallon S, Willan R and O'Connor S (2020) Late Holocene coastal land-use, site formation and site survival: insights from five middens at Cape Leveque and Lombadina, Dampier Peninsula, Kimberley, Australia. Australian Archaeology, 86 (2). pp. 118-136
van Duivenvoorde W, Wesley D, Litster M, Veys W, Nayati W, Polzer M, McCarthy J and Jansen L (2019) Van Delft before Cook: the earliest record of substantial culture contact between Indigenous Australians and the Dutch East India Company prior to 1770. Australasian Journal of Maritime Archaeology, 43. pp. 27-49

Book Chapters

Clark G and Litster M (2022) Archaeological perspectives on conflict and warfare in Australia and the Pacific. In: Archaeological Perspectives on Conflict and Warfare in Australia and the Pacific. Terra Australis, 54. ANU Press, Canberra, ACT, Australia, pp. 1-38
Litster M, Jones T and Howes H (2022) An emerging major centre: Pacific archaeology at The Australian National University (1961–79). In: Uncovering Pacific Pasts: Histories of Archaeology in Oceania. Pacific Series. ANU Press, Canberra, Australia, pp. 501-516
Brockwell S, O'Connor S, Fenner J, McWilliam A, Amano N, Piper P, Bulbeck D, Litster M, Whitau R, O’Connor-Veth J, Maloney T, Cameron J, Willan R and Dickinson W (2020) Excavations at the site of Vasino, Lautem District, Timor-Leste. In: Forts and Fortification in Wallacea: Archaeological and Ethnohistoric Investigations. Terra Australis, 53. ANU Press, Canberra, ACT, Australia, pp. 67-100
Fenner J, Litster M, Maloney T, Siang Lim T, Hawkins S, Gaffey P, Brockwell S, McWilliam A, Pannell S, Willan R and O'Connor S (2020) The site of Leki Wakik, Manatuto District, Timor-Leste. In: Forts and Fortification in Wallacea: archaeological and ethnohistoric investigations. Terra Australis, 53. ANU Press, Canberra, ACT, Australia, pp. 101-132
O'Connor S, Bulbeck D, Amano N, Piper P, Brockwell S, McWilliam A, Fenner J, O'Connor-Veth J, Whitau R, Maloney T, Langley M, Litster M, Lankton J, Gratuze B, Dickinson W, Barham A and Willan R (2020) The fortified settlement of Macapainara, Lautem District, Timor-Leste. In: Forts and Fortification in Wallacea: archaeological and ethnohistoric investigations. Terra Australis. ANU Press, Canberra, ACT, Australia, pp. 13-48
Clark G, Langley M, Litster M, Winter O and Amesbury J (2018) Shell beads as markers of Oceanic dispersal: a rare Cypraeidae ornament type from the Mariana Islands. In: The Archaeology of Portable Art: Southeast Asian, Pacific, and Australian perspectives. Routledge, London, UK, pp. 142-161

More: ResearchOnline@JCU stores 28+ research outputs authored by Dr Mirani Litster from 2016 onwards.

Current Funding

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

Australian Research Council - Discovery - Projects

DP200100559 Before Cook: Contact, Negotiation and the Archaeology of the Tiwi Islands

Indicative Funding: $63,921 over 3 years (administered by Flinders University)
Summary: This project will redefine, deepen and reconcile divergent narratives of early cultural encounters between the Dutch, Macassans, British and Indigenous Australians and the responses of Traditional Owners to globalisation. Focussing international attention on the Tiwi Islands will contribute to the Northern Territory tourism economy. National heritage areas have significant potential to contribute to local Indigenous tourism enterprises. The project will create substantial international collaborations between Australia, the Netherlands, Indonesia and Indigenous Australians. It will contribute to capacity building for Traditional Owners to manage the nationally and internationally outstanding cultural heritage values of the Tiwi islands and provide many allied social, health and economic advantages for the Indigenous community to be on country.
Investigators: Daryl Wesley, Wendy Van Duivenvoorde, Michael Smith, Peter Monteath, Rachel Popelka-Filcoff, Kellie Pollard and Mirani Litster (Flinders University, Charles Darwin University, College of Arts and Society & Education)
Keywords: Tiwi Islands; Archaeology; Island and Coastal; Cultural Encounters

Supervision

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

Millenial-scale Variability in Lizard Island Group Mollusc Exploitation: Studying Mollusc remains to understand Past Aboriginal Shellfishing practices and Reef Resource use for Future Reef Conservation (PhD , Secondary Advisor)

Collaboration

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.