Originially from New Zealand I have been at James Cook University since mid-2005. I was fortunate to study under Prof. Charles Higham at Otago University where I was able to get experience not only in prehistoric and historic archaeology in New Zealand but was also introduced to Southeast Asia. Since my first field work at the site of Nong Nor in Thailand (1991) I have been committed to working in the region.

Teaching

• AR1001: The World of Archaeology (Level 1; CNS & TSV)
• AR2405: Archaeology in Practice (Level 2; CNS)
• AR3501: Ancestors and Emperors: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Societies (Level 3; CNS & TSV)
• AR5201: Principles of Archaeological Investigation (Level 5; TSV)
• BA1001: Time, Truth and the Human Condition (Level 1; TSV)
• WS2008: International Exchange (Level 2; TSV)

Interests

Professional

• In Laos we work very closely with a major mining company in a combined research and consultancy project. I am interested in further developing international collaborations where we cross the research and consultancy divide in interesting ways.

Research

• The prehistory of Southeast Asia. Major projects I am involved in are in Northeast Thailand (the site of Ban Non Wat and area) where we are investigating long-term changes in society and environment; from 4000 years ago to the present. We also have strong interests in integrating contemporary communities as key research collaborators. A second ongoing project is in Savannakhet Province, Lao PDR, where we are investigating ancient copper mining.

Teaching

• One of my main teaching interests is running the honours field school here in Townsville. This is where our continuing students are introduced to the realities of field work and develop skills from planning a project to completing the final report.

Research Disciplines

• Archaeology (2101)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Understanding Past Societies (9505)
• Heritage (9503)

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

• Domett K, Evans C, Chang N, Tayles N and Newton J (2017) Interpreting osteoarthritis in bioarchaeology: highlighting the importance of a clinical approach through case studies from prehistoric Thailand. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 11. pp. 762-773
• Kanthilatha N, Boyd W, Parr J and Chang N (in press) Implications of phytolith and diatom assemblages in the cultural layers of prehistoric archaeological sites of Ban Non Wat and Nong Hua Raet in Northeast Thailand. Environmental Archaeology,
• Kanthilatha N, Boyd W and Chang N (2017) Multi-element characterization of archaeological floors at the prehistoric archaeological sites at Ban Non Wat and Nong Hua Raet in Northeast Thailand. Quaternary International, 432. pp. 66-78
• Castillo C, Tanaka K, Sato Y, Ishikawa R, Bellina B, Higham C, Chang N, Mohanty R, Kajale M and Fuller D (2016) Archaeogenetic study of prehistoric rice remains from Thailand and India: evidence of early japonica in South and Southeast Asia. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 8 (3). pp. 523-543
• Duke B, Chang N, Moffat I and Morris W (2016) The invisible moats of the Mun River Valley, NE Thailand: the examination of water management devices at mounded sites through ground-penetrating radar(GPR). Journal of Indo-Pacific Archaeology, 40. pp. 1-11
• Evans C, Chang N and Shimizu N (2016) Sites, survey, and ceramics: settlement patterns of the first to ninth centuries CE in the Upper Mun River Valley, northeast Thailand. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 47 (3). pp. 438-467
• Kerdsap P and Chang N (2016) Comparison in spindle whorls. Science and Technology Research Journal Sakon Nahon Ratchasima Rajabhat University, 1 (1). pp. 48-59
• Khongthon N and Chang N (2016) The folk healers' local knowledge transfer before Angkor at the Upper Mun River Catchment: a case study of Phol Songkram Community, None Soung District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand. Science and Technology Research Journal Sakon Nahon Ratchasima Rajabhat University, 1 (1). pp. 60-66
• Shimizu N, Souksavatdy V, Chang N and Luangkhot T (2016) Trade ceramics recovered from the MMG-LXML Sepon mining tenement, Savannakhet Province, the Lao PDR – preliminary review: trading and distribution based on composition, origin and age. Journal of Southeast Asian Archaeology, 36. pp. 47-60
• Yankowski A, Kerdsap P and Chang N (2015) "Please pass the salt" – an ethnoarchaeological study of salt and salt fermented fish production, use and trade in Northeast Thailand. Journal of Indo-Pacific Archaeology, 37. pp. 4-13

Book Chapters

• Halliwell A, Yankowski A and Chang N (2016) Gendered labor in pottery and salt production in northeast Thailand. In: Gendered Labor in Specialized Economies: archaeologial perspectives on female and male work. University Press of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA, pp. 117-157
• Domett K, Newton J, Colbert A, Chang N and Halcrow S (2015) Frail, foreign or favoured? A contextualized case study from Bronze Age northeast Thailand. In: The Routledge Handbook of Bioarchaeology in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. Routledge, New York, NY, USA, pp. 68-94

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 33+ research outputs authored by Dr Nigel Chang from 1998 onwards.

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

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

• The functions and contents of the Spindle Whorls in Thai Prehistory with the particular reference to the site of Ban Non Wat (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• The Utilisation of Non-Domesticated Resources in Seasonal Agricultural Societies: Further Analysis of the Faunal Assemblage in Northeast Thailand. (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Bridging the Divide in Heritage? Archaeology, Heritage Management and the Sepon Gold & Copper Mine, Lao PDR (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Who were the People of Prehistoric Vilabouly? Exploring Origins and Relationships through Archeometallurgy. (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Trauma and Conflict in Prehistoric Southeast Asia: A Life of War or Peace? (Masters , Secondary Advisor)
• Crowd mining real-time public attitudes of the Great Barrier Reef in correlation with media announcements (Masters , Advsor Mentor)
• Ancient Ceramics at Vilabouly: Pottery Productions and Society in a Prehistoric Mining Community in Laos. (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Rock Art and Archaeology in the Dry Tropics of North Queensland (PhD , Secondary Advisor)

Completed

• Reflected in the soil: Site formation processes as an index of social and environmental change at the site of Ban Non Wat, NE Thailand (2016, Masters , Primary Advisor)
• "A place not very much better then Hades": archaeological landscapes of the Cape River gold field, North Queensland (2015, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Health and society in Southeast Asia: the transition from the late Bronze Age to Iron Age (2014, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Health, diet and migration prior to the establishment of the pre-Angkorian civilisation of Southeast Asia (2014, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• The origin and selection of evolutionary knowledge: the descent and ascent of ideas (2014, PhD , Associate Advisor)
• Sites, survey, and ceramics: a GIS-based approach to modelling ancient settlement patterns in the Upper Mun River, Northeast Thailand (2016, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• The road to Townsville's early success: the engendered cultural landscape of Hervey Range and the community 'at its foot' (2016, PhD , Secondary Advisor)

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.